Liz Buxbaum has always adored rom-coms, not least for helping her still feel close to her screenwriter mother, who died when she was little. There’s not much plot here, but readers will relish the opportunity to climb inside Autumn’s head.Ī grieving teen’s devotion to romance films might ruin her chances at actual romance. Even secondary characters are well-rounded, with their own histories and motivations. Autumn’s coming-of-age is sensitively chronicled, with a wide range of experiences and events shaping her character.

But on August 8, everything changes, and Autumn has to rely on all her strength to move on. In the summer after graduation, Autumn and Finny reconnect and are finally ready to be more than friends. Growing up, Autumn and Finny were like peas in a pod despite their differences: Autumn is “quirky and odd,” while Finny is “sweet and shy and everyone like him.” But in eighth grade, Autumn and Finny stop being friends due to an unexpected kiss. They drift apart and find new friends, but their friendship keeps asserting itself at parties, shared holiday gatherings and random encounters. The finely drawn characters capture readers’ attention in this debut.Īutumn and Phineas, nicknamed Finny, were born a week apart their mothers are still best friends. The worldbuilding is sometimes clunky but always interesting the villain’s lack of trustworthiness is obvious enough to undermine intrigue, but the deeper into the book, the more entertaining it gets.Īlthough the exposition and story take a while to sync up, Jarzab succeeds with a parallel-world concept that is also an entertaining read. Unsurprisingly for genre readers, Sasha falls for Thomas despite trust issues while also connecting with Juliana’s fiance, charming Prince Callum. The UCC will send Sasha home if she successfully impersonates Juliana and thereby prevents war with Farnham. (In Aurora, the first attempt at revolution in the American colonies failed, and the successful one yielded monarchy.) His mission was to abduct Sasha, as she is an analog to the UCC’s Princess Juliana, who has disappeared shortly before a peace treaty with nearby Farnham is to be sealed through Juliana’s arranged marriage. He is a member of the King’s Elite Service of the United Commonwealth of Columbia. There, she learns that her date is really Thomas Mayhew, Aurora’s analog (a counterpart but not necessarily an exact double) of her classmate. After an amazing prom night with a handsome classmate, Sasha is torn from her world and sent to the parallel world of Aurora.

Ordinary girl Sasha Lawson has dreamt that she is another person, Princess Juliana, since she was a little girl. A girl is forced to take the place of a parallel universe’s version of herself.

Tandem by Anna Jarzab