Throwback YA Review: Tandem (Many-Worlds Trilogy) by Ana Jarzab

Title: Tandem
Author: Anna Jarzab
Series: Many-Worlds
Book #: 1
Pages: 428
Reading Level: NA
Book Rating: 
Goodreads Rating: 3.81
Published: October 8th, 2013

Everything repeats.
You. Your best friend. Every person you know.
Many worlds. Many lives--infinite possibilities.
Welcome to the multiverse.

Sixteen-year-old Sasha Lawson has only ever known one small, ordinary life. When she was young, she loved her grandfather's stories of parallel worlds inhabited by girls who looked like her but led totally different lives. Sasha never believed such worlds were real--until now, when she finds herself thrust into one against her will.

To prevent imminent war, Sasha must slip into the life of an alternate version of herself, a princess who has vanished on the eve of her arranged marriage. If Sasha succeeds in fooling everyone, she will be returned home; if she fails, she'll be trapped in another girl's life forever. As time runs out, Sasha finds herself torn between two worlds, two lives, and two young men vying for her love--one who knows her secret, and one who thinks she's someone she's not.

Taschima's POV:

Something drew me to Tandem. I don't know if it was the quiet blue color of it's cover, the title, or the summary, quite possibly all three combined, but I knew I just HAD to read it right away. And thank goodness I did. I was on a sort of reading rut before I read Tandem and it managed to get me right off it. Tandem is a very solid start to what can possibly be an amazing series given the chance, specially with the ending it left us! I am full of questions and cannot wait for the sequel Tether.

Sasha is a normal girl, living her normal life, in a normal world. Everything is pretty ordinary for her, right until the most outgoing guy in her class (and most popular) asks her to prom. All of a sudden, without warning. She is a little hesitant but she still decides to give this guy a chance, I mean what could possibly go wrong? Big mistake. The guy ends up kidnapping her and taking her to another universe, parallel to her own, to fight a war that isn't hers and slip into the shoes of a stolen princess who looks exactly like her. Sasha is determined to go back home, but if the General has anything to way about it she will have to follow his orders without question in order for him to send her back home. In a world where the only person familiar to her is the guy who abducted her out of her reality, a guy who has now sworn to protect her and be by her side, nothing is what it seems. Enemies become friends, and what looked to be friends become enemies. Then again, isn't this how it goes when it comes to royal families? Nothing, and no one, is what it seems.

I liked the characters in Tandem. I liked Sasha and her determination. She is also very nice and caring. She is more of a princess than the real princess if I do say so myself. Julianna, Sasha's analog (like a double but not really), has the adventurous characteristic I usually love in characters but she can also be very selfish. None of these characters are black and white however so it is difficult to take sides or to judge their actions. Nothing is as it seems. Thomas is very swoon worthy. He is protective and everything, I mean he is a soldier, but he just has a special something about him. He is young, brave, and hopeful. I am expecting him to grow in more darker ways as the series progresses, but I hope he doesn't loose his inherit trust in people.

I am glad the YA universe is coming out with different stories. Parallel universes... Now that's something I hadn't read about too often. It is marvelous, and all I have to say is that once you head into this tale you have to suspend your beliefs and give a chance to the possibilities. The rules of this world aren't exactly like our own, and somethings may seem to unbelievable at first but they have a solid theory backing them up.

The only thing I could say that was off putting about Tandem was the fact that I just knew some of the key plot points. Like I could see them coming a mile off, but it still was very fun to see it play off anyways. Predictable maybe, but I am guessing the second book in the series may be less so, it could go soo many different ways it is kind of exciting to see what the author decides to go with.

The ending! Oh gosh, I can't get Tether here fast enough! Conspiracies need resolving, lovers need reacquainting, princesses need some spankings, and kingdoms need saving! It is very exciting, though it feels like a cliffhanger. It it, and it isn't. You'll know what I mean when you read the book yourself, it is well worth your time.

Next Book in the Series: