Kirkus Review
In 1998 Ohio, a teen's split-second decision underscores the different trajectories that lives can take. One summer afternoon, Elise, who's late for her fast-food job at the mall, attempts to pass a slow-moving vehicle as a garbage truck approaches from the opposite direction. Dunlap explores two different outcomes against the backdrop of physicist Hugh Everett's Many Worlds theory. Alternating chapters follow violinist Anna, who feels the pressure of having a perfectionist mother, and Liam, whose heavy metal band takes precedence over choral commitments at school. In Anna's chapters, no accident occurs: She attempts to live up to her mother's expectations at the expense of intense wrist pain, navigates her friendship with Elise (who doesn't understand Anna's intensity), and has awkward run-ins with Liam, Elise's cousin and Anna's crush since childhood. Liam's chapters include an impromptu escape from Elise's wake with Anna and their subsequent conversations about grief. Liam, who lost his older brother as a child, is no stranger to Anna's feelings of emptiness and guilt. Over time, the two find healing in expressing their stories through music and eventually share their work publicly. Dunlap masterfully weaves together common occurrences in the two storylines, all of which add depth. Liam's and Anna's alternating voices are honest and raw as they deal with substance abuse, sexual exploitation, and controlling relationships. Neither scenario ends neatly, but the story ends by highlighting hope and connection. Characters are cued white. A thought-provoking, beautifully executed exploration of choices and possibilities. (Fiction. 13-18) Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
Booklist Review
In a multiverse of possible outcomes, two universes unfold in which a pair of teenagers explore the unlikely yet undeniable magnetism they have with each other. Anna is a proficient violinist with nervous tendencies, while Liam, a virtuoso singer, has a lack of direction. Their connection is the wildly sporadic Elise, Liam's cousin and Anna's childhood friend. In one world, Elise's tragic death brings Liam and Anna together, the pair relieving their grief through their passion for music. In the world where Elise is alive, each teen detests and admires the other. The story traces the randomness of loss and heartbreak, raising the question of whether Anna and Liam's love might flourish in one of these worlds. Dunlap integrates sf into her newest YA romance, and her inclusion of quantum physics in relation to having a soulmate will receive approval from readers craving thought-provoking ideas about human existence. A pensive, sweet melody of a novel about intertwined destinies.
