This was quite the heart wrenching read. The choices this main character has to make are like nothing I would ever want to have to handle. I thought she was a great character to follow and the book was very well written.

The cover art for this work was so enticing, so it was disappointing that the writing within fell a bit flat for me. A lot of potential, but just didn’t quite do it for me.

My review is very late but I remember not enjoying the story very much and it was not as captivating as I would have liked. I apologize for the very late review.

Alice Kuipers is a British born author now living in Canada and she is a new to me author. I was super excited to read Me and Me and to discover this new author even though she already has many books to her name.

As you know me I don’t judge a book by its cover but this time I have to say that the cover is pretty and very suiting for the book. I know if I saw this sitting on a table at a bookstore that I would instantly pick it up to see what it was about.

This was a pretty quick read and I managed to read it in the course of one rainy day. I do admit a few times I had to put it down because I was slightly confused at first and had to go back and reread because it felt like I was reading the same story line in just a different way and I was and I will explain why in my review.

The main character is Lark and it’s her birthday. Her dream crush, Alec has asked her out. He arrives to pick her up with a canoe and flowers. I mean right there I instantly fell in love with Alec. What 17 year old guy thinks to show up with flowers?

Anyway at the lake she bumps into a little girl named Annabelle who she use to babysit for. The promise to meet up on the lake. Well things don’t go according to plan as Lark and Alec are out on the water they hear screams from across the lake. Annabelle is in the water struggling. Instantly both jump in to help but in the process Alec gets hurt. Lark instantly has to decide does she save Annabelle or Alec. Tough decision to make and what will she do?

This is where I said earlier that I was getting confused and felt like I was rereading the same story but just in a different way and that is because Lark’s world just got weird. Her world gets split into two different ways, one where she saves Alec and one where she saves Annabelle. Once I got the hang of the story line it all began to make sense.

If that wasn’t strange enough she begins to receive these weird messages and videos on her phone that instantly disappear once she reads it. She has no idea where this is coming from. Everyone she tells things she is losing her mind but she knows there is more to it and then she begins to realize what is happening and is racing to fix it before its too late.

This was definitely a interesting read because in this book we can actually read what happens when you make a decision and how it can affect your life afterwards. We all struggle with deciding do I do this or do I do that. So being able to read how Lark now only handles one way but the other way as well.

I would definitely recommend this book and I am curious about her other books and will need to look into reading more.

I was excited to read this one, but unfortunately I didn't like the writing and that kept me from enjoying it.

I found the build-up in this story to be dragged out and it was difficult to root for either iteration of Lark. Her decisions are not understandable and the side characters were also not relatable.

I was in tears and my emotions were everywhere because of this book. A book that can make you feel a lot is a really talented story to me.

This book was not for me, but that wouldn't keep me from recommending it to others depending on their reading needs.

I opened this book before work and then closed out of it because i had to get going. When i went back to open it again the next day, i couldn't. It gave me an error message and so i deleted it and re downloaded it to see if i could open it up again that way, but the same thing happened.

The concept of this book intrigued me. Two people you know are in trouble and you can only save one. Who would you choose? This spilt decision causes your life to spilt in two. We follow parallel stories of what happens after the decision was made. I'm gonna be honest, I really did not like this. The characters were horrible. I couldn't stand Lark (in both versions), ; Alec quickly became a toxic manipulative person.
But I think the biggest problem for me was the dilemma with which Lark is confronted with at the very beginning of the book: save the girl she has babysat or the boy she barely knows but might become something more. I mean, if I were her, the choice would have been quite easy to make. Obviously you save the child and the person you know. Plus the accident that the novel centers around happens in the prologue. We don't even get a chance to get to know Annabelle or Alec (she barely knows him). Which, I think, should have made her decision that much easier.
The story moved quick but slow at the same time if that makes sense. Each chapter is basically the exact same thing but just the opposite person is in a coma. In one version, the day after the accident, Lark's basically dating Alec now and they're super close, which is super unrealistic. And then he becomes this emotionally abusive person to her which was just weird. Also I am usually one for answers at the end of a book but for this one I think it would have been better served with an ambiguous ending. However, we are literally given all the answers served up on a silver platter. Honestly, this was just not well written. the concept alone could not save this book.


I received an ARC of this book via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

I received a complimentary copy of this book. I voluntarily chose to read and post an honest review.

I have to say that the blurb provided on NetGalley had me completely interested. However, the book just didn't deliver for me.

Living parallel lives is something I have always been interested in, and have done my own research on. But Lark's story was almost unbelievable. The switching back and forth between "lives" was interesting, but should have been handled better. I never knew which life I was reading about until a different detail was mentioned as both "lives" were repetitive except for a few differences. The "Day: #" chapter headings were confusing and would have been better utilized with the parallel life theme ( with Alec or Without Alec)
And honestly, it may be because I am older, or because I'm a mother; but I personally would have gone straight for the child if I was in Lark's position. Even my own daughter's agreed that saving the child would have been a no brainer.

