Gypsy Reviews

4.5/5Originally posted at Gypsy ReviewsI received an eARC from HarperTeen via Edelweiss. Thank you very much!Parallel brings up the mysterious concept of parallel worlds and what happens if one day your world collided with your parallel’s and suddenly, her decisions dictate your future? Miller is able to create a fantastic story that kept me curious and marveling at the wonders of science, relating to the characters and made me torn between two characters who were actually one person.Abby Barnes is smart, determined, focused and has a plan. She’s got her priorities straight, knows what she’s doing but sometimes she’s a little too focused on her Plan, she forgets about her surroundings. But there are a lot of things that don’t go the way she planned it and I found myself rather liking Abby. That she was determined to get her own life back and try to take control of her own destiny and not ler her parallel dictate that for her. She was also quite realistic and didn’t go crazy or overreact, she made logical decisions and opened her mind to possibilities.It was definitely very interesting to read from the two perspectives of Abby because for one, when you’re in present Abby’s position, you feel that the Parallel is the enemy and she’s making all the bad decisions. But from the Parallel’s perspective, her decisions seem to be the right ones in her position. It gives you a whole entirely new way of looking at perspective. It was confusing at first to grasp the two Abbys but I got the hang of it at the second chapter. I really loved the way the story was told, it all coincided very nicely so the pacing was good until the end. That was a little rushed for my taste because everything was resolved very quickly and I felt more build-up could have been done beforehand.There are two guys involved in Abby’s life, present Abby and Parallel Abby and because we got both perspectives, it was so hard to choose who you were rooting for haha. They did seem a little similar though, Josh and Michael, I don’t feel like we got enough of their own personalities coming out. Though I did like seeing how their relationships with Abby progressed, I’m always here for progression *thumbs up* I did get mindblown at one point and that was the best part of the book haha.The secondary characters were good and the development was well-written. You could really see that some of these people in Abby’s life really were important to her and it’s great to see a character so connected to her friends and family, really makes her seem grounded. Caitlin was a character I liked very much, although she looks like a Model, she tries very hard to do well and is fascinated with Science. Couple that with the fact that she is dyslexic, you see someone who is level-headed and down-to-earth who has her own goals in life and yet her own insecurities.I had sort of a geek out moment with all the scientific terms and explanations in the book haha. Miller did great with this part because it wasn’t too sophisticated to the point where a layman wouldn’t understand but it also wasn’t too simple to where it was too boring and unbelievable. Also, loved the writing! I did quite a bit of highlighting in my Kindle haha and that’s rare because I usually don’t do too much highlighting, I’m picky when it comes to quotes I like. Miller mainly concentrates on the concept that no matter what, your decisions are going to lead to this result, it all really depends on when? That your life is already pre-destined and even if you decide that, you’re going to end up where you were always meant to be. She did well making Abby discover that and it was a journey of self-discovery for Abby too.This didn’t affect my rating but I thought I should mention it, there were many grammar and spelling mistakes in the ARC, more than I normally see in an ARC so it’s pretty unusual. Though not uncommon because ARCs are subjected to grammar and spelling mistakes so hopefully, none of them are in the finished copy.I really enjoyed Parallel, it’s smartly-written and I had such fun reading it. It was refreshing to read something different and sci-fi, touching on topics such as destiny and how much your choices can change the future, no matter how small or big. It reminds you that you shouldn’t take any decision too lightly because you never know the impact it could have. I highly recommend Parallel to everyone!