While You Were Gone Blog Tour: Review + Giveaway

 

Welcome to my stop on the blog tour for While You Were Gone! I'm so excited to be kicking off the second half of the tour! Today I have my review of the book to share with you - and don't forget to enter the giveaway! To follow the rest of the tour, click on the banner above or check out the schedule posted at the end of the post.

While You Were Gone (Duplexity #2)
Author: Amy K. Nichols
Genre: YA Science Fiction/Fantasy
Release Date: August 4, 2015
Publisher: Knopf Books for Young Readers

Description:

An artist without a cause meets a rebel without a clue.

Eevee is a promising young artist and the governor’s daughter in a city where censorship is everywhere and security is everything. When a fire devastates her exhibition—years in the making—her dreams of attending an elite art institute are dashed. She’s struggling to find inspiration when she meets Danny, a boy from a different world. Literally.

Raised in a foster home, Danny has led a life full of hurt and hardship until a glitch in the universe changes everything. Suddenly Danny is living in a home he’s never seen, with parents who miraculously survived the car crash that should have killed them. It’s like he’s a new Danny. But this alternate self has secrets—ties to an underground anarchist group that have already landed him in hot water. When he starts to develop feelings for Eevee, he’s even more disturbed to learn that he might have started the fire that ruined her work.

As Danny sifts through clues from his past and Eevee attempts to piece together her future, they uncover a secret that’s bigger than both of them. . . . And together, they must correct the breach between the worlds before it’s too late. 

While You Were Gone is the second book in a young adult science fiction duology that centers around the concepts of parallel universes and multiverse theory. The main characters from the first book are back - kind of. Because one of the biggest aspects of the story is the existence of parallel universes, we get Eevee and Danny - only they're the Eevee and Danny from completely different worlds than the first book. I hope that made sense. In essence, they're the same characters - the ones in this book just happen to be from another universe than in the first book. I have to admit that I find parallel universes and multiverse theory to be hugely fascinating, so I obviously had to read this duology. There have been quite a few other books lately that have also been focusing on the parallel universe or time travel concepts. I love to read each one because although the focus is the same - no two books are done in the same way. They each have their own explanations and sciences behind the concepts - and I adore learning as much as I can about these aspects in each book I read. This novel was no different. I absolutely loved the science behind the parallel universes and I wanted to know as much about it as I could. Lucky for most of us readers, the author wrote the scientific parts in layman's terms so we could actually understand it. That was a big deal for me, since some books in this category explain the science poorly and leave me completely confused and unable to get into the story itself. I think the author did a fantastic job of explaining all of the scientific stuff along with the parallel universes in an easy to understand way, so that the reader could actually get what was going on in the main story line - but it also allows us to easily slip inside that world without all the confusion. It takes serious talent to be able to accomplish a task like this, so I knew right away that the author is a truly talented writer.

The characters in the book were fascinating to me. They were the same two people as the first book - but, then again, they weren't. It's a bit confusing and hard to explain without going into detail about the whole multiverse theory. Anyway, I really loved getting to know the Eevee and Danny from these worlds. They both kept a lot of the same essential traits and qualities - determination, intelligence, capacity to love. Just like the first book, I adored watching Eevee and Danny meet and seeing their relationship grow and change. It was just as sweet and heartwarming as the first book. The plot was intricate due to several factors, like the dystopian world Eevee is from where the government is gaining absolute control over everything, Danny experiencing a terrible life growing up in foster care in one world and then suddenly being thrown into a different life where his  parents never died and he's had a happy life. Danny's involvement with a secret anarchist group against the government adds yet another level to the story - especially when we find out that he might have been responsible for burning down Eevee's art exhibition. All of the different worlds and lives that the characters experience made the book utterly compelling and I found myself eagerly reading as fast as I could to see what was going to happen next.

Another really big aspect of the book that made me absolutely love it was the point of view it's told from. I talk about the importance of point of view in just about every review I write, because I honestly think it can make or break a story. This book is written in a unique way - it's first person point of view, but the narrator isn't just one character. Eevee and Danny each have their own chapters in the book where they are the narrator. I loved this writing style so much! We got to know not just one main character - but two - on a deeply personal level. We learn their hopes, fears, inner thoughts, emotions, memories, and perspective on what's happening throughout the book. I loved having them both telling the story because we get to see what each character thinks and feels about what's going on, along with their thoughts about the other character. I think this writing style was genius and an absolutely perfect fit for the story! Any other way wouldn't have left such an impact on the reader and we wouldn't have identified with the characters so deeply. Speaking of the writing - it was solid and very well done. It highlights the author's talent along with the wide spectrum of ability that she possesses. Overall, I absolutely loved this book and I highly recommend it to fans of YA fiction - especially those who enjoy science fiction, fantasy, action, adventure, and romance. It's an incredible blend of several genres that readers of all types of fiction will enjoy. The only negative thing I can say is how sad and disappointed I am that this was just a duology and not a full series. I want more of these characters and more of the science and parallel universes! I'm definitely keeping my eye on this author and I can't wait to see what she has in store for us!

Amy K. Nichols has been crafting stories for as long as she can remember. She is the author of YA science fiction novel Now That You're Here, to be published by Knopf December 9, 2014. The follow-up, While You Were Gone, will be published in 2015. She is mentored by award-winning crime novelist James Sallis and lives on the edge of the Sonoran desert with her husband and children. Amy is a member of SCBWI and SFWA, as well as the Class of 2K14 debut authors. Visit her online at http://www.amyknichols.com. 

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Buy Links:  Amazon / Barnes and Noble / iBooks

Giveaway: (10) Winners will receive finished copies of While You Were Gone - US Only!

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Tour Schedule:


Week One:

7/27/2015- Bookhounds ya- Interview

7/28/2015- The Best Books Ever- Review

7/29/2015- Two Chicks on Books- Guest Post

7/30/2015- The Cover Contessa- Review

7/31/2015- Me, My Shelf and I- Interview

Week Two:

8/3/2015- A Dream Within A Dream- Review

8/4/2015- Fiktshun- Guest Post

8/5/2015- Fiction Fare- Review

8/6/2015- Fire and Ice- Interview

8/7/2015- The Young Folks- Review