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A review by pastelwriter
The Space Between Worlds by Micaiah Johnson
adventurous
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
I had such a good time reading this book! It hooked me from the very start.
The writing in this book was light enough to make this a breeze to get through while at the same time being substantial enough to deliver on the world building and themes explored by the narrative. It's honestly such strong writing for a debut. It never felt like the story was dragging. I was never confused about the world. I felt like I had gotten into a smooth sailing ship.
Honestly, one of my favorite things about this book was the world. It was the perfect mix of quasi-dystopian and realistic. It felt like a lived-in world. It wasn't like we learned about every nook and cranny of this world, but it was enough to make it feel like you knew everything you needed to in order to be right there with the protagonist.
My favorite part of this book, of course, was the characters. I was a huge fan of the antagonist(s) of this book. There were two men in particular in this book that were excellent antagonists because they were never reduced to caricatures of villains. They had realistic flaws and desires. They felt the full range of human emotion. They made decisions that made sense without turning into a cackling villain trying to destroy the whole world.Like, when we found out Adam was killing his other selves in other earths along with anyone who got too close to figuring out how to develop inter dimensional travel? I fucking SCREAMED. So fucking good.
In addition, our protagonist and her love interest were so good! Cara was such a complex character. She had such conflicting desires and motivations. She was certainly not a perfect woman.For example, when Cara brought up how she'd had sex with other world's versions of Del? I was like HOLY SHIT that's fucked up. Through it all, though, I was rooting for Cara. And I was rooting for Cara and Del (not sure if this is the spelling for her name) to get their act together and admit their feelings for one another. Their slowburn romance was killing me. The sapphic vibes and the yearning were impeccable. Honestly, I was left feeling like I could have easily read 100 more pages about the two of them and their feelings for one another.
In addition, I love any book which talks about belonging and whose lives are valued. Cara wants desperately to belong in Wiley City. She thinks acquiring citizenship will make her life finally matter--which of course is completely misguided. Citizenship doesn't make you belong in a place that doesn't value you because of your roots. When where you were born means those around you think you are less than, it doesn't matter if you carve a place for yourself in their world.
Furthermore, Cara's need for belonging also translates into her having a consistent pattern of desperately wanting to be loved and accepted by those around her--to the point that she falls into toxic relationships because she wants to be wanted to badly.
Finally, as my spoilers have hinted at, the plot twists in this book were SO GOOD. Ugh. I loved them. They weren't mind blowing in terms of being completely out of left field, but I was still left gasping a few times at the turn of events.
If there is one complaint I have about this book, it would be that the ending felt like it could have used more page time. The ending felt a little rushed. Regardless, it was a good ending.
P.S. I also love that in this book the different earths have characters repeating similar patterns. People, in many ways, are "destined" to meet or "destined" to feel certain ways about each other. Whether these relationships work for the better or worse of those involved depend on other decisions made by the individuals in a particular earth. It's fucking great. As someone who is trash for the idea of soulmates, this book explored a similar idea in a much more nuanced way.
The writing in this book was light enough to make this a breeze to get through while at the same time being substantial enough to deliver on the world building and themes explored by the narrative. It's honestly such strong writing for a debut. It never felt like the story was dragging. I was never confused about the world. I felt like I had gotten into a smooth sailing ship.
Honestly, one of my favorite things about this book was the world. It was the perfect mix of quasi-dystopian and realistic. It felt like a lived-in world. It wasn't like we learned about every nook and cranny of this world, but it was enough to make it feel like you knew everything you needed to in order to be right there with the protagonist.
My favorite part of this book, of course, was the characters. I was a huge fan of the antagonist(s) of this book. There were two men in particular in this book that were excellent antagonists because they were never reduced to caricatures of villains. They had realistic flaws and desires. They felt the full range of human emotion. They made decisions that made sense without turning into a cackling villain trying to destroy the whole world.
In addition, our protagonist and her love interest were so good! Cara was such a complex character. She had such conflicting desires and motivations. She was certainly not a perfect woman.
In addition, I love any book which talks about belonging and whose lives are valued. Cara wants desperately to belong in Wiley City. She thinks acquiring citizenship will make her life finally matter--which of course is completely misguided. Citizenship doesn't make you belong in a place that doesn't value you because of your roots. When where you were born means those around you think you are less than, it doesn't matter if you carve a place for yourself in their world.
Furthermore, Cara's need for belonging also translates into her having a consistent pattern of desperately wanting to be loved and accepted by those around her--to the point that she falls into toxic relationships because she wants to be wanted to badly.
Finally, as my spoilers have hinted at, the plot twists in this book were SO GOOD. Ugh. I loved them. They weren't mind blowing in terms of being completely out of left field, but I was still left gasping a few times at the turn of events.
If there is one complaint I have about this book, it would be that the ending felt like it could have used more page time. The ending felt a little rushed. Regardless, it was a good ending.
P.S. I also love that in this book the different earths have characters repeating similar patterns. People, in many ways, are "destined" to meet or "destined" to feel certain ways about each other. Whether these relationships work for the better or worse of those involved depend on other decisions made by the individuals in a particular earth. It's fucking great. As someone who is trash for the idea of soulmates, this book explored a similar idea in a much more nuanced way.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Domestic abuse, Violence, Blood, Toxic relationship, Death, Grief, and Physical abuse
Moderate: Death of parent