*RECEIVED FROM NETGALLEY

DNF:


First of all, this book is a hot mess. It is told through days after the accident but it jumps days constantly (i.e. Day 21, Day 43, Day 39). Not only was it a mess, but the romance also made no sense. We go from a date to them dating for at least a month. Also, the book is supposed to also involve parallel lives????? It did not introduce that concept until a little bit over midway through the book and it made no sense at first because the boyfriend is like "Oh, it's probably some PTSD kind of a thing" ??????? THE FUCK. NO. That is not how this works at all. Then the author tries to solve it by saying stuff about parallel lives ?????? No.

this sums up my review for this book: no.

Me and Me
Alice Kuipers
KCP Loft Publishing
3***

It’s a beautiful day for Lark’s first date with the gorgeous Alec. She’s been waiting for this day for a long time. Not a cloud in the sky, clear blue water and a canoe on the lake sets up Lark’s birthday date. All is going splendidly when a child’s scream rents the air. Annabelle, a child Lark used to babysit, is in the water and in distress. Her mother is not able to get to her. Lark and Alec both dive in to save the girl but Alec hits his head on a rock and is hurt. It’s at this moment, on her 17th birthday, Lark has to choose who to save. With this heart-breaking decision her world is split in two, leaving her to live parallel lives. One in which she saves Annabelle and one in which she chooses to save Alec. How can she get her life back together and which life should she choose?

I was very intrigued by the premise of this novel. The idea of parallel lives created by a tragic event, similar to multiple personalities, sounded as if it would lend to a great read. However, while I enjoyed bits and pieces of the story, I didn’t enjoy it as a whole. First of all, the development of some of the characters was non-existent thus creating one dimensional characters. Also, their story lines were minimal at best. Everything felt random. A pet peeve of mine is including music lyrics in a novel. They feel strange and rightly so because they are meant to be sang not read. They, too, fell flat.

---------------------------SPOILER--------------------------

Secondly, the abuse story line involving Lark and Alec seemed contrived. It just came out of nowhere almost as an afterthought. This story line could have been expanded greatly creating a different atmosphere for one parallel life.

And lastly, the story, including all the characters, needed fleshing out. Pieces and parts of the characters needed more development and others needed less. Maybe a number of characters in the story should have been left out. This may have allowed the author to dig deeper into the main characters and give us a more cohesive story. I really wanted this book to work. It just fell short of the mark

Many thanks given to Netgalley and the publishers for providing me with an Advanced Reader’s Copy (ARC) to review. All opinions expressed are my own.

This would have been a five star review except for the epilogue. The story itself was very cool and what was actually going on wasn’t what I had thought.

As always Alice’s writing was beautiful and the plot intricate and emotional.

Truthfully, I found myself mostly confused by the flips between timelines. Unfortunately, I couldn't enjoy the book as much as I'd have liked because of this.

This book is an interesting exploration of ‘what would you do’ and what would the ripple effects be. Lark is on a date when a young girl she cares about is drowning. As her date jumps in with Lark to help save her, he hits his head and she has to decide if she should save the girl or the boy. From there on she splits into parallel universes and we see what happens to her life based on each choice. During each timeline we find her experiencing regret, joy, success, downfalls, and deals with the loss of her mother to cancer three years earlier. Lark was a fine character, and she was asked to make a decision on the spot which literally tore her apart. The book would have been easier to read and follow two lives had been more clearly labeled while reading, it could get confusing as it went along. Another issue was that there were side stories that were not fleshed out and were even further complicated as they varied depending on which parralel universe we we reading about. Lastly, there is an event that happens in one timeline that was such a sudden change that it seemed out of place entirely. The book was overall enjoyable, the use of texts and song lyrics added a very nice touch and the overall concept was thought provoking.

Thank you NetGalley for the early copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.

I found the flip between realities really confusing during parts of this book. I loved the characters and concept, but just wish it had been easier to tell which part of the story I was in at which time.

3.5 Stars
Me and Me was based on such an exciting concept! When there is a fork in the road, doesn't everyone want to see how each choice plays out? Me and Me talks about Lark's fork in the road, whether she should choose to save her new boyfriend or the little girl that is drowning. While I loved the concept, I just felt as if it was executed in a somewhat messy way.

For simplicity, let's call the Lark that saves the boyfriend Lark 1 and the Lark that saves the little girl Lark 2. Chapter one will talk about Lark 1's experience, and then Chapter two will go on to show what happens to Lark 2 at the same time. I liked how each of the parts would take place at the same time, but it also led me to become confused to which Lark I was reading about.

The other part that I did not enjoy about the concept was how many repetitions there was in the book. Like word for word repetition! I understand that there was repetition because it was two parallel lives being told at the same time, but I got annoyed quite quickly. I feel like the parts could have been reworded, just so that the reader gets somewhat of a different perspective.

