3:59 by Gretchen McNeil
My rating: 5 of 5 stars
4.5 starsÂ
My lovely friend Stacee was wonderful and allowed me to borrow this book from her and I need to send her more baked goods for it.
Josie Byrne isn’t happy… her parents are divorcing and her best friend and boyfriend totally betray her. She’s stuck in a life where she’s unhappy and no one really seems to care one bit about her.
Then something interesting happens.
Every twelve hours at 3:59 she dreams about someone else’s life. From what she can see, Jo has everything that she wants. Parents who love her, a boyfriend who adores her and no money worries. And then she sees something in her mirror one night. Jo. The person looking back out at her is exactly like her… sort of. With a few minor changes they suddenly look identical and decide to switch places for 24 hours. But of course things aren’t as perfect as they may seem on the other side of that mirror, and Jo isn’t going to leave Josie’s world willingly.
I have to be honest, I sat down and read this book in a day… mostly because I had to know what was going to happen. McNeil does suspense incredibly well, and 3:59 is no exception to that statement.
Alternate universe books aren’t new by any means, but McNeil gives us readers a different look at it. What if there are universes that run simultaneously with ours… where there are people who look just like us but live completely different lives. I have no idea if this is true, but I imagine that there are scientists out there somewhere examining this very idea. McNeil took this and made me believe it could totally happen.
What I enjoyed the most I think was Josie’s growth as a character. She was so woe is me to begin with and I felt like she was such a doormat there when all the stuff in the beginning goes down. Did I feel sorry for her? Of course, but I wanted her to kick some people in the junk for their actions. She matures quite a bit in a matter of days and it was satisfying to see that.
Overall I really enjoyed this suspense filled story. It was filled with twists and turns that I didn’t predict and it kept me on the edge of my seat turning pages like a madwoman.
The only thing I’d have liked would have been a bit more closure at the end there – I immediately wondered if we might see a novella or a second book coming to go with this once I turned that last page. I would definitely love to see either. *cough cough*
Thank you Stacee – you’re the awesomest ever for sharing with me.
Definitely add this one to your to be read list if you’re looking for a new and different twist on the multiple universe story. This one was written with a fresh voice and characters that you will both love and hate!
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