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seiraaa's review against another edition
2.0
A brilliant idea gone to waste with a cliche love triangle, a spineless heroine and good-for-nothing heroes.
noelkendy's review against another edition
5.0
This is the first book in the “On the Other Side Series” by Denise Grover Swank. I thoroughly enjoyed this book. I picked up this book with the thoughts that I wouldn’t like it because the cover looks scary and I don’t like scary books (yes, I’m a baby with these things, I also don’t watch scary movies). I was convinced to read it by Ms. Swank’s assistant, Ms. Davis, when she explained that it isn’t a scary book. So I put on my big girl panties and started reading… boy, am I glad that I read it! It’s really not scary, it’s a paranormal book that involves a parallel universe, which is something that I think about every now and again – like what if I would have chosen this instead of that? Well this universe depicts that. It’s a universe where the Cuban missile crisis actually happened. They can’t grow food, so they use rations. And they can’t step into the sun because the missiles nuclear power destroyed the ozone and it will burn them much faster. But their technology is very much more advanced than ours – they’ve even cured most cancers! Anywho, I don’t want to give too much away, but I highly recommend it!
nicholeb84's review against another edition
2.0
I wanted to like this novel, but felt like it was trying to do too much and b e too many things. I found this novel to be full of cliches, both in plot and characters. The overall idea of the plot was good, but it just didn't work for me. At the half-way mark, the story finally picked up. But then, it went way too fast. Leaving little room for actual plot development. Instead, we got a love triangle between two boys in love with a girl whose died and the girl whose died alternate universe's counterpart.
While I like both universes Reece's, I found Evan to be very obsessive, possessive, and creepy. He basically risks his life, the life of his friend,and maybe his whole world for girl. Yes, he's loved her his whole live, but it was still dumb and selfish. Julia started out as a depressed, but somewhat likeable main character. She ended up a girl who rushes in without thinking and whose apparently in love with two boys - both of whom she's known only a handful of days. Yes, the dead Julia's memories seem to have somewhat merged with hers, but still. . .Julia barely knows Evan or Reece.
As for the writing style, I didn't like it at all. It was a lot of tell and little show. At times it felt like I was reading fanfiction of a show I've never seen. Plus, the "evil" General and government of Evan and Other!Reece's world - they came off like huge cliches of what someone thinks a sci-fi story's villains should be.
Overall - a 2.8 out of 5. (Rounded up to a 3 for this site) Borrow it, don't buy.
While I like both universes Reece's, I found Evan to be very obsessive, possessive, and creepy. He basically risks his life, the life of his friend,and maybe his whole world for girl. Yes, he's loved her his whole live, but it was still dumb and selfish. Julia started out as a depressed, but somewhat likeable main character. She ended up a girl who rushes in without thinking and whose apparently in love with two boys - both of whom she's known only a handful of days. Yes, the dead Julia's memories seem to have somewhat merged with hers, but still. . .Julia barely knows Evan or Reece.
As for the writing style, I didn't like it at all. It was a lot of tell and little show. At times it felt like I was reading fanfiction of a show I've never seen. Plus, the "evil" General and government of Evan and Other!Reece's world - they came off like huge cliches of what someone thinks a sci-fi story's villains should be.
Overall - a 2.8 out of 5. (Rounded up to a 3 for this site) Borrow it, don't buy.
haleyelisereads's review against another edition
3.0
Oh wow, I am so excited to see how book 2 plays out!!! Hoping to see more of Reese (the united STATES of America one, not the United Regions) :D
k_wall's review against another edition
5.0
This book started off like so many others that I have read. Teenagers in an accident and one friend left with the guilt of killing her friend. Then she is depressed and of course the most popular guy in school starts to notice her. This isn't a bad story, it is actually what drew me in. Once I learned this was classified as science fiction, I even almost quit reading it.
Then I got to the heart of the book when the police start looking for Evan and he asks Julia to go with him. This is where I couldn't put the book down. I really felt that the second half of the book was the best part. I don't want to give anything away, but I really feel like this is the next big thing in a book series. I can't wait to read the sequel,"There," coming December 24th.
