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booksthatburn's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
mysterious
reflective
tense
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Dimensional travel is possible, but only if your doppelganger is dead. The MC travels to a world where her double was recently murdered, and the plot gets going in earnest from there. I was pleasantly surprised by how deliberate the pacing is, it doesn't rush to get us to that very important journey. Instead we linger in the setup, getting to know the hub world and at least one other before she goes to the plot-important one for the first time.
The MC is mostly a reliable narrator, but when she travels she can be very wrong about what’s happening in a particular world. This is used to its full advantage, creating subversion and surprise as she discovers mistakes in her assumptions and the new possibilities opened by those gaps. The plot which I thought would take the whole book to tell turned out to just be the first half before twisting all that was set up before to tell an even more interesting story. I would have been content with the story I thought I was getting, but I love what it turned out to be. This even included two of my favorite things: heists and interpersonal politics. So much of this book is built on understanding people, cultures, and how shifts in either between worlds change what can and cannot be done, what words to use, and how things will go down once they’re in motion.
The world-building (heh) is really good! It focuses on two main places and then gradually describes them by talking about how things (and people) are the same or different in the parallel worlds. It creates a feeling where every description of the background or a character is there for a reason. Would we normally care that this house is white? Maybe, maybe not, but if it’s a different color on most worlds and this time that indicates something important because of the knock-on effects of changes like [pick whatever spoiler you want], that makes it feel like the details matter. And, hey, even if you won’t remember what that house color was it still did its job and informed the world. This could have been and info-dumping nightmare of a book and instead it uses everything to make the worlds feel significant with its focus. It keeps the number of frequently referenced worlds low enough for the important ones to be memorable, but also giving little tidbits about ones we won’t actually get to see. I love parallel worlds and time travel stories and this was fantastic. The number of secondary characters whose variants I had to track was mercifully short, letting me enjoy the machinations without getting confused about which versions did or said which thing.
The backstory (and, increasingly, the main story) is chock-full of trauma, for the MC and most of the secondary characters as well. Check the CWs, because the book’s MC is dead on over 370 worlds and we find out many of the common reasons. It’s a steady drip of sometimes horrific details that fit the story and matter to current events, but none of the worlds are kind to children, and many of them were especially rough on the MC. It’s a great premise, and I appreciate how the book uses it to comment on the classism and racism inherent in a system which requires people who are dead elsewhere, which means they’re probably not privileged in the main world either. Little details like that are used really well throughout the book and I loved every minute of it.
The MC is mostly a reliable narrator, but when she travels she can be very wrong about what’s happening in a particular world. This is used to its full advantage, creating subversion and surprise as she discovers mistakes in her assumptions and the new possibilities opened by those gaps. The plot which I thought would take the whole book to tell turned out to just be the first half before twisting all that was set up before to tell an even more interesting story. I would have been content with the story I thought I was getting, but I love what it turned out to be. This even included two of my favorite things: heists and interpersonal politics. So much of this book is built on understanding people, cultures, and how shifts in either between worlds change what can and cannot be done, what words to use, and how things will go down once they’re in motion.
The world-building (heh) is really good! It focuses on two main places and then gradually describes them by talking about how things (and people) are the same or different in the parallel worlds. It creates a feeling where every description of the background or a character is there for a reason. Would we normally care that this house is white? Maybe, maybe not, but if it’s a different color on most worlds and this time that indicates something important because of the knock-on effects of changes like [pick whatever spoiler you want], that makes it feel like the details matter. And, hey, even if you won’t remember what that house color was it still did its job and informed the world. This could have been and info-dumping nightmare of a book and instead it uses everything to make the worlds feel significant with its focus. It keeps the number of frequently referenced worlds low enough for the important ones to be memorable, but also giving little tidbits about ones we won’t actually get to see. I love parallel worlds and time travel stories and this was fantastic. The number of secondary characters whose variants I had to track was mercifully short, letting me enjoy the machinations without getting confused about which versions did or said which thing.
