I was given this book to read in exchange for an honest review by NetGalley. I am expressing my opinions as that is what I signed up to do. I really wish I could say that I enjoyed this book. The concept of the book caught my attention and it is still a really interesting concept in theory. But when put into the book it made no sense and was incredibly confusing for the reader. I rated this book 2.5 stars out of 5.

I had big hopes for this book as I thought the idea of the books was something I would really love – seventeen year old Tati sends a saliva sample to a DNA ancestry and her esults come back inconclusive. It begs the questions what is wrong with her DNA? Tati discovers what she believes is impossible, parallel universes exist and her DNA compels and condemns herself and her other selves. Therefore they all try ot work together to take down the scientist responsible for this, their father. I don’t know about you, but this sounds really interesting to me! Which is why I am so dissapointed with this book. It was one of the most slow paced books I have ever read, I did not have a clue what was going on for the first 50% of the book which left me wanting to give up a lot. It was reallyy difficult to keep up with the alternate realities because it was never explained clearly at the beginning of the book, so by the time I understood I had to go back and piece together what happened.

It was too difficult to follow the plot and the charchters. It made it difficult to enjoy because I spent all of the time thinking “wait what?!” after every chapter. There are several versions of the same charchters from different realities. Now, this is a cool concept. But it was not handled well in my opinion. It was just incredibly confusing. It never truly specifies the differences between the different realities and the version of the character within them. We just see a small difference, e.g one is quieter etc.

Overall, I did not enjoy this book. I found it slow paced, hard to follow and really, really confusin. The idea behind the book is intruiging and I can definitely see where the author was trying to bring this book, but for me the journey was too confusing. Again, thank you to NetGalley for this ARC.

Ricochet follows four versions of one 17 year old girl across the multiverse: Tati, Ana, Tatyana and Tanya, as they harness their abilities to communicate with each other and understand their past and how they were given these abilities.

I usually don't read a lot of sci-fi, but Ricochet really spiked my interest, and I was so excited when I received an arc from net galley. This book really was a very interesting and unusual concept and it would have been incredibly difficult to write, but despite this I think it was executed really well by Kathryn Berla.

I think what Kathryn Berla did best was differentiating between the four main characters. Obviously, they are the same person, however their experiences in life are all different, so therefore they are all also individual. While reading there were times when I wasn't really paying attention and I forgot who's perspective I was reading from, but overall, I found it very easy to tell on character apart from the other.

This might just be because it took me a while to read this book, but my only complaint is that I felt that the introduction was too long. I failed to recognise several important plot points because I felt as though I was still in the middle of character introduction and the turning point that kicked off the story. It wasn't until I saw that I was about 70% through that I realised that I was already well into the plot.

Overall, I found Ricochet to be a really enjoyable and interesting read. The concept was amazing, and very well executed. I really liked the main characters and found the plot easy to follow and interesting. I really would like to see a sequel to this book, as I believe that while Ricochet did have a nice wrapped up ending, there is no much more of this concept that I would love to see explored more.

Also can we just appreciate this cover. It is so pretty.

(This review is also on goodreads and instagram)

*Received an ARC from the publishers, through Netgalley, for which I am grateful*
DNF. The blurb made this book sound fantastic. I thought it would have a similar idea to "A Thousand Pieces of You" however it let me down. I'm not fond of F/F relationships, and the blurb gave no hint towards that, so I was taken by surprise when it came up, and it made the book more difficult to read. I also did not enjoy the writing style. That cover and title were so cool though! So sad this was a let down.

I am giving this book four stars because of the ending, it was a really good read and i wanted to love it 5 stars worth but i just cant get over that ending. I had so many orphan black vibes while reading this book and that is hands down in my top five of favorite shows. The time jumps were a bit confusing, I feel like this book could of went on as a series so we could of had more world building and maybe a different ending, but i did enjoy myself while reading. I think it was good for a one time read, I would recommend it to friends.

