This week marks the paperback release of Through to You by Emily Hainsworth which makes it the perfect time to tell you what I thought!

Through to You by Emily Hainsworth
Release Date: October 2, 2012
Publisher: Balzer + Bray
Genre: Young Adult Sci-fi/Fantasy
ISBN: 978-0062094193
Source: Library
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Camden Pike has been grief-stricken since his girlfriend, Viv, died. He’d give anything to have just one more glimpse of her. But when Cam visits the site of Viv’s deadly car accident, he sees an apparition. Her name is Nina, and she’s a girl from a parallel world. When Cam follows her there and makes an unbelievable discovery, it’s as if all his wildest dreams have come true. But things are very different in this other world. Nina is hiding a secret, and the window between the worlds is shrinking every day. As Cam comes to terms with the truth, he’s forced to make a choice that will change his life forever.

As a huge fan of stories about parallel worlds, I had to read Through to You. And I’m glad I did. What an excellent execution here. Sure, you can calculate what’s going to happen but there’s so much to take away from the journey here. After all, the journey is what it’s all about. This book tackles so many things…what it means to trust others and be honest with yourself, grief, what to do with second chances, friendship, isolation, hope, fear, and so much more. It’s so compelling but at a pace that I wasn’t expecting so you really get to sit back and enjoy every bit of the ride. Even though I was struck by the pacing, this book is definitely a page turner. Cam, Liv, and Nina captivate your full attention on every single page.

This is the part I’m hung up on, but I can’t exactly ask how two versions of the same person can seem so different…

This story is a great example that we will never really know every side to a person. Even ourselves. Not only that, there’s so much pain and desperation brought forth especially at the climax and it’s such a moment of realization. Such an Aha moment, personally, wanting parts of myself that are long dead. Figuring out how to move forward, leaving behind what needs to be left behind and taking with me what needs to be taken. Ah, the lessons we learn on this journey.

…I thought she was worried about Nina, but she wants what her dead self had?

I loved watching Cam grow throughout the book and was wholeheartedly rooting for him so his growth was very rewarding. Hopeful. I loved the rich layers of his relationships between his parents and those at school. The imagery of the world came so easily which was fascinating because Hainsworth doesn’t bog the reader down with a lot of description. Yet I saw this world so clearly. There is so much to appreciate about this book so if this sounds like a book you would enjoy, I can tell you it is. Through to You is a beautiful, solid debut and I can’t wait to read what Hainsworth releases next.

Through to You by Emily Hainsworth is available now.