Chris Tebbetts

Perfect for fans of Becky Albertalli's Simon vs. the Homo Sapiens Agenda and A. S. King's Still Life with Tornado, this story of parallel time lines cleverly explores how our choices can change and shape us--as well as the ways in which choices don't change the core of our being at all. When Chris Schweitzer takes a hit of whippets and passes out face first on the cement, his nose isn't the only thing that changes forever. Instead of staying home with his friends for the last summer after high school, he's shipped off to live with his famous physicist but royal jerk of a father to prove he can "play by the rules" before Dad will pay for college. Or . . . not. In an alternate time line, Chris's parents remain blissfully ignorant about the accident, and life at home goes back to normal--until it doesn't. A new spark between his two best (straight) friends quickly turns Chris into a (gay) third wheel, and even worse, the truth about the whippets incident starts to unravel. As his summer explodes into a million messy pieces, Chris wonders how else things might have gone. Is it possible to be jealous of another version of yourself in an alternate reality that doesn't even exist? With musings on fate, religion, parallel universes, and the best way to eat a cinnamon roll, Me Myself & Him examines how what we consider to be true is really just one part of the much (much) bigger picture. "Wildly ingenious,...altogether, the novel's a winner in this and any other universe."-Booklist, Starred Review "Tebbetts creates entertaining dual narratives...[and] enjoyable Easter eggs."-Publishers Weekly "An engaging story that examines love, relationships, and the different paths one's life can take...[perfect] for fans of Adam Silvera and Becky Albertalli's What if It's Us, Bill Konigsberg's The Music of What Happens, and Robyn Schneider's The ­Beginning of Everything."--SLJ

Me Myself & Him

Mythos

3/5 stars

This is one of those books where I really liked the concept, but I didn't really like the book's execution as much. I thought it was a more supernatural or science-fiction type of book, but that was not the case. 

Spoilers ahead: 

The book kicks off with Chris tripping and breaking his nose. This leads to his mother finding out that he's been using inhalants. From there, the story takes us through two different timelines. One in which he lies and stays in Ohio. The other is when he goes to California to stay with his dad and go to a rehabilitation program.

In the timeline in which he goes to see his father, we see him go through a rocky relationship with his father due to his decision to leave the family. He has to follow a set of rules in order to be able to go to college and get his college paid for. His dad wants him there in order to attend his wedding. We see Chris start a relationship with Swift, which his father disapproves of.

On the other hand, we see everything going normally until his two best friends start dating. We see a possible love triangle (corner) as there are some rather weird interactions between him and Matt. He continues on as a third wheel. However, Matt appears to be a one-dimensional love interest, which made me uninterested in what happened in this timeline.

As the book continues, we see the timelines merge into one. Also, his father finally approves of his relationship with Swift. He also manages to work his friendship problems out as well. In a time jump, we also see him go to college and get a roommate. Overall, I was a little disappointed with the ending. I was expecting Chris to face more real consequences. This is not the case, as we see him working everything out. In terms of the rest of the book, there were certain parts that were confusing, especially with the switch between timelines. There are certain details that you definitely have to read multiple times in order to not miss them. Due to this, I wasn't sure whether to rate this book 2.5 or 3 stars. I'll definitely have to come back to this book.

Michelle Boyea

I received a free copy of this e-book in exchange for an honest review. Thank you net galley!

Truth be told, I did not like this book. I had a very hard time getting into it and I struggled to find the motivation to continue reading. The way the book was set up simply made me very not interested in it. I did not like that each chapter essentially had two chapters in it, one version for each of the two storylines that was being told.

I think the premise behind the book is great, and I love the idea of there being two stories within one book. Especially with the idea of alternate realities. However, I did not like the flip-flop back and forth in this book. If you weren't keeping careful track on which chapter was which, it was easy to forget that the storyline switched back and forth. There were a few times that I got confused as to which version of Chris that I was currently reading. 

With that being said, I did very much enjoy the storyline of this book. I liked how one version had Kris in trouble for something that he did it while the other version showed what would happen if he got away with it. I did like that the two storylines merged together at points so that there were specific events that happened in both timelines. 

If you like alternate realities and alternate possibilities for stories, then this book is absolutely perfect for you. The storyline and the premise and the characters were fantastic.

Me Myself & Him

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