Audiobook Review: A Thousand Pieces of You by Claudia Gray

Quick Facts

My Rating: 5 stars

Series: Firebird; Book 1

Date Read: March 15, 2015

Source: Purchased audiobook

Publication Date: November 4, 2014

Publisher: HarperTeen

Genres: Young adult, science fiction

Goodreads | Author Site

Review

Marguerite's parents are physicists who have invented a technology that lets people travel between dimensions. They enter the body of themselves - whoever they are in that world. Her parents' theory is that there are infinite dimensions, each different from the next, and that everything has happened in one dimension or another. Paul, one of their assistants, thinks differently. He believes in fate, and that some things are destined to happen in every dimension.

But Marguerite is forced to forget about everything Paul has said, and the feelings she was developing for him, when he murders her father and escapes to another dimension. With the help of Theo, another assistant of her parents, she must travel through dimensions to catch Paul and kill him.

I absolutely loved this book, and I cannot wait until the sequel is released. The concept of there being infinite dimensions where one person's life could play out in so many different ways was so interesting. It also allowed the reader to see many sides to each character, and I think that was done very well. Sometimes being placed in a different scenario can really change a person, but there is always that core personality that is them no matter where they are at or what they are forced to deal with. The character development was great to see and this was a unique spin that made it that much better.

The moral issues dealt with, when it came to traveling between dimensions, was excellent as well. Marguerite had to wonder whether relationships with one version of a person could really transfer to their other self. Could she trust the same people in one dimension as she could in another? If someone fell in love with multiple versions of a person, did they love several people, or just one? The issue was also talked about that traveling to different dimensions meant taking over someone else's body. How long could you take over someone's life before it was morally wrong? What decisions of theirs was it okay to make? I really like that these concepts were looked into and thought about through the story, as it made things feel more realistic and gave the reader some interesting points to think about as well.

One thing that I had a kind of love/hate relationship with were the twists. I feel like, in a couple of situations, things happened and then were taken back. While I liked the way things turned out, it was frustrating to think something for most of the novel and then have it taken away. The twists all made sense, but I feel like some of them could have been left out and might have made for a better story.

Either way, I was so invested in the story and these characters. I truly wanted the best for them and I will definitely be picking up the sequel as soon as it comes out. I'm especially happy that, while this book left plenty of room for sequels, there was not a terrible cliffhanger - which makes the wait between this and book two a bit easier!