The characters were also not that distinct and memorable. Between the chapters, I would forget characters that Lark 1 primarily interacts with as I read about Lark 2's interactions. I also found myself forgetting the changes the Lark 2 has, and I had to pause when the difference was mentioned. I felt as if there were too many characters to be switching between Lark 1 and Lark 2's life. For example, all of the band members. I maybe know their names, but I have absolutely no recollection as to how they interacted with the two Larks.

What I did love about this book, however, was how Lark 1 and Lark 2's journey started, progressed, and ended. I loved how everything was wrapped up at the end. Yes, I saw it coming, and yes, it did flip between worlds so quickly that I became confused, but I definitely felt as if the book had been completed.

Even though it was at times confusing, seeing the two different outcomes from just one choice was just fantastic. There is this one part that especially stands out for me at the cemetery. I won't spoil too much, but I loved watching the two worlds play out. I was able to read two very different outcomes from the same scene. I remember reading Lark 2's experience of the moment and thinking back to what Lark 1 did. I can't say this enough; I loved seeing the butterfly effect that the day at the lake had for the two Larks.

For the most part, I enjoyed the writing style that Alice has. There were parts where I would get confused, but besides that, I felt as if I was able to immerse myself in Lark 1 and 2's worlds pretty well. I feel as if the story almost had a diary like feel to it. It would say how many days since the lake and then would tell readers where Lark is then. The epilogue part did confuse me as I didn't think it was necessary at all, but I can see how the author wanted to wrap up the story in a way to give a realness to it.

In conclusion, I thought that Me and Me was a good book with a great concept, that needs a bit of work. I loved being able to see what each choice brings and the butterfly effects of it. I thought Alice was able to introduce and wrap up the story of two parallel lives well as well as having a really lovely writing style. The part that I didn't like about the book was how confusing and repetitive it got to be. I understand that the parallel lives concept can be confusing and repetitive, but I feel as if it could have been approached in a better way. I would recommend this book to anyone who wants to read about parallel lives but who can fully understand more confusing topics and bits of writing.

I remember loving Life on the Refrigerator Door, by Alice Kuipers, so when I saw Me and Me, by the same author and with an intriguing concept, I was very excited to read it. Unfortunately I was very disappointed. The concept is the only thing I ended up liking.

First of all, it's super short but it took me weeks to get through. I don't know what happened, I knew Kuipers style, I often read YA, so I have no clue as to why I was so bored trying to read Me and Me. I can't explain it, but until the last day, where I forced myself to finish it in one go, I was reading it one chapter at a time and was struggling to get through even one chapter. So maybe that one is on me. I really hope for the book that it is.

What didn't help was that I couldn't tell who was who. All the characters read alike, and every time a name popped on the page, I had to pause to wonder "wait, who's that, again?" Had the book been longer, I might have made a list because it was very annoying. I got Lark, Alec and Annabelle. The other ones? Nope. Even if I had just read about them a page or two before, I just couldn't place them. Also the dialogues sounded stiff, artificial, and I think the "song lyrics" and texts as dialogue didn't help. I felt zero chemistry between any of the characters. No meaningful friendship, no family bond, no real attraction for Alec, nothing. It was all about Lark and even she wasn't that interesting. I've been a teen. I read plenty about teens. And I wasn't able to connect to her life, to even consider as a person. Something was missing and I just couldn't find her voice.

While Me and Me could have been a good piece about how to deal with grief, I felt Lark's mother was completely pushed aside, even at times when she would have been very relevant. Lark has been through trauma. She's grieving, twice. She blames herself for not being able to save both Annabelle and Alec. But none of that is really dealth with. Oh, Lark is sad, and moody and stuff, but where's her counselor? Where's her shrink? What bout grief? An actual talk about PTSD? The whole story is so bare, it's just Lark going through life, experiencing something weird, finding out what is is super easily and solving the problem. It's a decent skeleton for a story, but it needed a lot more meat.

When it comes to Lark's two lives, I felt it was poorly done too. Without spoiling anything, I'd say that a dilemma only stays one if both possible choices are equivalent. Lark's were definitely not. Saving A gave her a pretty good life while saving B has her losing her friends, the band and her job. Props to the author for noticing and trying to balance A and B, but I feel the way she messed up Lark's A-life was nothing more than a convenient plot device, not natural at all. Which is bad in se, but also had me thinking "In that case, I'd save A, there, problem solved!". No dilemma here.

The way both lives bleed into one another (not a spoiler, she gets the weird texts very early in the book) is also something I thought was half-baked. The whole explanation has so many holes and unanswered question in it, I almost cried in frustration. How is the reader supposed to understand what's happening if there's no explanation? And Lark just figures out the solution? How, when there's no logic to the thing? And why this? No clue.

