A thousand pieces of you

i'm 13 all over again and sobbing over the grand duchess and lieutenant markov. somehow growing up hasn't made a difference in how this YA book reads -- still meaningful and poetic, with a lot to say on the notion of fate and choice.

i cri what is UP with YA authors thinking that YA novels have to be a l l about love & love triangles & romance & COUGH like i cAME FOR THE SCIENCE. I CAME FOR THE IDEA OF MULTIVERSE TRAVEL. I CAME FOR THE FIREBIRDS. I DIDN'T COME FOR A N O T H E R LOVE TRIANGLE AND SHALLOW CHARACTERS ;-; HECK

Torn between hating and liking it . Felt like one long thought

*3.75 This book didn’t blow me away by any means, but I had a lot of fun reading it. I went it expecting it to be a really fast paced adventure novel, which I didn’t really get, but that’s okay. It started on a gripping place, but it just kind of went down hill for a while. There was a lot of character development. A little to much, that it made the plot move slower. When the firebirds where actually being used, the science behind the dimensional travel was very well explained and the way it worked was super cool. The characters where also just doing mundane, everyday things for the most part. It’s definitely a idea that I’ve never seen before. If it had been exacted a little better then it could have been 5 stars. There where a few minor plot things that had me scratching my head for sure. The writing was seemed a little amateur at some points because she would put things in parentheses that really did not need to be in parentheses. That was very annoying. Her writing improved a lot between writing this and Defy The Stars. The romance didn’t really make sense to me, one, it happened way too fast, and two I just didn’t see the chemistry for the most part. I also think in a realistic world that wouldn’t happen because they both work for her parents? Where definitely a few thing that happened at the end that I was *not* expecting. I very interested to see where the plot goes in the next books.

a thousand pieces of all the time i wasted on this.

I'm sure many readers are familiar with the sensation of flipping the final page of a novel, surprised to find it's the end. Let me tell you, this sensation is even worse in e-book form. I'm familiar with Claudia Gray's prose from her previous series, but the marriage between heart and science in this novel was much more fitting for her prose. The narration stayed true throughout the novel, and though the twist was easy to suspect early on, the events pertaining to the romance portion on the piece caught me by surprise. I can't wait to see what else the Firebird series has in store.

I can't wait for the sequel .my favorite part was the one in Russia

As my first time travel book (excluding Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban) this was awesome. I will definitely try and find more time traveling books because this really got me curious. To be honest, I've always been curious of multiverses since the Family Guy episode Road to the Multiverse (which is my favorite episode). Well, I guess in a way this isn't a time traveling book now that I sit here and thank about it but that is what I'm calling it. My favorite part of this whole thing was that all the science stuff was explained in layman's terms. I could actually understand it. It was so awesome. Too many times, there has been books that were so cool until they got into the thick of things and suddenly all my understanding goes out the window. Not with this book. So props to Claudia Gray for writing a science book that I can actually understand. And keeping the concept interesting. Marguerite or Meg, as I would like to call her, because her name is too damn long, was an awesome character. A bit headstrong at times for my taste but really just a solidly written character. I enjoyed the fact that when she made a mistake she owned up to it. Too many times, I've witnessed headstrong characters not admit their mistakes. Meg did that and I loved it. I loved how even though she was grief stricken, she kept her head in the game. I could keep singing her praises, but I'll most on to the other characters. Paul was a refreshing character. I didn't appreciate the secrets he kept from Meg but I liked that he learned to open up and trust those around him. I liked that he was a nerdy guy but still a human. Too often, nerdy guys end up being robotic and it just doesn't work out. Plus, Meg and Paul are seriously so cute together! They are now in my top 10 ships (until I read the other two books, then we shall see). Theo was okay. I didn't care for his personality and how aggressive he was. I did like that he cared a lot of Meg. I wish I could say more about him but it's a major plot twist and I would spoil basically the whole book if I continued to take about him. So let's just say, that he isn't my favorite but I still like him as a character. Overall, I am just enthralled. I get so seriously worried reading hyped up books. They have such a huge potential to fail and I hate not liking books. But this one lived up to it's hype. I seriously need to own it because it's such a cool book and not to mention that cover is so damn beautiful.