The ending was a major let down, the epilogue seemed like a quick wrap up to the story and didn't explain anything to me.

First of all, thanks to NetGalley and Kids Can Press for approving my request and sending me an eARC in exchange for a honest review.
You have to know English isn’t my first language, so feel free to correct me if I make some mistakes while writing this review.


On her birthday, Lark has a first date with Alec on the lake - she even meets the Fields family, whose daughter she used to babysit.
Everything seems perfect until Suzanne Fields calls for help: her daughter Annabelle is face down in the water. But when Alec dives to save her, he hits his head on a rock and Lark has to decide very quickly who she has to save.

In that moment her life splits in two - Lark herself splits in two - and we see her live two parallel lives: a life where she saved Alec and Annabelle is in a coma and a life where she chose Annabelle and Alec is the one in a coma.


This story presents a theme that I like very much - I was intrigued because the plot reminded me of "Sliding Doors".
I like and it creeps me out at the same time the idea that one moment's indecision - one choice - could lead to parallel lives with different consequences.
Lark's choice is an impossible choice, but just because it's impossible does it mean that one is better than the other?

Lark is definitely the character better developed: she lost her mother when she was fourteen and she hasn't touched her guitar since then. It doesn't stop her anyway from writing songs and singing with her band.

The rest of the characters is one-dimensional with no real spark in them and it's a pity because even though it's about two parallel lives, Lark does more or less the same things in both of them: she goes to the hospital to visit the person in a coma, she hangs with Alec or the band, she's at home with her father.
Well, there was potential for something more than that.

I liked one Lark better than the other, even if the one I preferred had her moments when she was unlikeable.
Because there's a Lark I found more "balanced" despite the fact she had a toxic way to try to control her life and a few scenes near the end were also disputable, and a Lark that totally loses sight of reality and of what is important - and since I often read books about it, I immediately understood what Alec's behavior meant since the beginning.
Though their lives have more or less the same routine, they are two totally different Larks because both of them react in a total different way in the aftermath of the lake and they have two different ways to deal with it based on the person they chose to save in the life they're living.

The chapters are a little too long: first we see one Lark's life, then the other and we retrace the same scenes to find out where they cross. Things get also a little confused because I sometimes forgot the kind of interaction Lark had with a character opposite to the other Lark.
Only near the end, only when things are barely manageable and nobody believes Lark, lines start to blur - and I was very curious about its resolution.
I liked it in part, but I can't deny that an ambiguous ending would have been perfect in my opinion.

Anyway, it's a book you can read quickly enough and I personally appreciated Lark's lyrics - they spoke to me somehow.
So, despite its flaws, I liked the book - though the existence of other lives born from different chioces made along the way is possible, there's only one life we live in the present and we have to make the most of it.

This book was nothing really special. I feel kind of meh about it. I definetly won't remember this book in a couple of months time. Interesting premise though.

First of all, this book is a hot mess.  I really wanted to like this book, but I struggled getting through it.

Basically, the story is told in the days that follow an accident at a lake where Lark, the MC, has to make a choice which causes a split leading to Lark's "parallel lives."  However, this concept wasn't introduced until fairly late into the book.  The story skips around way too much, and I spent a lot of time trying to figure out which Lark was telling the story. 

The romance portion of the book also doesn't make much sense.  The relationship goes from a date to a relationship in less than a month with a "I love you"s being swapped.  An abuse story line was introduced randomly, and felt like an afterthought. 

Some of the characters were one dimensional, and could have used more development or could have been left out of all together.  By doing so the author could have developed the main characters more and provided a more cohesive story.

The concept that parallel lives were created by what happened at the lake was very interesting and creative. I enjoyed seeing the impact of each decision not only on Lark but also on the others in her life. After all every major decision we make directly affects the course of our lives. I thought that song lyrics added even more meaning to the story. I especially liked the ending. I can't wait to read more books by this excellent author!

First, I'm in love with the cover. People say that don't judge a book by its cover. But I have to because by seeing the cover, I will know what the story is all about. This book has a great cover that relates to the story.
Second, I'm in love with the idea of the story and the conflict. I could feel what the main character felt when she had to make a decision of life and death. The plot flows as it is.

Me and Me was a a great story about a girl who has been through multiple traumas. Lark is a broken girl who has lost her mother and now has to choose between the boy she thinks she could love in the future or the little girl she's had a hand in raising. Alice Kuipers did a great job of keeping the split lives separate as to not get the reader confused. I would definitely recommend this book to my friends!

*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.