Customer Reviews

Small Eternities: Pt. 2 (Aldous Lexicon)

5 star:		(8)
4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Alaric is a sixteen-year-old boy who lives with his father in a crumbling old Victorian mansion that has been in his family for years. His mother died two years earlier in a horrific train crash, and his life has been going downhill since then. One snowy day, while alone, Alaric becomes reacquainted with the mansion he knows as his home. Once in a room that he has not sat in forever, he reaches for a familiar object. In a spilt second he is met with searing pain and the walls around him seem to come down. He opens his eyes to find himself lying in what appears to be the room he was just in, only it is cleaner and there is an unfamiliar girl standing before him.

Sixteen-year-old Naia and her parents live in a mansion that was named Withern Rise by one of her ancestors. Naia's mother faced a near-death experience two years ago, but Naia has tried her best to forget about it. It is certainly the farthest thought from her mind one snowy day when she finds a strange boy sitting on her living room floor. She can't figure out why he is there, why he is claiming it is really his house, or why he looks almost identical to her.

Can it be that two different realities exist at the same time --- one where Alaric lives with his father in Withern Rise and another where Naia is the only child to Alaric's father and the mother he lost two years ago? Alaric and Naia's discovery of each other brings about many startling events and realizations. Will Alaric and Naia be able to use each other to find out the truth about their own lives?

Michael Lawrence has written a suspenseful and engaging tale of two teenagers living the same life. There is even an alternate ending that gives another outlook to the story's conclusion, along with a surprising twist. This gripping novel --- which is the first volume of a trilogy --- cannot be put down until the very end.

--- Reviewed by Sara Cole

"At sixteen, Alaric and Naia were as alike as any two people of opposite sexes can be...They shared a history, a lineage, memories, and had lived all their lives in the same house, Withern Rise, where they had occupied the same room, done the same things, more often than not had the same thoughts at the very same instant. And yet...

They had never met."


Interesting way to start a novel, isn't it?

Alaric and Naia are closer than siblings, closer than twins. They are alternate versions of the same person, living in alternate dimensions, and when their lives are suddenly and inexplicably brought together by a carved model known as Lexie's Folly, they are forced to rethink everything they know about the universe, everything they know about their families, and everything they know about themselves.

Alaric's mother, Alex Underwood, was involved in a terrible train crash when he was fourteen. She had a fifty-fifty chance of dying. She died.

Naia's mother, Alex Underwood, was also involved in a train crash when she was fourteen. This Alex also had a fifty-fifty chance of dying. She lived.

Because of this difference, Alaric and Naia's temperaments are drastically different. Naia is joking and carefree, much like her mother, while Alaric is sullen and withdrawn, living an almost speechless life with his father in their old, drafty house. The only spark of light is his aunt Liney, who comes as a sort of babysitter while his father is away, and Alaric rejects her as well, still bitter over his mother's death.

This book, by itself, feels incomplete. It is. The story is so connected with the sequels, SMALL ETERNITIES and THE UNDERWOOD SEE that they are inseparable; but together, they form a thought-provoking, intricate, and ultimately tragic story about choices and unalterable consequences - even in a world where choices and actions can be relived, over and over again.

Rating: Masterpiece

Good ol' Mike L. did a GREAT job on this book. It's written wonderfully. I only have two complaints:
1. I had planned on having a book to read for a while. This one got me so involved I finished it in three days! *laughs*
2. At the end there is an 'alternative ending'. Does this mean he isn't sure which one he is going to use? Or did he put the other one in just to show us what the other one is? *confused???*

Wonderful job! I loved it!It was a fun read!
-KK

Alaric and Naia. Two different people, two different sexes, two different minds. They have never heard of each other, seen each other, or ever acknowledged that they were born. But, they share the same face, the same thoughts, the same house, same room even. It turns out there's a parallel universe, where everything is the same, except for one major thing. Alaric's mother died in a train wreck with a 50/50 chance. Naia's mother was in the same accident, but survived with her 50/50 chance.