And finally, I hated the ending. I thought it made the whole book completely pointless. I would have edited the epilogue out and let the readers trying to answer the question instead of answering it for them, in the least bold and surprising way I could think of.

I'm sorry, I really am. I wanted to love this book, I was expecting to love this book, it had so much potential, but in my opinion, it completely missed the mark. Loved the concept, hated the execution.

Thank you so mych to Kids Can Press and NetGalley for sending me an ARC of this book in return for an honest opinion.

Though it was somewhat confusing at times, I enjoyed Me and Me. The plot and idea behind it are very unique and interesting, and I was intrigued to see how it would all enfold. I found that the characters were realistic and I felt emotions right along with Lark and some of the others. The lyrics were good and I can definitely see them being incorporated into songs!

So I didn't read the blurb before I read this book, and that turned out to be quite a big mistake...

If I had read the blurb, I would have known what this book is about: Lark having to make an 'impossible choice', then having her world splitting into two distinct lives and having to live with the consequences of both possible choices...

Instead I was extremely confused about how her boyfriend kept magically coming in and out of a coma.

However, once I got past the initial confusion, it turned out to be a really interesting book.

I loved the exploration of Lark's character. As she got to live out two distinct lives, it really allowed the reader to know her character well and I really enjoyed that aspect of the story.

The side characters however were barely explored at all. Everyone except Lark seemed extremely one dimensional and I could barely keep track of who is who.

But it wasn't too long, and it was easy to get through. I didn't get bored while reading it, and I enjoyed the story. So overall, 4 stars.

**thank you to Netgalley, the author, and publisher for an advance copy of this book**

Interesting premise...horrible main character.

After an incident on the lake one day, Lark begins seeing weird messages on her phone and eventually comes to the conclusion that she is living parallel lives.

Parallel realities is a really tough topic to tackle. It's way too confusing and in my opinion almost felt like the B plot of this book. There was so much left unexplored. It had a fair amount of hope, but it fell pretty flat for me.

DNF

The premise of this sounded so fantastic, I requested an ARC right away without knowing anything else about it. Unfortunately, I was disappointed. I got about 30% of the way in before I decided I couldn't do it anymore. Maybe if I didn't have so many books on my TBR already I would've stuck it out, but I couldn't rationalize spending reading time on a book I wasn't enjoying.

The writing was one of the biggest challenges for me to get through this. It read as juvenile and inexperienced. The dialogue was clunky, too.

And despite the book getting off to a great start when it came to the action, not much seemed to happen after that. Lark's two lives seemed to be pretty much the same, except with a different person in a coma: She visited the hospital, she felt guilty about not saving the other person, she met up with her band, she talked to her friends about how hot Alec was, and she got creepy messages on her phone from her other life. And this happened <i>twice</i> in the book since it's all about her dual lives that seem to be existing at the same time, so it felt really repetitive.

This book had a lot of potential, but it wasn't for me. It might be for somebody else, but I couldn't get through it.

*I received an eARC from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review. All thoughts are my own.*

I was very intrigued by the premise of this book.

"On Lark's 17th birthday she goes out in a canoe with her new boyfriend and they enjoying themselves when a tragedy happens.

A little girl she used to babysit, Annabelle, is drowning the reeds near by. When Alec jumps in to help, he hits his head and begins to drown as well. Lark has to make a choice of who to save.

That choice then splits her in two. In one reality, Alec is in a coma. In the other, Annabelle is. Which life is the right one? Can she bring her two halves back together? How can she?"

Seems pretty interesting right? Well, it got kind of boring. Which was very disappointing for me.

Mostly, I think this came from the feeling that I was lost most of the time. The way the parallel stories ran I was always confused with who was who and where the differences really lay between each version of Lark. I didn't even see that they were different Larks until a certain part of the novel.

Also, for a short novel, it took way too long to ramp up into the action, or meat of the story. And something that I won't share because it’s a spoiler, but it has to do with Alec, and I thought it came out of nowhere and was not laid out very well. There is something to be said for the surprise of that, but I just didn't believe it.

I gave this 3 starts though, because the premise was interesting and I am kind of a harsh critic on these kind of novels. It was not quite a fantasy, but it had elements of something mystical or magical. Not my favorite kind of story, but this still held my attention, even if it was tenuous. I would still recommend for a light read, or if you like a slight mystery. It just didn't WOW me, but its worth a peruse.