So basically this book has no plot. It's kind of about a girl and a boy and then there is this other boy, obviously. By chapter 2 you already know that the bad guy isn't the bad guy etc. By chapter 3 you realise how stupid the book is. I have no idea why I even bothered finishing it, to be honest. I think the synopsis was so good that I kept telling myself things would get better... they didn't. 1. The book has no plot. Seriously, the other day my friend asked me what the book was about and I spent a minute doing "hmmm... it's... kind of about different dimensions... ... there is a romance, I think... hmmm". That's about it. It looks like Claudia Gray intends to explore and actually write what should be the plot for this book on the next, since it's a series, but if I were the editor of Harper Teen, I wouldn't even bother. (Then again, the editor did publish it, without editing, I suppose, so...) 2. All. The. Clichés. Deep eyes that stare at you so intensely you can get lost inside them (or something similar)? Check. Electric shock when guy touches girl? Check. Lots of touching while they pretend it's no big deal but at the same time it is acknowledged how much of a big deal it is because us, readers, clearly wouldn't be able to get it? Check. Not to mention the description of people... Guys are obviously hot and one has to be more geeky and the other one more tall and buff. Marguerite often mentions how she is dressed and how cute or hot she is, because we have to know, right???? It's clearly important to the whole story; plus, she wouldn't be that pretty and just not having anyone visualising it. I was expecting a very clever story, considering the reference to "Every Day" and "Cloud Atlas". I was expecting a very beautiful love story, with this amazing title and wonderful cover! I got none of this. The romance is barely developed and we get kind of lost, because, after all, are all the pieces of him the same him? Or is she kind of a slut (I don't actually mean it. No slut-shaming here) and just loves a bunch of different dudes? But while Claudia Gray tried to make this into a good story, we basically got a very vague character. Who the f*ck is this guy, besides being hot and all serious and having deep grey eyes? And there are so many stupid and sometimes scientific holes in the story, it's even sad. To begin with, and now this might be considred SPOILER, but seriously it is in the first chapter: how come an average artsy not-into-science not-into-drugs not-into-danger girl loses her father and then, in two days of mourning, agrees to travel through dimensions with another dude just to KILL the guy that supposedly killed her father? I say not-into-drugs because acid or mushrooms would be the only plausible explanation for a 18yo (I think) normal girl who just lost her father to want to leave her mother and sister to go on a risky adventure to avenge her father. I know it's fiction, but don't we all agree that it has to be somewhat believable? Man, I read Harry Potter and The Hobbit and Peter the Rabbit and even Disc World and it was easier to believe than this book. I keep saying "average" and "normal" because she's no Katniss Everdeen. Her motivation, her will power... not. believable. She is not even a Rose Hathaway. Anyway, I really wish this book was good because, again, it has the most beautiful cover and such a cool title. I wanted to read a good love story to make me cry and hate my real life, but it actually made me happy about my life and myself, so maybe I should give it 2 stars?

reread - 18-24 july 2021 more like a 3.5 at most upon reread but i’m still kind of obsessed with this. the russia segment is unbeatable on every level. like hi lieutenant markov. also theo “because i did have a chance, didn’t i?” beck. yeah. First read - 27 August 2015

That was... freaking amazing.

I buddy read this book with the lovelies Deepika,Rachelle,Maram on a very still infamous group called ReAd ~ Reading Addicts in this discussion A THOUSAND PIECES OF YOU { 09/03 --- 27/03}. This book had so much hype that I had very high hopes going into it so the 3 stars is kind of a letdown. The idea of the book is very much interesting and the characters are intriguing. The writing style is also very easy to go through; however, after prolonged hours of continuous reading, you get into a state of monotonous content that you just must stop reading and come back later with a fresh mind in order for you to enjoy the book and not skim through. Maybe this is just due to me and my state of mind at the time of reading the book but I truly couldn’t finish the book in one sitting even though it is relatively small sized than most YA books. In spite of the main concepts in the book ( the dimensions and the firebirds ) being described pleasantly, I still wished for more clarifications and details on how, why ,and when did these dimensions cease to exist ??? The idea of the presence of dimensions itself is very interesting and until now the endless possibilities are spinning in my mind. Most characters in the book have been created and portrayed smoothly with a reasonable amount of character development. Despite all that in chapter one itself I have known who was the good person and who was bad person No matter what Claudia Grey wanted me to believe. ( Please keep in mind that I might be just psychic ) There was a total of 2-3 supposed to be plot twists. Not only did I see 2 of them coming but I also wasn’t surprised by the 3rd supposed plot twist. As a result, I have to say that they weren’t written in an amazing way that made me go “WOWZA”. { SHOUT OUT TO BRO FOR TEACHING ME THIS NEW WORD "WOWZA"} In our journey of this book we have been to 4 different dimensions. I am sorry to say that after the 2nd dimension I have grown extremely bored and tired of the traveling and the almost cliché emotions of confusions and self-discovery in every dimension especially at the beginning few pages after jumping into a new dimension. Add to that the fact that I felt bad for the other marguirtes 75% of the book, especially marguerite #2. As I very much like the idea of dimensions and parallel worlds, I thought I would give the other menna’s out there an advice: (view spoiler)[• Please Don’t be as stupid and annoying as marguerite and just remember that me and You are one and the same. We share the same personality and qualities. Only our situations and circumstances are different. So please oh freaking please act normal and just be yourself. • If our parents aren’t here with me when you come visit me then please when you go back to your own dimension hug them for me and tell them that I love them deeply and to please forgive me for anything I have ever done wrong and that I truly hope that I have made them proud. • Last but certainly not the least DON’T YOU DARE have any physical relationship with my lover because I will be facing the after math when you leave, plus I won’t remember any of it. ( or will I??) (hide spoiler)] All in all this book was a nice read but it didn’t reach my expectations. PS : Just because i can't resist having a spoiled review then i am going to post that rant down in my comments to keep the aim of my normal review clear and straight forward ( unspoiled Pre-reader review ). Xx Menna Khaled Xx