I loved this book! The dynamics between the characters were intense and well developed, the writing was stellar, and the story was great. I was hooked until the last page and am excited to ready more from this author!

I received this book through Netgalley in exchange for a review. I am torn with this book. I wanted to like it, but it just did not live up to my expectations. I loved Orphan Black and I found the premise for the book similar. Ricochet, however, was very confusing and underdeveloped. The beginning took to long to get into and the end felt rushed. The book is the point of view of 4 characters that all have similar names and all have the same people in their lives so keeping their stories and each character straight was almost impossible. The first 3/4 of the book are spent building the story very slowly and then the last 1//4 of the book rushes the end and you are left with a very dissatisfying conclusion. It was a book I could put down and walk away from, not one that I wanted to read to the end.

I received this book free from NetGalley in exchange for my honest review.
Thanks NetGalley!

This book wasn't for more. Confusing at times. It was hard to keep up with the information given honestly. It may be an awesome book for some people, but unfortunately not for me.

I have read a lot of Young Adult literature, so it is difficult to find one that really taps into something new. This book was surprisingly new at every page and explored some ideas that I have not seen in other novels. The main character (characters?) has seizures that allow her to get glimpses into parallel/alternate universe/multiverses, where some things about her life are the same...and some are vastly different. Each version of herself has its own struggles and relationships, but also the some of the same problems, one of the largest being the seizures. It is a very interesting and entertaining read.

As a teacher, I think this would be a really fun book to teach and discuss. Who would you be in another universe? Would you want to visit the other you?

I want to start off by saying I typically do not like fantasy or sci-fi, so I was apprehensive to say the least.

This book is about Tatiana and her alternate universe selves. Initially it was hard for me to keep the different lives straight, but after a few chapters, I was able to tell them apart.

I found this book exciting! It was refreshing to have a YA that didn’t center on romance. There was a romance but it wasn’t a theme critical to the plot line.

I highly recommend this book. I did receive this book free for review purposes, but I would love to add a hard copy to my personal library.

I loved this book! I will be recommending it to all my young adult readers! Thank you for this opportunity to connect books to their readers.

This one had potential....a sort of YA version of Blake Crouch's Dark Matter. But it fizzled out for me and I lost interest. We see Tati/Ana/Tanya/Tatiana in four different versions of life and I liked seeing what was different in each version - sometimes big things, sometimes small things. There were themes of little events changing the course of someone's life, which made for some intriguing variations.
However, I found myself flagging at around 50% and I didn't have the impetus to continue.

