Review: 3:59 by Gretchen McNeil

3:59 by Gretchen McNeil

Josie Byrne's life is spiraling out of control. Her parents are divorcing, her boyfriend Nick has grown distant, and her physics teacher has it in for her. When she's betrayed by the two people she trusts most, Josie thinks things can't get worse.
Until she starts having dreams about a girl named Jo. Every night at the same time—3:59 a.m.
Jo's life is everything Josie wants: she's popular, her parents are happily married, and Nick adores her. It all seems real, but they're just dreams, right? Josie thinks so, until she wakes one night to a shadowy image of herself in the bedroom mirror – Jo.
Josie and Jo realize that they are doppelgängers living in parallel universes that overlap every twelve hours at exactly 3:59. Fascinated by Jo's perfect world, Josie jumps at the chance to jump through the portal and switch places for a day.
But Jo’s world is far from perfect. Not only is Nick not Jo's boyfriend, he hates her. Jo's mom is missing, possibly insane. And at night, shadowy creatures feed on human flesh.
By the end of the day, Josie is desperate to return to her own life. But there’s a problem: Jo has sealed the portal, trapping Josie in this dangerous world. Can she figure out a way home before it’s too late?
From master of suspense Gretchen McNeil comes a riveting and deliciously eerie story about the lives we wish we had – and how they just might kill you.

Publishes in US: September 17th 2013 by Balzer & Bray
Genre: YA Paranormal
Source: Harper Teen, Harper Collins

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    This idea of parallel universes, traveling in time and such have always fascinated me. Because what if I had made a different decision, what if I had more money, what if, what if, what if. And this explores that, Josie jumps at the chance to live a different version of herself. 

    There is a lot of suspense in this one, with attacks and action right away. 

    I connected with and felt for Josie. Her parents were going through a tough seperation and it can't be understated how hard that is. Especially since they both put her in the middle and to top it all off, her mom has been working non-stop and she just feels so isolated and alone. 

    The science in this one really went over my head, but it seems well researched and thought out and though of course stretches the realm of possibility it is grounded in solid ideas. 

     There is a whole other spin on this alternate universe that Josie decides to jump into and try the life of Jo. This world has monsters and they will claw and eat you if you are in the dark. But of course Jo didn't tell Josie that, and she also hid other details from her so that she is surprised while living Jo's life. 

    The romance is interesting, and I liked seeing how nature and nurture made the parallel characters both alike and very different at the same time. I do see a difference between the two Nicks, but I still wish that I would have seen some growth with Josie that she wouldn't have based everything on a boy. I mean, I understand the hormones and attraction, but still. 

    It was unreal how it all worked together and how it was all linked together. The worlds, the characters, the incidents that set it into motion was all crafted well. I also liked how the ending was, I was left with this sense of hope and closure. 

Bottom Line: Loved the premise and the characters were pretty well written.

My question to you, my lovely readers:
 Would you trade for a day with an alternate you in a parallel universe?