This book was incredibly entertaining. It was so fun to follow the characters through all the alternate dimensions and watch them live those different lives. Highly recommend! I also think it ends in a way that can easily be read as a standalone. Which is perfect for me sometimes when I don’t necessarily want to get into another series.

i was totally not expecting to like this book that much however, very likeable characters and the plot was way too good. These multi-dimensional stories need to become movies i'd kill to watch this onscreen. definitely recommend this as an easy ya sci-fi but also contemporary read with romance!

I REALLY liked this. It was very romance-heavy, so if that’s not for you, don’t pick it up. But it was perfect for me. Paul is being added to the endlessly long list of book boys I’m in love with. Every version of him, but especially the Russian royal guard. I’m a sucker for royal guards, I’ve realized over the last few months. And not for nothing, but I love Theo too, though now I’m feeling a little conflicted about that. What really made me pick this book up, though, was the concept of parallel universes, and it played a major role in the plot. Each world was different in a creative way, and I loved the reveals that happened in the underwater one, though I think they could have been done a little more cleanly. That’s the reason I docked a star - the unraveling of the big conspiracy/mystery was a bit cliche and obvious, at least to me.

3.5 stars. ok, so i took a look at the inside flap and was like, ALTERNATE DIMENSIONS??? and then i saw the romance and was like :( but alternate dimensions is kind of a Special Interest of mine. because of the alleged romance subplot, i was expecting much less from this book. however, the romance took up less than i thought it would. no, i wasn't a fan of it, but it's difficult to make me a fan of any romance. the plot was solid and structured carefully around the romance, so it felt like the romance mattered a bit to the plot rather than being shoved in for the sake of a love triangle. parts of the plot i predicted, but that's more because i am used to these tropes than a commentary on the plot itself. i found marguerite to be a very solid protagonist. she's written very realistically, and i found her narration quite enjoyable.

Jugendliche Dreiecksgeschichte mit Zeitreiseelementen. Weder glaubwürdige Story noch glaubwürdige Charaktere. Sie bewegen sich viel zu selbstsicher in den für sie fremden Welten und auch die Menschen, denen sie dort begegnen, finden sich sofort mit der neuen Situation ab. Figuren entwickeln sich nicht und bleiben genauso flach wie zu Beginn des Buches.

“I would love you in any shape, in any world, with any past. Never doubt that.”

Absolutely love the concept of this story. Unfortunately it was really difficult for me to get into this for the majority of the book. I only found myself really interested when Triad and Conley started to become more involved. I'm looking forward to what the next book has to offer.

Meh. I had high expectations of this book because for some reason I read all these reviews about how great it was and got it into my head that this is meant to be one of "those" books - the good ones with a serious plot and something to think about. It wasn't. I can't tell whether this is the fault of the book or whether somehow my expectations got horribly skewed, but it was just a YA love story with some time/universe travel in the background.

A bit disappointed because it's not as great as I wanted it to be

Didn't see that coming

4.25 stars A 4 star book with a 5 star ending/plot twist. I am gonna be honest I added this serie to my wishlist and bought it because the covers are the most stunning thing I have ever seen in my life, even though I had not really heard anything about the story. However the book was quite amazing and had some elements that I rarely see in YA. I did kind of guess the revelation but I was shuddering when I read it which almost never happens to me. I am very excited to read the next book.

the beginning was a little slow but once u get into it it's really good!