At sixteen, Alaric and Naia were as alike as any two people of opposite sexes could be. They had the same dark eyes and hair, same long straight nose, wide mouth—even the same slightly crooked front tooth. But it wasn’t looks alone. Far from it. They shared a history, a lineage, memories, and had lived all their lives in the same house, Withern Rise, where they had occupied the same room, done the same things, more often than not had the same thoughts at the very same instant. And yet...

They had never met.

Alaric and Naia Underwood could be twins, but they aren’t. They live their lives in different versions of the same reality. A quirk of chance determined that one would be a boy, the other a girl. A similar quirk of “fifty-fifty” chance meant that Naia’s mother survived a terrible accident two years ago...but Alaric’s did not. From that point onward, their life stories diverged. Now Alaric and his father live in sullen silence in a dilapidated, neglected house called Withern Rise, while at the same time in an alternate history, Naia lives with both parents in a bright, happy, newly redecorated Withern Rise.

Their strangely alike-yet-different stories begin to criss-cross when Alaric accidently discovers a way into Naia’s world. Naia, similarly, finds her way into Alaric’s version of Withern Rise. He envies her; she pities him. But neither of them are prepared for the change in store for both of them as the pathway between their worlds becomes increasingly, and dangerously, unstable.

In fact, Alaric witnesses more than just Naia’s alternate version of life at Withern Rise. He has encounters with two or three, or possibly four, additional alternatives, some of them quite alarming. And even more spooky is the presence of an old-yet-young stranger who seems to have traveled through the mysterious pathways whose origins are part of the mystery of the founding of Withern Rise.

While I enjoyed this book, its ending left me with feeling as if the story wasn’t finished. One might put such a feeling down to the fact that the book is the start of a trilogy, but I’m not sure that’s the right answer. Perhaps it was more of a feeling that the story was headed in one direction, until it suddenly swerved in another direction and came to a too-abrupt end. Nevertheless I enjoyed this weird, stay-at-home yet cosmic adventure while it lasted, so I plan to read at least the next book in the trilogy: Small Eternities.

Robbie Fischer
USA

Recommended Age: 14+

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