Here by Denise Grover Swank is told from Julia's point of view. Julia lives in guilt after she survives a car accident that killed her best friend, Monica. Life just isn't the same and Julia disengages from school and her family. Her peers brand her as the crazy girl. In addition to her new, gloomy outlook on life, Julia has been having dreams where she dies and Monica lives. She also has a new talent for drawing and wears a bracelet engraved with her name that no one had ever seen before the accident, and she has no idea how she got it.
Then there's Evan, the most popular, attractive guy in school. Before the accident, he never gave Julia the time of day. Now he's volunteering to tutor her, sneaking her glances whenever he can, and going against high school hierarchy to be with her. But the really weird thing is that his interest in her didn't come about until after he disappeared for two days and came back wearing the pedant she's been absentmindedly drawing. Coincidence? Probably not.
And just when things can't get any weirder, he takes her to a place where Monica is alive. And no, it's not exactly the Twilight Zone.
Before I read the actual book, I read a lot about the book. I wouldn't recommend doing that. I knew what was coming. Because of that, the mystery leading up to the big reveal was pretty much blown for me. Don't let that happen to you. I think it will be more exciting the less you know.
So despite that, what did I think? Well, I have mixed feelings. I was expecting something really sci-fi-y, and what I got was some weird love triangle that was really over the top. I ultimately felt bad for Julia for getting yanked around, which she allowed to happen because she was already such an emotional wreck. I think my problem was that I was just expecting too much. I was also confused by Reece's first appearance. Apparently Julia had never seen him before, but he was acting like they knew each other. That wasn't the case, though. They really had just met. It didn't fit. I'm not really for declaring "teams" when it comes to love triangles, but in this case, I really like Reece a hell of a lot more than I like Evan.
This is book one in the On the Other Side series. I don't know when the next book will come out, but I'm on the fence about reading it. I have so many other books on my reading list that we'll see if I'm still invested when the next book comes out. The book didn't end on some crazy cliffhanger, so I wasn't left annoyed -- just curious. But I'm not sure if that curiosity is enough.
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Haven't seen Fringe? Well you should! Dr. Walter Bishop is the best character. He's a little crazy, a little goofy, and really likes food and LSD. Even so, he's a brilliant scientist that knows all about weird, crazy stuff.
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