DNF
Priya usually believed tati when it comes to anything related to school and academics. They were both academic achievers as their teachers used to say. They’re competitive and eager to excel. Their nicknames at school were Smart and Smarter - although it was unclear who was smarter - The A Team, and the Einstein Twins. They didn’t mind, they welcomed it. Tati did a saliva DNA sample and sent it to a ancestry testing site as she was adopted and knew she was Russian but she wanted to know what else she may find.When the results came back they were inconclusive. Tati asked Priya if she even loved her but Priya said Tati knew her parents were conservative. Tati said it was getting harder and harder for her to understand them. Sleepovers at tati’s house were very loving and happy but sleepovers at Priya's were regulated to the friend zone. She added when Priya stays at her house …. She doesn’t even know what they are. She was sorry but it wasn’t right. Than Priya said how many parents would be cool with them sleeping with their lover in their own bed? Under their parents roof? Tati knew she was mad , she’d pushed too hard. It doesn’t take a whole lot to trigger feelings of insecurity in Tati. The doubting voice that tells her Priya does like her parents’ narrow minded social beliefs. It was priya’s excuse to keep them a secret at school. Among their friends. Priya wants it both ways - all hers when she wanted tati and free as a bird when she doesn’t. Than her rational fights back -Priya loves her as no one else does. Than Priya asks if it was happening a seizure? She puts tati’s head in her lap and strokes her head and coos to her.But she can no longer hear. The tunnel appears where it’s always been before- just above hre. Beckoning her. Ana -they say she had another seizure but doesn’t remember it at all. But she was at the nurse's office at school. Nurse Pat asked if she had been taking her meds. Ana admits maybe she had skipped it a bit lately as it made her so tired . Ana can’t focus on anything. Nurse Pat said this was serious. It was her life. If she was going to skip doses because of the side effects. She needed to try something else. There was a lot of options. She had spent so much of her life trying to enter the magic rabbit hole, which is what Ana called the tunnel that appears at the end of her seizures. It’s irresistible and yet always just out of reach. School is the only thing that loves her back as much as she loved it, except her parents, of course. Thanwhen Ana goes back to class and she sees Priya . They share a lot of classes being the “smart girls.” Ana knows Priya respects her and she always been really nice. Ana hopes Priya doesn’t see whats he is trying to hide-how she really feels about Priya. Than she tells her teacher she knows what she going to do for her final project. So Mrs. Falco- her teacher - asked if she would share it with the class. So Ana states she knows she is adopted and her birth parents were Russian, had talked it over with her parents and they were going to do one of the DNA kits that breaks down her ancestry background. Than write a paper about the forces and events in history that would have brought her ancestors that weren’t Russian in contact with her Russian ancestor. With a her view that merges geography, history, science, and statics. Priya asked if she was okay she had heard she had a seizure , Ana said she could usually feel when a seizure was coming and sat down.
I just couldn’t get into this book. I tried but it just wasn’t for me. I don't care for F/F relationships and I didn't realize that was what this book had I am not sure if I just missed that . I feel bad rating it but I have to so… Also this got confusing with Tati’s four selves . the pace was also slow as far as I am concerned. The story also just didn’t keep my interest. I am sure there are many who will love this it just wasn’t for me

How do I review this? Because I don't wait to give a single thing away. I knew very little about this book. All I knew about this book was the first line of the blurb. (When seventeen-year-old Tati sends a saliva sample to a DNA ancestry testing site her results come back inconclusive.) That's all I needed to know to make me wait to read this book. So, if that line draws you in, stop reading the review or the blurb and wait till you can read the book yourself if you need more than, please finish this review.

We start off by following Tati, a high school student starting of a project for school that has to do with her DNA. We soon learn that something is up when things start being weird. We learn about Parallel universes and mee Tati. I loved how we, the reader, learn about these different universes. I also like how we can see how one thing can totally change a person's life.

Knowing that I only need that one like going in I didn't know and the Parallel universes or that the four need to team up to take out scientist aka their father. And I'm glad I didn't know those things because for me those were twists in the story that made it that more enjoyable.

The only thing that would have made this better was something that happened at the ending, I just needed more info.

This was a wild pager-turner that shows the power of our choices. It's such a good read and hope many, many people enjoy it!

Unusual, in that it's told from the viewpoints of four different versions of one 17-year-old girl, living in alternate realities.

Two are living in America, with loving adoptive parents. Tati has a pretty idyllic life, apart from the fact that she has random and medically inexplicable seizures. Ana doesn't have it quite so good, but her life is OK. She has the seizures too.

So does Tanya, who escaped from Russia with her increasingly mentally unstable mother, and isn't allowed to leave their run-down house. And so does Tatiana, who lives in luxury with her scientist father and aunt in her native Moscow.

When the girls begin to cross between worlds, it sets off a suspenseful sequence of events in each of the realities, and nothing will ever be the same again for any of them.

I was enjoying this up until the ending, which I felt short-changed most of the characters - especially the ones that had been most protagonistic. But it wasn't so disappointing as to drop a star, and for other readers it may work better than it did for me.

I thought this one was a very cool. Ana, Tati, Tanya, Tatyana all have seizures and all have odd parallels that spring up in their lives - but are they really oddities or something more nefarious? Berla rolls this one out slowly but steadily and she kept my curiosity piqued throughout. The characters were different enough to keep all of their stories feeling fresh and entertaining and I loved the way little pop up details would ring similar - and manor ones ring incredibly dissonant - throughout. The revelations and conclusion came a little quicker than I would have liked but that's not a criticism so much as an observation on how I didn't want this one to end too quickly. I thoroughly enjoyed it and will definitely be looking for more from her!