Thank you Netgalley for the eARC. I do always feel privileged to read a novel before others

***Thanks to NetGalley for providing me a complimentary copy of ME AND ME by Alice Kuipers in exchange for my honest review.***

Review

This YA contemporary read deals with the 'what if's' in the aftermath of an accident on the lake. It begins with our main character, Lark is on a date with Alec, a boy from school whom she has liked for a while. They are canoeing in the lake where they come across Lark's former babysitting charge, Annabelle, who has fallen overboard of her parents' canoe. Lark and Alec jump into the water where Alec then hits his head, and Lark has to decide to save the unconscious Annabelle or Alec - effectively Lark then begins to live parallel lives based on the two choices she could have made...

The book is written in the first person, with a dual narrative which were confusing, so much so that I actually made a list so that I could tell which was which when I was reading each one. The secondary characters were a welcome addition and brought in some much needed humour to the story, I really liked Lark's Dad and her bandmates, especially Nifty.

The story was fairly slow paced, finally picking up somewhat in the second half of the book, but overall it fell flat for me unfortunately and left me feeling deflated.

Age Range
I’d say that this book is marketed at the YA category; so would suit ages 13+

Summary
This contemporary YA is a quick read at just 248 pages; in all honestly had it been much longer I very well may not have finished it as I just wasn't invested. For me it draw parallels to Before I Sleep by Lauren Oliver; though unfortunately it was much more confusing to read.
I don't think it helped that I found both versions of Lark irritating for entirely different reasons.

Finally – Would I Recommend It?
Personally, this book wasn't for me and I wouldn't recommend it.
2.5/5 ✰

This book was a let down for me. I received it through netgalley. I feel like it was lacking in plot. The characters were kind of likeable though.

I really liked this book. The POV was fresh and unique. The characters were eclectic and relatable. It’s one of those stories that standout YA books are so loved for. Sure, there are some issues that come up in the book that could have been explored more or deeper to make the book more impactful or to send a message, but this story isn’t a story to teach. It’s to sit down, read and enjoy the possibilities of believing beyond just now. I wish it had ended differently, but the author seemed to have a plan to make the ending even more torturous. I think the livestruck teen in all of us will long for a different ending, but logic will lead us to accept the ending we were given. I’d recommend this book for sure!

Thanks NetGalley for providing me an advanced copy to read and review. My opinions were not influenced in the least and all thoughts on the book are my own.

I really liked the idea behind this book and I couldn't wait to delve into it! I was a bit disappointed to see that it was a relatively small book, because I think the premise of parallel life's could definitely be explored more.

Lark is a very interesting character and a capable leading lady of this book, we see life through her eyes and I think she has a very nice personality in general. What was important to me was to be able to connect with her, since she's the main character, and I was very glad to find out that I could actually understand her motives and the way she was thinking.

The prospect of having to choose who to save in a situation like the one Lark found herself is absolutely thought-provoking and terrifying at the same time. After that moment Lark's life was split in two and we could see all the "what-ifs" unfold before our eyes. Lark was really different in each life, but not entirely okay with herself. I couldn't choose easily which life I thought was best for her, because both her pretty traumatic to her.

Talking about choosing what life was best, the only thing on that matter I have to comment on, is that probably her relationship with Alec wasn't the best for her. At first they were so cute, but as time went by, he became a bit demanding on the physical aspect and towards the end a bit violent, which really made me not to like him.

Overall, I think "Me and Me" is a well written book with a very interesting plot and a wide range of characters. If I had to point out one thing, that would be that I would really like the book to be a bit longer!

Thanks @netgalley for the free advanced digital galley copy.

Love, loss, friendship, finding yourself, and doing the right thing. Me and Me is the story of a challenging, split-second decision alters the life of a teenage girl in inconceivable ways. I imagine any high school English teacher could think of dozens of writing and discussion prompts, as this book touches on many themes familiar to teens.

Lark’s split-second decision to save her (almost) boyfriend Alec instead of her former babysitting charge Annabelle impacts her more than she could have possibly imagined. What would life be like if she had swum for Annabelle instead of Alec? Lark doesn’t have to wonder, because she’s living that life, too!

I loved author Alice Kuipers’s clever twist on the alternate story device, introducing the concept of parallel lives rather than “what ifs” or dream sequences. Lark is aware of the repercussions of each possible decision and knows she needs to bring her two timelines together, but is still unable to decide which life she should be living. I would have enjoyed seeing Alec’s character fleshed out more—his changes over the subsequent weeks could be explored more. The writing is good, but the book doesn’t address the deeper moral and emotional underpinnings of the characters and the struggles they are facing.

This novel was a fun one-sitting read for me. I know my teen self would have adored it. 3.5 stars!

Not my type of story. It moved slow and the characters were unoriginal. This is like watching one of my preteen daughter's movies.

I thoroughly enjoyed this book and look forward to reading more stories by this author.. I would also like to recommend this book to teens and adults as well as it is fast-paced and keeps one reading until the end. I would also like to thank NetGalley for the opportunity to read this book and write my review.