The backstory (and, increasingly, the main story) is chock-full of trauma, for the MC and most of the secondary characters as well. Check the CWs, because the book’s MC is dead on over 370 worlds and we find out many of the common reasons. It’s a steady drip of sometimes horrific details that fit the story and matter to current events, but none of the worlds are kind to children, and many of them were especially rough on the MC. It’s a great premise, and I appreciate how the book uses it to comment on the classism and racism inherent in a system which requires people who are dead elsewhere, which means they’re probably not privileged in the main world either. Little details like that are used really well throughout the book and I loved every minute of it.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Violence, Gore, Blood, Torture, and Death
Moderate: Racism, Homophobia, Confinement, and Domestic abuse
Minor: Child abuse, Child death, and Addiction
CW for colonialism, racism, homophobia, gaslighting, confinement, child abuse (backstory), addiction (backstory), child death (not depicted), domestic abuse, violence, gore, blood, torture, major character death, death.kylieqrada's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
mysterious
sad
medium-paced
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
First of all, I checked this book out from work, and it was one of the first books I had covered (that's how I discovered it actually), and the horribleness of my covering job bugged me the whole time I was reading it. But that is neither here nor there because this was super enjoyable!!! This does not in any way read like a debut, and I'll definitely read more from Micaiah Johnson in the future. This is just the kind of sci-fi I like: on the soft side, heavy on the characters and world-building, throw in some social commentary, and I'm sold. This was also SUPER diverse, and even though this follows multiple universes, it's easy to follow. Love love loved it.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Addiction, Blood, Child abuse, Child death, Physical abuse, Toxic relationship, and Violence
malloryfitz's review against another edition
dark
reflective
tense
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Premise- (3.5/5) Alternate universes are such a cool concept. I mean, I never want to get deep into the science and technicalities of it, but I think it always has a lot of potential. Including here! The parallel universes coupled with the mystery-plot was definitely intriguing for me, though it's not exactly my usual genre.
Characters- (4/5) Cara was a really interesting protagonist, especially because we got to see her thoughts and ruminations on the other versions of herself. She was clever and pithy and really self-reflective without ever being weepy or melodramatic or too meta about it. And it was so fascinating to see her relationships with her family, friends, and enemies across different worlds. It really opened those relationships up to deeper depths. It also raised a lot of interesting thought about nature/nurture, and whether people can change, and how much they're shaped by their circumstances. Wrestles with those questions a lot, and Cara's voice was really strong for that.
Plot- (3/5) The thing was, I liked the alternate world plot a lot more than the "actual" plot that the book ended with. The alternate world plot was just a lot more interesting to me than the Earth-0 plot, which was well done, just didn't hold my attention as much. Maybe it was just because I liked the way Johnson played with the idea of a world that's almost yours--if a few things changed that had major shifting consequences. Like I said, the Earth-0 plot, which ended up being the main plot for the second half of the book was well constructed, I just didn't like it as much.
World- (5/5) I really enjoyed Johnson's world building. It wasn't too technical, but the subtleties that were developed between parallel universes gave the worlds a lot of depth. I also liked that we got a good understanding each sector of the world--the city, the Rurals, the Wastes, the desert. And Cara's extensive experience was the perfect way to draw attention to the differences between those settings.
Writing- (4/5) Johnson's writing wasn't flowery, but she had some really poignant lines. And she created a lot of dialogue about important themes like whose lives matter the most, the way class dynamics can play out, and the violence and trauma of growing up in really terrible situations. She was also able to get the book title in there a lot.
Overall- (3.9/5) The Space Between Worlds was a fascinating character study, thanks to the multiverse concept and the protagonist's unique position between these universes. The world building and characters went hand in hand for this book, building on each other to create many-faceted characters and raise questions about how circumstances can shape our personalities. There were a lot of other themes Johnson was able to incorporate too, and Cara was a great protagonist to bring them to light. I did find the main plot to be less compelling than the initial mystery plot, but the character portraits were excellent, and I loved exploring the differences between the parallel universes.
Characters- (4/5) Cara was a really interesting protagonist, especially because we got to see her thoughts and ruminations on the other versions of herself. She was clever and pithy and really self-reflective without ever being weepy or melodramatic or too meta about it. And it was so fascinating to see her relationships with her family, friends, and enemies across different worlds. It really opened those relationships up to deeper depths. It also raised a lot of interesting thought about nature/nurture, and whether people can change, and how much they're shaped by their circumstances. Wrestles with those questions a lot, and Cara's voice was really strong for that.
Plot- (3/5) The thing was, I liked the alternate world plot a lot more than the "actual" plot that the book ended with. The alternate world plot was just a lot more interesting to me than the Earth-0 plot, which was well done, just didn't hold my attention as much. Maybe it was just because I liked the way Johnson played with the idea of a world that's almost yours--if a few things changed that had major shifting consequences. Like I said, the Earth-0 plot, which ended up being the main plot for the second half of the book was well constructed, I just didn't like it as much.
World- (5/5) I really enjoyed Johnson's world building. It wasn't too technical, but the subtleties that were developed between parallel universes gave the worlds a lot of depth. I also liked that we got a good understanding each sector of the world--the city, the Rurals, the Wastes, the desert. And Cara's extensive experience was the perfect way to draw attention to the differences between those settings.
Writing- (4/5) Johnson's writing wasn't flowery, but she had some really poignant lines. And she created a lot of dialogue about important themes like whose lives matter the most, the way class dynamics can play out, and the violence and trauma of growing up in really terrible situations. She was also able to get the book title in there a lot.
