SPLIT

When Wade’s mother dies, his reality splits. In one dimension, he is good Wade, a worrywart math genius who’s trying to save his town from a potentially dangerous particle collider. In the dimension next door, he is bad Wade, a ne’er-do-well guitar player who’s on the run from the mob. When both Wades visit their mother’s grave, they end up switching places so each Wade can use his unique skills to solve the other Wade’s dire situation. This Butterfly Effect–meets–Sliding Doors thriller fails to hit the mark because the contrived plot, with its obvious message of choice and consequence, leaves readers with very little to figure out on their own. Good Wade even wonders to himself, “I’m not one for spiritual explanations, but could that be why we switched? To solve each other’s problems?” Petrucha writes good banter, and he weaves some interesting Trickster mythology into bad Wade’s storyline, but that’s not enough to save this overworked sci-fi tale. For a much better wrought interdimensional comedy, try Printz Award–winning Going Bovine (2009) instead. (Science fiction. 13 & up)