Then I got to the heart of the book when the police start looking for Evan and he asks Julia to go with him. This is where I couldn't put the book down. I really felt that the second half of the book was the best part. I don't want to give anything away, but I really feel like this is the next big thing in a book series. I can't wait to read the sequel,"There," coming December 24th.
charlestonmes's review against another edition
3.0
* 3.5 stars*
I'm not really a fan of love triangles but this book kept me interested. The plot twist was a first for me and left me intrigued. I will definitely read the second book.
I'm not really a fan of love triangles but this book kept me interested. The plot twist was a first for me and left me intrigued. I will definitely read the second book.
betty816's review against another edition
4.0
Totally not what I expected when I started! Good book, curious if there will be a second....
spowers2627's review against another edition
5.0
I am a huge fan of Denise Grover Swank. I was uncertain about this genre, as it was YA. This book surprised me. I found the paranormal/fantasy elements very interesting. The characters were likable and had depth. Most intriguing was the suspenseful ending, I couldn't wait to read the next book.
joyousreads132's review against another edition
3.0
At first glance, Here’s cover bespeaks loudly of your run-of-the mill paranormal read; wolves? Shifters? Maybe even vampires or ghosts. But never would I have expected a parallel universe. I was getting ready to go to bed when this book caught my eye. It was just sitting on my desk along with my pile of Self-Pub Challenge books. Once I started reading, I was half worried, half excited that it was going to keep me up all night. But alas, I succumbed to tiredness and got through about half of it. In all honesty, I loved about three-quarters of this book and felt so-so about the rest of it. I'll explain further...or I'll cite the circumstances why this book didn't sustain its lovability.
Quick Synopsis: Reeling from the death of her best friend, Julia has all but given up. She was debilitated by guilt and blamed herself for being alive. Her school work has suffered tremendously and her family was on the verge of collapse. At school, she's the proverbial social pariah. That is, until Evan Whittaker, the it boy of James Monroe High started paying her unwanted attention and volunteered to be her tutor. It doesn’t take long until Evan showed signs that he knew more than he was letting on, dropping hints about the past that Julia knew nothing of. After a fight over a bracelet she woke up wearing after the accident, Evan disappeared and a police manhunt ensued. That same night, Evan came calling on Julia and begged her to come away with him. The rest of the story flipped on the side of crazy, as Evan takes Julia to a world where United States was reduced to 10 regions, plants don’t grow, and the world as they knew it, was still suffering from a nuclear fall-out that happened decades in the past.
Whew. That was a mouthful…and hardly quick.
DGS bisected the past and the present, combining them into a reality unheard of. The prologue was set in the 60s at a time when there was a considerable fear of a nuclear attack from the Russians. Though it took a while for Denise to reveal how this would all be melded in the story, it’s what sucked me in to the entire novel as a whole. I couldn’t really tell what this book was about from the summary alone so to eventually find its relation to Julia and Evan’s story was definitely a nice surprise.
As for the characters, Evan gave me quite a worry there for a second. His fascination with Julia seemed a little sudden and unfounded from the start and for a moment, it bordered on instant-love. And when I found out the reason why, my opinion of Evan’s behavior changed from reasonably acceptable to…NOT. I mean, I don’t think he pined for her enough. Knowing what he knew then and knowing how much he loved her, I think Evan’s reaction to Julia was a little subdued, in my opinion, considering how much he mourned for her 'loss'. I may sound a bit confusing and vague now but there are spoilers to consider.
Julia Phillips was a likable character. Though she spent some time moaning about her loss, the author worked very hard at making her a strong character regardless, especially during the times when she had to be the strong one in the family.
This is where it gets tricky. I did say I loved this book but upon Reece's introduction, I started to break out in hives. LOVE TRIANGLE allergies. I hate when that happens. I was sold on the Evan/Julia pairing and though Here has a different spin on this tirednot so romantic arc, I just...I just don't really like it. It's the heroine waffling between two heroes that irritates me. In the end, the wonderful start and the gripping middle just kind of ended on a flat note. Which is unfortunate because that's when things got intense.
