OK. Here’s where I’ll say it. This cosmos we live in is grand and full of wonderful surprises.
These surprises will continue to reveal themselves and, more likely than not, they’ll be things we never even dreamed of. So, to think that we humans are the only intelligent life in our universe, in my opinion, is ludicrous. I believe that intelligent life exists elsewhere, although it may not look or sound or think like us. I also think that these beings may have visited our planet and may continue to do so. If we’re exploring space, why wouldn’t they?
If you believe the above, it’s not a giant leap to think that there could be a parallel universe; that the Ed Goldberg of here and now may exist in a parallel universe, at a different time. (I’m not as sure of this as I am of other intelligent beings, but I’m not dismissing it either.)
Such is the case with Abigail (Abby) Barnes in Lauren Miller’s debut novel, Parallel. The problem is that, while normally these parallel universes exist independently, her present and parallel lives collide. Unfortunately, her parallel Abby’s (Abby 2, for these purposes) life is about a year behind. Because of this collision, an action by Abby 2 impacts the life of Abby, who has no memory of the intervening year since Abby 2 hasn’t lived it yet.
Sound complicated? Well, it’s not…it’s merely the way I describe it that sounds convoluted. Simply put, similar to a butterfly flapping its wings in the Amazon and causing a ripple in Africa, such is Abby 2’s impact on current Abby. Enough of that.
Lauren Miller has written a very interesting, fun read and it’s not complicated following the events (as some reviews suggested). In Librarything, the 10 reviews gave it 4 1/2 stars. Not bad! You immediately like Abby and her geeky friend Caitlin. You sympathize when she wakes up in a strange place because of an action in the parallel world. Of course, there’s romance involved as well. You have to expect that.
Overall, Parallel is a fun read. (I will admit, I didn’t love the last few pages of the ending, but I understand why Ms. Miller ended the book that way.)
Two Heads Together 