Review: Tandem by Anna Jarzab

About the book:

Everything repeats.
You. Your best friend. Every person you know.
Many worlds. Many lives--infinite possibilities.
Welcome to the multiverse.

Sixteen-year-old Sasha Lawson has only ever known one small, ordinary life. When she was young, she loved her grandfather's stories of parallel worlds inhabited by girls who looked like her but led totally different lives. Sasha never believed such worlds were real--until now, when she finds herself thrust into one against her will.

To prevent imminent war, Sasha must slip into the life of an alternate version of herself, a princess who has vanished on the eve of her arranged marriage. If Sasha succeeds in fooling everyone, she will be returned home; if she fails, she'll be trapped in another girl's life forever. As time runs out, Sasha finds herself torn between two worlds, two lives, and two young men vying for her love--one who knows her secret, and one who thinks she's someone she's not.

The first book in the Many-Worlds Trilogy, Tandem is a riveting saga of love and betrayal set in parallel universes in which nothing--and no one--is what it seems.

Pages: 428
Published by: Delacorte Books (October 8, 2013)
Genre: YA science fiction/fantasy

My rating for Tandem (Many-Worlds, #1):


I would like to thank Delacorte Books via Netgalley for providing me an eARC of Tandem in exchange for an honest review.
Creativity - 5/5:
This was my first experience reading about parallel universes. Although it took a bit for me to truly grasp the concept and for the sci-if to be explained, I think it is all very interesting. Jarzab did a great job in creating the worlds and the Tandem. I really enjoyed this aspect of novel.

Characters - 3/5:
I really liked Sasha in the beginning. I liked how normal she was and I felt like I could relate to her. I read a review for this book that said Sasha really annoyed the reader because she cried "ALL THE TIME" but I do not think that at all. She cried or teared up a handful of times, but they were all legitimate moments, like when she was overwhelmed by being kidnapped and brought into this alternate universe, or after she had to flee away from a bomb attempt, or when she empathized with someone who had lost their parents. Like I said, legitimate.

The writing - 2/5:
I am a fan of Anna Jarzab's All Unquiet Things. Although it had a slower pace, I liked the writing and the mystery. It was intriguing and I thought it was a great read. Tandem did not feel the same way, even if you disregard the dramatic difference in genres. This story felt like it was written very carefully. So much thought goes into the making of any book, but I almost felt like this one was over explanatory at times in the characters' thoughts. Sometimes I would think "okay, when is there going to be some more action?" Which brings me to my next point: there wasn't much action. There weren't any events that excited me and I am sad to admit that. I didn't find the plot compelling. However, I must give Jarzab credit for not overwhelming readers with world-building and action. Sometimes authors have a hard time introducing new elements to a story. And the fact that this is a series may explain why there was a lack of action: the action is yet to come.

Romance -1/5:
I really did not feel anything from the romance in this story. I was not affected by the conflicting emotions the characters had or the slight love triangle. I did not find it emotionally engaging. Why? I'm not sure. I guess the writing was not able to convince me of the characters' feelings.

Unfortunately, Tandem was a story that underwhelmed me, but by no means am I implying that other readers will have the same experience. I loved her previous book so I will still be watching out for her future novels.