ARC Review--A Thousand Pieces of You by Claudia Gray

Every Day meets Cloud Atlas in this heart-racing, space- and time-bending, epic new trilogy from New York Times bestselling author Claudia Gray.

Marguerite Caine’s physicist parents are known for their radical scientific achievements. Their most astonishing invention: the Firebird, which allows users to jump into parallel universes, some vastly altered from our own. But when Marguerite’s father is murdered, the killer—her parent’s handsome and enigmatic assistant Paul—escapes into another dimension before the law can touch him.

Marguerite can’t let the man who destroyed her family go free, and she races after Paul through different universes, where their lives entangle in increasingly familiar ways. With each encounter she begins to question Paul’s guilt—and her own heart. Soon she discovers the truth behind her father’s death is more sinister than she ever could have imagined.

A Thousand Pieces of You explores a reality where we witness the countless other lives we might lead in an amazingly intricate multiverse, and ask whether, amid infinite possibilities, one love can endure.

I received this ARC while at RT 2014 earlier this year, I was in no way compensated for this review.


I really had no idea what Claudia Gray's A Thousand Pieces of You was going to be about when I picked it up at RT earlier this year. I had just heard some buzz about it prior to getting it and when I saw it up for grabs, well, I grabbed! Sadly, I don't have a pretty cover on the ARC so I will definitely need to buy a final copy!

This book, starts off a tad complicated, at least for me because we deal with physics and anything science related is a no-no for me! But luckily, Marguerite--our heroine--isn't really a physics type girl either despite having parents who are. She's basically the odd duck in the family, choosing art over science, but she's still pretty smart in her own rights. After getting an idea of how the time traveling works, we are immediately launched into the story with Marguerite and Theo chasing after Paul who had just murdered Marguerite's father. They want revenge and will travel through however many dimensions it takes to get it.

I loved this idea of traveling to other dimensions. It's not time traveling, but literally going to other different worlds. Claudia best explains is like every time fate flips a coin, a new dimension is created. And you can only travel to other dimensions where your self exists, for you kind of jump into your other body. It's hard to explain, but Claudia does it marvelously! I struggled for a bit in the understanding of it all at first, but in no time at all I had it down pat!

I found the storytelling to be very interesting! We're set in the present with Marguerite, but there are multiple flashbacks in the beginning, literal "remembering when" moments that help to give us an idea of what's going on and what's happened, all that jazz, and it flowed along really easily. You knew when you were remembering something and when you were in the present.

Things get really intense when Marguerite finds Paul in the first dimension that they go to, but apparently, things aren't exactly what they seem. While it seems Paul is the definite murderer of her father, there's definitely more to the story. And let me tell you, that is as vague as I can get! But once the seed is planted, Marguerite can't let it go despite Theo wanting to exact revenge for what Paul did...or didn't do!

Yes, I did just do that! What I found to be one of the most exciting parts of this story is all the dimensions we went to. There were dimensions where the Beatles didn't exist, where we had a tPhone instead! It was just remarkable! And sometimes, the dimensions were even a bit behind on the times, like no electricity or internet! It was just amazing! I loved exploring all these different worlds. The science behind the matters even became lost, you don't have to be totally knowledgeable on the subject to grasp what's going on and how all this is possible!

I won't say much on the matter, but yes, there's romance. It's quite complicated in a lot of ways too, but at the same time it's totally real! Things happen within these romances and there's some conflicting feelings Marguerite has and they are totally real conflicts! I love how these twisted things result in something that feels totally real!

There's a bigger part of the story that I can't mention, but let's just say it's what totally sets this trilogy into motion! There's a course set ahead for Marguerite, as to what that will be now at this point is still up in air, but I must say I loved how it ended! It's an ending truly worthy of many possibilities. *grins*

A Thousand Pieces of You is an astounding and remarkable read that will take you away to new places, but not new worlds...for you're simply visiting other dimensions! Coupled with good mystery and secrets, this read just blew me away and I can't wait to go back!


Overall Rating 4.5/5 stars--a rocky start with the physics talk, but takes off beautifully after that!


A Thousand Pieces of You releases November 4, 2014