A CRACK IN THE LINE

Alaric meets another version of himself in an intriguing story of multiple universes. Alaric lives with his father in Withern Rise, their decrepit family home. The two have lived barren and dysfunctional lives since the death of Alaric’s mother two years before. Magic brings Alaric to a world almost like his own—but not quite. His counterpart is Naia, a girl very like himself. Withern Rise is the same, and the teens look as similar as two people can, but Naia’s mother is alive. In this universe, she survived the accident that left her with a 50/50 chance to live. What separated the two universes? The 50% chance of survival? The chance that Alaric/Naia would be a boy instead of a girl? A choice made generations earlier? Convoluted but compelling, this moving tale dwells on life, grief, and choices. (Fiction. YA)