A Thousand Pieces of You
Hardcover, 368 pages
Series: Firebird, #1
Published Date: November 4th 2014
Publisher: Harper Teen
Rating: 3.0 Prints
Marguerite Caine’s physicist parents are known for their groundbreaking achievements. Their most astonishing invention, called the Firebird, allows users to jump into multiple universes—and promises to revolutionize science forever. But then Marguerite’s father is murdered, and the killer—her parent’s handsome, enigmatic assistant Paul— escapes into another dimension before the law can touch him.
Marguerite refuses to let the man who destroyed her family go free. So she races after Paul through different universes, always leaping into another version of herself. But she also meets alternate versions of the people she knows—including Paul, whose life entangles with hers in increasingly familiar ways. Before long she begins to question Paul’s guilt—as well as her own heart. And soon she discovers the truth behind her father’s death is far more sinister than she expected.
First of all, I know it has been a while since I last posted. My last post was back in 2019 and I just suddenly popped out to share my thoughts about this book because I am so mad about it that I decided to resurrect my dead blog. I don’t know how to explain the anger that I feel towards this book. I blame Epic Reads for its video explaining the plot of this book. If you want to watch that, you can click here.
Now, I won’t get in much detail in this part of the review because as always, I will break down everything into parts. I was initially giving this book a solid 2, but I felt like that doesn’t seem quite right. It’s actually pretty good if you don’t think much about it. But I do think about what I read and this one frustrates me.
Let’s start.
What I think about:
The Plot
The only thing I like about the plot is the idea and how fast it goes. Let’s go with the compliment first. I like books that are fast-paced and this is one. I like how it does not have a long, too-detailed intro that makes it look like the author just put it there to increase the word count of the book. This is the type of book that you can’t put down, because it’s so light and fast-paced and a lot’s happening already that you are sucked in despite not liking how it’s going. However, when I do put this book down, it’s really hard for me to pick it back up again.
The idea of the plot is great, to be honest. Leaping through different dimensions? Sign me up! I don’t know how alternate dimensions work but I do know that theories state how it’s the possibilities that could happen if we chose a different path whenever we have something to choose from. What am I mad about?
I’m mad because instead of being mainly a sci-fi genre, it’s a romance. Everything about the book should be focused on the leaping and the dimensions and the rivalries, but no. The ratio of sci-fi to romance is 1:2 and that’s annoying because I’m mostly here for the sci-fi part. However, if you like romance books that are slightly cliche, then this book is for you.
The plot in general is very easy to predict that I find myself predicting everything that would happen.
The Characters
For the characters, I’ll only focus on the three main characters and not on the villain or Marguerite’s sister, mother, father, etc.
Marguerite is quite fierce. She was full of grief for her father that she leaped into another dimension to stop the guy who killed him. But Marguerite is so into the two boys that there are instances where she forgets about her father. For me, she is not as interesting as the other female protagonist that I have read.
Paul is so flat. Unlike all the other male protagonist who is interesting, Paul is not. He is far less interesting than Marguerite. Unlike Marguerite, Paul’s confusing as heck. He is a static character whose lines are either cliche, cringe, pathetic, or monotonous. The only Paul that’s interesting for me is Lieutenant Markov. I cannot explain how terrible Paul’s character is. He does not progress, no development at all. I believe this is the only book that I don’t have a crush. It’s disappointing.
Theo is an easy-going character. For me, Theo is better than Paul. He has personality and drops far more interesting lines that Paul. He does not have a very strong motive though (or I just don’t understand what he really wants). He is confusing as a character.
Overall, the characters on this book does not really have development or any personality that I can tell them apart quite easily. They are quite forgettable.
The Writing
Okay, here we go. The part where I am so excited to rant about.
WHAT IS THIS?
I say this is not a good writing. The book is like a fanfiction for the main characters. The alternate universes feel like it’s written for fanfiction.net, ao3, and wattpad. I cannot even put into words how much I cringe because of the writing.
First of all, the author did not explain how everything works. For me, this is written so lazily that all we get are lines that dismisses the explanations. It’s pathetic. The reveals are so boring because of the way the lines were delivered. I always use my writing as an example of a bad-writing. I am an amateur, an author-wannabe. THIS IS AN ACTUAL AUTHOR. So why on earth would a New York Times Bestselling author would write like a trying-hard writing like me? It’s frustrating how this book feels like a fanfiction than the actual book.
The author did not give the characters challenges. Maybe because she didn’t want to think about how she can get her characters away from these challenges. Instead, she just carries her characters like a baby. For example, when Theo and Marguerite went to this dimension where they are under the water, Theo just somehow knows how to drive a submersible because he played a simulation like it. Think about it. Think about it. When you are in a hurry because there is something important that you have to do, are you going to sit down for seven hours and play this simulation? NO. As a character, I won’t do that. Aggghh this is so frustrating!
I don’t want to spoil it. If I talk much about the writing, I might spoil the book. Let’s leave it in: I hate the writing style, the lazy attempt to be quirky and witty, and everything is just sooo boring.
What do you think about this book? Is it as bad as I think it is?
The Book Spy 