VERDICT: Despite the dud ending, I'm glad I got to discover Here for the first time. Denise Grover Swank’s ability to create a well-evolved story truly shows in this book. The over-all ambiguity of the story made for a page-turner that will take you into an alternate universe that stands above some of the dystopian novels you've ever read - and really, this is the best thing about this book: the unexpectedness of where Ms. Swank will take you is simply remarkable. I'm just sorry that my enthusiasm over the book was marred by that dreadful you-know-what.
Quick Synopsis: Reeling from the death of her best friend, Julia has all but given up. She was debilitated by guilt and blamed herself for being alive. Her school work has suffered tremendously and her family was on the verge of collapse. At school, she's the proverbial social pariah. That is, until Evan Whittaker, the it boy of James Monroe High started paying her unwanted attention and volunteered to be her tutor. It doesn’t take long until Evan showed signs that he knew more than he was letting on, dropping hints about the past that Julia knew nothing of. After a fight over a bracelet she woke up wearing after the accident, Evan disappeared and a police manhunt ensued. That same night, Evan came calling on Julia and begged her to come away with him. The rest of the story flipped on the side of crazy, as Evan takes Julia to a world where United States was reduced to 10 regions, plants don’t grow, and the world as they knew it, was still suffering from a nuclear fall-out that happened decades in the past.
Whew. That was a mouthful…and hardly quick.
DGS bisected the past and the present, combining them into a reality unheard of. The prologue was set in the 60s at a time when there was a considerable fear of a nuclear attack from the Russians. Though it took a while for Denise to reveal how this would all be melded in the story, it’s what sucked me in to the entire novel as a whole. I couldn’t really tell what this book was about from the summary alone so to eventually find its relation to Julia and Evan’s story was definitely a nice surprise.
As for the characters, Evan gave me quite a worry there for a second. His fascination with Julia seemed a little sudden and unfounded from the start and for a moment, it bordered on instant-love. And when I found out the reason why, my opinion of Evan’s behavior changed from reasonably acceptable to…NOT. I mean, I don’t think he pined for her enough. Knowing what he knew then and knowing how much he loved her, I think Evan’s reaction to Julia was a little subdued, in my opinion, considering how much he mourned for her 'loss'. I may sound a bit confusing and vague now but there are spoilers to consider.
Julia Phillips was a likable character. Though she spent some time moaning about her loss, the author worked very hard at making her a strong character regardless, especially during the times when she had to be the strong one in the family.
This is where it gets tricky. I did say I loved this book but upon Reece's introduction, I started to break out in hives. LOVE TRIANGLE allergies. I hate when that happens. I was sold on the Evan/Julia pairing and though Here has a different spin on this tired
VERDICT: Despite the dud ending, I'm glad I got to discover Here for the first time. Denise Grover Swank’s ability to create a well-evolved story truly shows in this book. The over-all ambiguity of the story made for a page-turner that will take you into an alternate universe that stands above some of the dystopian novels you've ever read - and really, this is the best thing about this book: the unexpectedness of where Ms. Swank will take you is simply remarkable. I'm just sorry that my enthusiasm over the book was marred by that dreadful you-know-what.
kenna92005's review against another edition
2.0
When I first began this book, I thought it was going to be a ghost story or somehow have the paranormal in it. However, this book is definitely more sci-fi. I think I would’ve been less disappointed if I had known that from the beginning.
Another issue I had were the characters. Evan and Julia were definitely overly dramatic/emotional. There were times Julia would be sensible and come off natural and then she would plunge into the deep end. Things got weird the farther into the story.
I didn’t totally fall in love with any of the characters relationships. I also don’t really enjoy Julia as a narrator.
Overall, this was an interesting read, but I won’t be continuing the story. If you like surprises and sci-fi and overly dramatic/emotional characters this would be a good book for you.
Another issue I had were the characters. Evan and Julia were definitely overly dramatic/emotional. There were times Julia would be sensible and come off natural and then she would plunge into the deep end. Things got weird the farther into the story.
I didn’t totally fall in love with any of the characters relationships. I also don’t really enjoy Julia as a narrator.
Overall, this was an interesting read, but I won’t be continuing the story. If you like surprises and sci-fi and overly dramatic/emotional characters this would be a good book for you.