Now That You’re Here by Amy K. Nichols

Now That You're Here (Duplexity, Part I) by Amy K. Nichols
(Website, Twitter, Facebook, Goodreads)Also by this author: While You Were Gone (Duplexity, Part 2)
Published by Random House Children's Books on December 9th 2014
Genres: Action & Adventure, Fantasy & Magic, General, Love & Romance, Young Adult
Pages: 304
Format: eARC

In a parallel universe, the classic bad boy falls for the class science geek. One minute Danny was running from the cops, and the next, he jolted awake in an unfamiliar body—his own, but different. Somehow, he’s crossed into a parallel universe. Now his friends are his enemies, his parents are long dead, and studious Eevee is not the mysterious femme fatale he once kissed back home. Then again, this Eevee—a girl who’d rather land an internship at NASA than a date to the prom—may be his only hope of getting home. Eevee tells herself she’s only helping him in the name of quantum physics, but there’s something undeniably fascinating about this boy from another dimension . . . a boy who makes her question who she is, and who she might be in another place and time. And, coming soon, Duplexity, Part II: While You Were Gone flips this story on its head and tells the tale of the alternate Danny and the alternate Eevee, living in Danny’s parallel world."The perfect blend of sci-fi and swoons, Now That You're Here is like no other book I've read. Riveting, romantic and utterly original, it kept me up late!" —Amie Kaufman, author of These Broken StarsFrom the Hardcover edition.

Praise for Now That You’re Here:

“The perfect blend of sci-fi and swoons, Now That You’re Here is like no other book I’ve read. Riveting, romantic and utterly original, it kept me up late!” –Amie Kaufman, author of These Broken Stars

“Dynamic, dizzying, and downright daring, Now That You’re Here kept me guessing until the end, and ready for the next.” –Shannon Messenger, author of Let the Sky Fall

“Nichols infuses the story with a smattering of science fiction and science fact, while making a welcome departure from the stereotype of the book-smart outcast trying to fit in. These geeks own their intelligence like a badge of honor, using science to help a friend and explore strange new worlds. Riveting in its own right, the story sets the stage for a mirror-image sequel, which will follow the other Danny and Eevee.” — Publishers Weekly, STARRED

“While the world-jumping is fantastical, the personalities and characters (fully individual, without reaching trying-too-hard levels of quirkiness) ring true…. A debut with great characters and huge nerd appeal.” — Kirkus Reviews[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=85PzKa_JTO0?list=UU9LvODN4v9P3dxwOIYlBULA]

ABOUT AMY

Amy K. Nichols lives on the edge of the Phoenix desert with her husband and children. In the evenings, she enjoys sitting outside, counting bats and naming stars. Sometimes she names the bats. NOW THAT YOU’RE HERE is her first novel. Visit her online at amyknichols.com.

Jaime’s Thoughts

Now That You’re Here by Amy K. Nichols
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Parallel universe books are my kryptonite these days… they are so incredibly intriguing to me on so many levels… I mean, while the science of it is interesting, so is the idea of the many different possible worlds with different versions of the same people living different lives than the one you’re currently in. It’s just a bit mind boggling when you actually think of the possibilities.

And Now That You’re Here really delves into that.

We meet Danny first… running from the cops when an explosion happens. When he wakes up, The Phoenix he was living in doesn’t even slightly resemble the Phoenix that he’s currently in, and the life he’s now in is so completely different than the one he left. In this life his parents are dead, in this life he has no real friends, and in this life the Eevee he meets in class, bears no resemblance to the one he knows back home. He now has to depend on and earn the trust of people who know him as someone completely different.

Eevee is the kind of girl I can get on board with … she’s super smart and interesting. In fact most of the characters in this book are super geeky and intelligent and they don’t apologize for it and they don’t try to change to fit in with the cool kids because they are already amazingly cool. So when Danny follows her home and explains what is going on she doesn’t really know what to think… this is a kid who isn’t quite a part of her crowd, but for some reason she feels a pull to help him. Even knowing what “Danny” did to her best friend doesn’t keep them from connecting.

So there’s some romance and swoons here my friends. This Danny is drawn to Eevee and Nichols does a really good job at getting me to swoon when these two have their moments.

“She sits on the handlebars to give her feet a rest from the pegs. Her dark hair streams toward me. I let the wheels laze to the left and then to the right, pedaling just fast enough to keep us moving forward. She grips the bar and her laughter rises up to the sky. No Spectrum. No checkpoints. Total freedom and perfect company. The sun is hot on my back and my leg muscles burn, but you couldn’t pay me to be anywhere else.”

Let me chat about the science part of the story for a second… Like I said, the science of this somewhat interests me, but I don’t know if that is what drew me to the story so it was nice to not be overwhelmed with the facts. Nichols does an amazing job of making what she does include here understandable and she weaves the fiction and the fact wonderfully.

I thoroughly enjoyed this story, the pacing is well-done, the world-jumping isn’t confusing and the characters are wonderfully layered and intriguing. So intriguing that I’m super excited for the second book, the book that tells the story of the “other” Danny & Eevee living in this Danny’s life.

If you’re looking for a story from a debut author that will have you riveted and wondering about the how’s and why’s, something that has wonderful swoons & sweet romance, something with exciting twists and turns that will have you guessing what’s happening until the very end, then you’ll definitely want to grab this one when it comes out.

I’ll be over here eagerly waiting for Book 2!

Thank you to the publisher and Netgalley for the advanced copy in exchange for my honest thoughts.