The Space Between Worlds (utgåvan 2020)

OK, I rarely pick up science fiction, for no particular reason other than it just doesn't always appeal to me. However, this one really impressed me!







Review:



When I first picked up this book I assumed the author was a male, but I am stoked to announce I was wrong! Sci-fi generally feels like a male-dominated space so it's awesome to see women killing it.







I was doing so well with the world-hopping in this book, right until the end. Unlike time-hopping where things change and actions have a butterfly effect (things tend to get messy and confusing), this story had several versions of Earth, so a parallel universe situation. By the end of the story, the volume of character multiplied with each version of Earth we were introduced to. Still, much easier than time-hopping.



Johnson kept the surprises coming, this story was constantly peeling back new revelations that changed the trajectory multiple times and I loved it!



There was also some great social discourse woven in, touching on race, religion/beliefs, and classism.



I really loved the main character, Cara. She is a survivor and I was always cheering for her. She has a complicated family history but her relationship with her sister was beautiful, especially given their very different paths.



“I guess it’s easy to be confident when you’re helpless, easy to be fearless when you have nothing left to lose”Micaiah Johnson, The Space Between Worlds



There is triggering content with Cara's male romance. Cara provides a lot of self-reflection and details of the physical violence she suffered in that dynamic. It was interesting how this relationship out across the worlds, and I think offered insight into the cycle of abuse in toxic relationships. Definitely a great discussion point.



Personally, I felt like the book could have ended at one point, and then continued as a second book (and been extended as a result to fill book 2). Regardless, I loved it and would read more by Johnson for sure!















I hope you enjoyed my thoughts onThe Space Between Worlds. Have you read this? Tell me what you thought! 



Feel free to comment below or on my 'bookstagram' at @ReadWithWine . 
This review was originally posted on ReadWithWine ( )

Wow. This book was pretty much perfect. Gritty, searing, believable, emotional. And gay, that's a plus ;)

It's really gotten me thinking about parallel worlds: would I get along with my avatars in any given world? If they'd had different experiences, would they have wound up the same in the end, or would they be totally changed? Is there a version of me that's a mass murderer, or is the worst I could be an annoying preacher's kid?

There's also a ton about class, about place, about abusive relationships, about gang dynamics and corporate evil. There's just a LOT, packed into one book. ( )

Wow. This book was pretty much perfect. Gritty, searing, believable, emotional. And gay, that's a plus ;)

It's really gotten me thinking about parallel worlds: would I get along with my avatars in any given world? If they'd had different experiences, would they have wound up the same in the end, or would they be totally changed? Is there a version of me that's a mass murderer, or is the worst I could be an annoying preacher's kid?

There's also a ton about class, about place, about abusive relationships, about gang dynamics and corporate evil. There's just a LOT, packed into one book. ( )

It was difficult for me to get into this book at the start—the state of our world is so bad, and this book highlighted a lot of the ways that is so, so I kept putting it down to stop myself from despairing. But it's really such a clever, twisty sci-fi suspense story, eventually I got to the point where I couldn't put it down at all. ( )

Johnson, Micaiah. The Space Between Worlds. Del Rey, 2020.
The Space Between Worlds is a promising, if flawed, debut novel. Micaiah Johnson grew up in a town in the Mohave desert, and her dystopian world seems to be a cancerous version of her hometown. Wiley City is a technologically advanced desert enclave surrounded by badlands and a violent slum called Ashtown. The environment is so harsh that even mad dogs and Englishmen would die in the noonday sun. The economy of Wiley City seems to be supported by trade with alternate versions of itself. It is probably best that the novel never tells us much about how this works. Physically punishing travel to across the dimensions is supposed to be possible only by those whose doppelgangers have already died. Cara, a girl from the Ashtown slums, is perfect for the job since most of her alternate selves have died. The story is propelled by Cara’s interactions with the many versions of friends and bosses. Johnson has said that Pride and Prejudice is a well-concealed inspiration. The character drama is engaging enough, but the world-building could use some fleshing out and its fantastic elements dialed back with a little more science. ( )