Parallel

When Miller’s debut novel opens, Abby Barnes has put off college to star in a Hollywood blockbuster alongside an A-list movie star. On the night before Abby’s 18th birthday, two parallel worlds collide, and Abby wakes up as another version of herself, one attending Yale with her best friend Caitlin, but who still has memories of her “other” life. In addition to this dimensional shift, Miller also shunts readers between Abby’s life at Yale and her senior year of high school, unpacking the altered events that led to her Ivy League future in this universe. Each chapter opens with a datestamp, which should help readers feel (a bit) less lost than Abby, as she tries to understand her condition with help from a Nobel-winning physicist, while more anomalies pile up. While each chapter provides a compelling excerpt from Abby’s life and shows off Miller’s storytelling skills, strung together they don’t create an entirely coherent narrative. Readers will likely find themselves flipping back and forth and rereading passages, trying to keep up with the unfolding changes in Abby’s life. Ages 13–up. Agent: Kristyn Keene, ICM. (May)