Review:One Past Midnight aka Between the Lives by Jessica Shirvington

 
One Past Midnight by Jessica Shirvington

Above all else, though I try not to think about it, I know which life I prefer. And every night when I Cinderella myself from one life to the next a very small, but definite, piece of me dies. The hardest part is that nothing about my situation has ever changed. There is no loophole.
Until now, that is...
For as long as she can remember, Sabine has lived two lives. Every 24 hours she Shifts to her ′other′ life - a life where she is exactly the same, but absolutely everything else is different: different family, different friends, different social expectations. In one life she has a sister, in the other she does not. In one life she′s a straight-A student with the perfect boyfriend, in the other she′s considered a reckless delinquent. Nothing about her situation has ever changed, until the day when she discovers a glitch: the arm she breaks in one life is perfectly fine in the other.
With this new knowledge, Sabine begins a series of increasingly risky experiments which bring her dangerously close to the life she′s always wanted... But just what - and who - is she really risking?

Publishes in US: July 22nd 2014 by Bloomsbury USA Childrens
Genre: YA Paranormal
Source: Bloomsbury via Netgalley
Series? no

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    I wanted to read Between the Lives because I love the idea of the parallel universe and the ripple effect of decisions. This is a little different because she lives two lives and she has to be careful about ink, injuries, meds, and hair changes because it effects the other life, but then when she breaks her arm and its just fine in the other life, it causes her to examine what she thought she'd figured out long ago about her shifts and double lives. 

    I'll admit, when I first started I was a little confused about the shifts and how in the past she'd carried over things like tonsilitis and now the broken wrist doesn't travel. I wondered about how her absence was handled in the 24 hours she is in the other "universe" and the general mechanics. Though the confusion didn't stop me, I was all in quickly because of how different her two Sabine's lives are. 

   It was interesting how different she acted in both lives, being what those around her expected. In Wessley, she lived up to rich girl, dressing the part and had the token popular Dex, who although he seems like he should be perfect, something just feels off. It is a big deal to Sabine while she kisses him, she counts and don't make it too many numbers. 

    Her Roxboro life, her parents aren't as high standards, but she absolutely adores her little sister Maddie. She has a close friend who is a little wild like her, or maybe Sabine is wild herself because of Capri. They dress in minis, and have the goth feel going on. She thinks that this should be the life that she gets ride of, but Maddie holds her back in a big way. Until she meets Ethan. I adored him, and loved how understanding he tried to be and how no matter how things look, that he still treats her with respect and wants the best for her. 

    But he has a secret but Sabine doesn't dig too deep. She is worried about the toll the shifts and living every day twice is taking on her, not to mention the physical when she shifts. But when tragic things happen in both life, and she is faced with the reality of what she's doing to her body and would it really count if she ended one life to life the other fully. She has people around her that are showing her what they think of life, and how precious, but Sabine isn't keen on it. She wants to live the one life, and not look at what could be turned into a positive having the chances she gets. 

    Even though both worlds are extremely similar, people are a bit different, stores not quite the same. Then there is how she's chosen to grow up and act in each set of 24 hours. I really enjoyed how Jessica Shirvington used this theme for her big twist and helping to heal a part of my heart that was previously broken in the way that some of the story ends up playing out. 

    The romance was... different. Two different guys for two different personalities on the surface, but the same strong heart and determination inside. But I like how it ended up, and though there was two guys, it was different than a traditional love triangle.

Bottom Line: Good book about parallel lives and a girl making a choice how to live.

My question to you, my lovely readers:
Do you believe in parallel universes?