*thank you to Flux Publishing and to Netgalley for this free copy in exchange for an honest review*

Ricochet is a sci-fi story set in (what I’d say is the near future) where somehow 1 girl has had her DNA spliced into 4 separate persons: Tati, Ana, Tatyana, and Tanya.

First thing that I find a bit problematic is that some characters share interactions with people of the same name, along different timelines (Tati and Ana both attend a school with a Priya and Andrew in attendance, but they aren’t the same people). This was a bit confusing but it made it hard to know who’s timeline I was in.

Tanya and Tatyana don’t seem to have anything in common, and so their stories were easy to separate out.

I feel like the ending was a bit rushed, but still a good tale nonetheless

Tati. Ana. Tanya. Tatiana. Four girls, in four different worlds, linked by seizures, DNA and a science experiment started long ago. When Tati (and Ana) send their spit out for DNA analysis as part of a class project, the results that come back set them both off on a journey that will unravel secrets in their past and help them find one another.

An interesting sci-fi thriller, fast-paced and readable. Berla does a good job of giving each girl a different voice (even though they're all the same girl). Does the science make any sense? No. Does it matter? No. The storytelling gets a bit sloppy at the end (I wasn't entirely sure who was alive, and who was dead, and in what world), but definitely entertaining.

I’ll admit, the concept of the book appealed to me. And I won’t lie–Ricochet was a pretty okay book. That’s the problem. It was just pretty okay.

I get that Tati and her other selves are supposed to be the same person, but they all had different upbringings, so I feel like their narrative voices should be different, since they all react differently to situations. Tati, the “main” character, and Ana have the most similar lives, with minor differences, and they both live in the States. Tanya and Tatyana live drastically different lives and both live in Russia.

My main issues with this book can be summed up like this: unrealistic storytelling. When you’re reading a sci-fi or fantasy book, you want to be sucked into the world so that you suspend your disbelief. I was never sucked in. I always felt like a passerby in the story. The girls all had the exact same narrative voice, and the switching of POV was confusing because of that.

The relationships between the characters were never really genuine–I didn’t believe that Nurse Pat cared about Ana, or that Ana was sad about her (adopted, not the evil scientist) father’s death. I didn’t believe that Tatyana actually hated her father eventually (this father is the evil scientist).

And the author tried to include some LGBTQ+ in there, by having Tati and Priya date, and then having Ana crushing on her universe’s version of Priya, but the romance wasn’t believable. Tati and Priya just seemed like two cardboard cutouts. I wanted depth, and this book honestly didn’t have a lot of that.

I also didn’t like how the time periods seemed so discombobulated. Obviously, rural Russia and suburban US would be totally different, but I’ve been taking Russian for two years, and the differences the writer gave seem a little too drastic.

What did I like about the book? Well, it was a quick and easy read with an intriguing premise. There weren’t really any plot holes, and the way the ending resolved itself was rather nice. The book presented some interesting ideas, and I liked how it tried to include some information about seizures (although, disclaimer: a seizure will usually not send you into a tunnel where you find an AU version of yourself–or three AU versions. Just saying). It wasn’t a bad read, but the writing was a little one-dimensional, and it left me wanting more.

The beginning was a tad slow. It did pick up for sure, but found certain parts to be confusing. When I think of parallel universe I think it's me, but the opposite of me. It was weird having two of the characters almost living identical lives, so I would mix up who was who.
However, I think a lot of YA will love this book,it was very well written and has some great little twists.

This books was a totally amazing read. I am not that much into sifi, but I enjoyed this one .it deals with parallel universes and does that well. The narration was good, especially while describing the scientific events or facts. science fictions sometimes lack the poetic appeal of a book which I look for, but this book didn't have that problem. I liked the ending. It would make a good movie also.
Really lucky to receive the arc from netgalley.