Overall- (3.9/5) The Space Between Worlds was a fascinating character study, thanks to the multiverse concept and the protagonist's unique position between these universes. The world building and characters went hand in hand for this book, building on each other to create many-faceted characters and raise questions about how circumstances can shape our personalities. There were a lot of other themes Johnson was able to incorporate too, and Cara was a great protagonist to bring them to light. I did find the main plot to be less compelling than the initial mystery plot, but the character portraits were excellent, and I loved exploring the differences between the parallel universes.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Blood, Body horror, Toxic relationship, and Violence
Moderate: Addiction, Child abuse, Child death, Cursing, Death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Grief, Homophobia, Medical trauma, Physical abuse, and Sexual content
esmithumland's review
adventurous
reflective
tense
medium-paced
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
I was disappointed that this was once again a psuedo-slave narrative, but I understand why these kinds of stories exist and why they're important. The world building was stunning.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death and Toxic relationship
Moderate: Child death and Child abuse
Minor: Addiction, Drug abuse, Emotional abuse, Suicidal thoughts, and Medical content
jessiewolf's review against another edition
adventurous
tense
fast-paced
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
If you love plot, then this book is great for you! If you're more into character connection and evolution, then I think I would say it's only okay. I liked the first half quite a bit, and there were a few twists that worked well, but I didn't feel like the payoff was rewarding enough for any of the characters. Also I went into it thinking that this book was about lesbians in space, which it is definitely not (I should have read the summary first?? lol)! It's about the multiverse, which is cool, and there are queer ladies, but if you are hoping for any kind of romantic swooning or any big payoff for the tension that's built up throughout the book, you may be disappointed.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Domestic abuse, Violence, Toxic relationship, and Physical abuse
Minor: Addiction
gemmagetson's review against another edition
adventurous
mysterious
medium-paced
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Content Warnings
Moderate: Domestic abuse, Gore, Physical abuse, Sexual assault, Violence, and Addiction
Minor: Drug abuse, Drug use, Kidnapping, and Terminal illness
lilifane's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
hopeful
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
I didn't know much about this book when I started reading it, only that it takes place in a world where the multiverse is confirmed and where it's possible to travel between the different earths.
Cara, the protagonist, is one of the few people who get the chance to experience this, because there is one catch: you have to be dead on the other earth, to be able to survive the journey to it. And from the 380 worlds that are similar enough to travel to, Cara is dead on all but 8. So she is hired by the inventor of the technology that makes traversing possible to travel to other worlds and gather information on them, intel that will help her own world to learn and thrive. But then she makes a discovery that changes everything.
I enjoyed the first half of the book a lot. It's a little much at the beginning but the worldbuilding is phenomenal, the cast is diverse and I loved Cara's voice from the start. She is such an amazing complex character. She is strong, smart, ambitious, fragile, makes bad decisions. You get frustrated with her sometimes but she also surprises you when you expect it the least. The writing is beautiful and full of details that get important later. The plot is unexpected, it switches between slow and fast pace, between action and contemplation (it gets a little generic in the second half though). For me it was never about the plot. It's about the world and it's rules, about the character developments, about the struggles between what is right and what is easy to do, about fittng in vs. belonging. I really liked all the characters, even the villains, because due to the multiple earths and versions, you get to know a lot of different aspects of them. I loved the sibling dynamics throught the whole book, the found families, even the spiritual aspects which fit surprisingly well with everything. And then there is this slow burn wlw subplot...
It's really hard for me to describe the book because I haven't read anything like it before and there is so much to think about and discuss. And even though I think the second half was weaker than the first half, the ending was just perfect for me.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Blood, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Gore, Physical abuse, Sexual violence, Toxic relationship, and Violence
Moderate: Grief
Minor: Addiction, Drug abuse, and Drug use
afantasysky's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
tense
medium-paced
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
This book is amazing. Read it.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Physical abuse and Violence
Minor: Toxic relationship, Suicidal thoughts, and Addiction
caseythereader's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
funny
medium-paced
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
📚 Wow, what a premise! Multiverse travel, but make it hinge on race and class. If being dead in many worlds makes you a good traverser, then the poor and oppressed who are more likely to die are the best traversers, not the rich and privileged.
📚 Casual, built-in queerness, but it's not a coming out story.
📚 Several excellent twists, some of which I did not see coming.
📚 The writing is just superb. Excellent dialogue, and I could envision the world perfectly.
📚 I'll follow Micaiah Johnson into any world she creates.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Blood, Death, Physical abuse, and Toxic relationship
Moderate: Addiction and Drug abuse
Minor: Sexual content
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