Book Review: “Between The Lives” by Jessica Shirvington
Title: Between The Lives
Author: Jessica Shirvington
Genre: Young Adult – Contemporary / Psychological Thriller
Release Date: August 7th, 2014
Published by: Orchard Books
I received this from Orchard Books in exchange for an honest review. As always, my reviews are fair and non-bias.
The perfect life or the perfect love. You choose.
For as long as she can remember, Sabine has lived two lives. Every 24 hours she shifts to her ‘other’ life – a life where she is exactly the same, but absolutely everything else is different: different family, different friends, different social expectations. In one life she has a sister, in the other she does not. In one life she’s a straight-A student with the perfect boyfriend, in the other she’s considered a reckless delinquent. Nothing about her situation has ever changed, until the day when she discovers a glitch: the arm she breaks in one life is perfectly fine in the other.
With this new knowledge, Sabine begins a series of increasingly risky experiments that bring her dangerously close to the life she’s always wanted. But if she can only have one life, which is the one she’ll choose?
A compelling psychological thriller about a girl who lives two parallel lives – this is Sliding Doors for the YA audience.
For as long as she can remember, Sabine has lived two lives. Every 24 hours she shifts to her ‘other’ life – a life where she is exactly the same, but absolutely everything else is different: different family, different friends, different social expectations. In one life she has a sister, in the other she does not. In one life she’s a straight-A student with the perfect boyfriend, in the other she’s considered a reckless delinquent. Nothing about her situation has ever changed, until the day when she discovers a glitch: the arm she breaks in one life is perfectly fine in the other.
With this new knowledge, Sabine begins a series of increasingly risky experiments that bring her dangerously close to the life she’s always wanted. But if she can only have one life, which is the one she’ll choose?
A compelling psychological thriller about a girl who lives two parallel lives – this is Sliding Doors for the YA audience.
I was instantly compelled to read Between The Lives right from the synopsis. One, I love psychological thrillers, and two; Sliding Doors for teens sounded like it checked every box for me.
Sabine has two lives. Every night at midnight, she “shifts” into her other life, back and forth so much that it makes her sick to her stomach. In one world, her life is blissfully perfect, but she’s just not that happy there. In her other life, it’s simple and quiet, unlike her other life completely. Even her siblings in the worlds are different.
So when Sabine breaks her arm in one world and in the other it’s perfectly fine, she notices the first of many “glitches” to come. Glitches happen sometimes in her worlds, she’ll see a man from her one life who has a different career and lifestyle in another. But this glitch is different, and so she starts on a course of testing the boundaries as far as she can. Medicating herself in one world, even self inflicting wounds to see if the body transfers them to the other world. But when Ethan, a friend of her Parents who regularly comes into their workplace, catches on to her drug stealing, her Parents also catch on in one world. But telling has never been an option for Sabine – anyone would be right to think she was mad – and whatever the outcome, she had to be sure that it didn’t disrupt her plan. But her plans soon get ripped to shreds by her Parents when they catch on to the biggest reveal yet.
Between The Lives was an incredible, thrilling roller-coaster of a book, keeping me on the edge of my seat the entire time. I didn’t want to put it down for anything. Sabine is thrown into insane in one world and perfection in another, but when love and madness collide, she has to decide whether it’s time to get rid of one of her lives, and what outcomes that could cause if she even dared.
I am in awe of this magnificent novel that will be one of my favourite reads, not just this year, but of all time. I can’t recommend it highly enough, and I don’t brag about every book I just like – this is a definite LOVE book. Jessica is definitely an author to watch for and this book is one you can’t afford to miss.
Ah, that ending…I’ll always love that part the most.
YA Contemporary lovers with a twist of a psychological thrill-type element, but it’s not “scary” or anything, so it’s perfect for all readers.
Have you read Between The Lives?
What did you think?
Tell me in the comments or at @LittleMemoirs on twitter!
happy reading!
