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A review by ampersandread
In Some Other World, Maybe by Shari Goldhagen
4.0
Read this and other reviews at Ampersand Read Blog.
On the surface, it doesn't sound like such a remarkable book. Meet a few young people, and see how they grow (or don't grow) throughout the decades of their lives. Tragedies happen: people die, couples break up, sicknesses hit. And triumphs occur: couples get together, get engaged, characters get promotions, and find success in their careers. So what makes this book, which essentially tells you about handful of character's lives, better than all the other books out there that tell you about a handful of character's lives?
This one is just so darn good. Which sounds like a lame recommendation. But I was excited to return to this book every time I found time to read. It's the strong relationships, and the unifying forces that make this book stand out. In the end, I truly cared about all of them. I wanted them to do well, and every character arc ended in a way that I felt it should.
Every character has a strong tie to the others. They date one another (there's a bit of couple-swapping involved here), they're siblings, they're best friends...and those ties are so defining, so human, that it makes even the serial daters and the whining wannabes endearing.
Adam and Phoebe have the closest bond throughout the novel. They're best friends/lovers/a couple/each others closest confidante. And even when Phoebe is too goody-two-shoes, too shiny, too perfect, it is her dependence on Adam that makes her relatable. He is her weakness, and it helps her arc as a character. Adam is a bit of a womanizer, and his dependence and soft spot for Phoebe endears him to the reader. This relationship isn't his weakness; this relationship is his redeeming quality. Phoebe makes him better, and helped me like him more.
I also loved the unifying theme of the Eons & Empires "franchise" throughout the character's stories. The title is a reference to the concept of the comics: a trio of heroes travels between worlds, destroying or saving lives in each. You get the sense that each of these characters could have different outcomes in "some other world." Maybe some characters get together and stay together. Maybe this person doesn't die. Maybe this one finds happiness and success.
On the surface, it doesn't sound like such a remarkable book. Meet a few young people, and see how they grow (or don't grow) throughout the decades of their lives. Tragedies happen: people die, couples break up, sicknesses hit. And triumphs occur: couples get together, get engaged, characters get promotions, and find success in their careers. So what makes this book, which essentially tells you about handful of character's lives, better than all the other books out there that tell you about a handful of character's lives?
This one is just so darn good. Which sounds like a lame recommendation. But I was excited to return to this book every time I found time to read. It's the strong relationships, and the unifying forces that make this book stand out. In the end, I truly cared about all of them. I wanted them to do well, and every character arc ended in a way that I felt it should.
Every character has a strong tie to the others. They date one another (there's a bit of couple-swapping involved here), they're siblings, they're best friends...and those ties are so defining, so human, that it makes even the serial daters and the whining wannabes endearing.
Adam and Phoebe have the closest bond throughout the novel. They're best friends/lovers/a couple/each others closest confidante. And even when Phoebe is too goody-two-shoes, too shiny, too perfect, it is her dependence on Adam that makes her relatable. He is her weakness, and it helps her arc as a character. Adam is a bit of a womanizer, and his dependence and soft spot for Phoebe endears him to the reader. This relationship isn't his weakness; this relationship is his redeeming quality. Phoebe makes him better, and helped me like him more.
I also loved the unifying theme of the Eons & Empires "franchise" throughout the character's stories. The title is a reference to the concept of the comics: a trio of heroes travels between worlds, destroying or saving lives in each. You get the sense that each of these characters could have different outcomes in "some other world." Maybe some characters get together and stay together. Maybe this person doesn't die. Maybe this one finds happiness and success.