One day Alaric finds a way to travel to the parallel world (by accident of course) and everything he's ever known tangles itself up with could-haves, would-haves, and can-haves.

It is an interesting, thought-provoking novel about what things could be like. What could happen if you did one thing different? It's insane about how much your head winds around it. But the writing and characters are severely lacking. We know who the characters are, and sometimes how they would act, but we never get to know them. Even if there is going to be two to other books, we should know them as maybe a friend would now. The writing style is a bit lacking in detail too. There's amateur mistakes popping up everywhere, and sometimes they distract from the story. The plot has too many "Huh?" moments too, and the author just leaves us wondering- but not in the good way.

The only character that really caught my eye was Alaric's aunt Liney. She's fantastic. Her head is a bit whacked, she wears bright, outlandish clothes and she'll try anything, headfirst. She is one of the best characters, and behind her "faults" she's got a great personality. Eager, fun, loving, one of the reasons why I went through with the book.

Overall, it was an okay book, not something I'd pick up again. I recommend this book for any person who is looking for a deeply twisted plot, but doesn't care if the characters aren't developed very well yet.

When I first received this book last Christmas I was unsure to whether I was going to like it or not. The plot seemed to be a little on the lame Sci-Fi side and I could see a "Winkle in Time" rip off on the horizon. However, after reading it I found myself impressed, not by the plot as so many others are, but by the author, what he revealed of himself in the text and the way that his mind works.
The guy's brain works in the same way that mine does and that's rare. He gets an idea, builds on it and he doesn't give a damn if it fits a format or works in the context. He is also very analytical and funny. My favorite part of the story is when Naia starts reading Aldous' paper that had been written years before. The text is about four pages and it's a rant about different scenarios that can be played out by our subtlest alterations of our daily routines. It's brilliant. The way that the man writes is brilliant. I was, however slightly disappointed by the resolution of the main plot. I guess that everybody gets what they always wanted, but I kept thinking about how much more the author could have done with it. Overall it was a quick, enjoyable, thought provoking and fun read that I would suggest to any literature lover.

Mat Perrin, esq.

A Crack in the Line, by Michael Lawrence, is a
story about two sixteen-year-olds, Alaric and
Naia, who discover that they are living in
parallel universes. In these parallel universes,
they are both living almost the exact same life.
They share the same thoughts, moments, and they
even look alike. Only one major difference exists
between their lives, other than the fact that
Alaric is a boy and Naia is a girl. Alaric's
mother died in a train crash two years earlier,
while Naia's mother survived the disaster. After
Alaric accidentally finds a way to travel to the
universe in which Naia is living, the two of them
work together to figure out why their lives are
so similar and why this major difference exists.
Events lead them to a major discovery, and their
actions result in mistakes, which could
ultimately change their lives forever.
This is a very intriguing story that combines
mystery and science fiction. Even though this
book is science fiction, it is amazingly
realistic, and it seems as though the concept of
this story could actually happen in real life. I
really enjoyed this book and Michael Lawrences
descriptive writing. A Crack in the Line is like
no other book I have ever read. Its originality
is quite amazing and works to make the story more
fascinating. I would recommend this book to
anyone who is interested in reading something
different with a captivating plot.
Reviewed by AG at Flamingnet Book Reviews.
For more preteen, teen and young adult book recommendations
and reviews, please visit www.flamingnet.com.

This is one of the best books ever written. Period. I read it in two days flat. It's that good. There is enough suspense to keep you on the edge of your seat until the very end!

Sixteen-year-old Alaric lives in a huge Victorian house on the outskirts of London with his Father. His Mother isn't around anymore. She's dead. Killed in a train crash two years ago. It's snowing. Alaric watches as the so-called Family Tree begins collecting white bits of snow on it's gnarled branches and roots. Suddenly he reaches towards an object that he's always known, but the walls melt away, and while Alaric believes that he's still standing in his own living room, he's wrong. For a girl named Naia is there when he opens his eyes. Naia is his age, and looks exactly like him. She asks him, "Who are you?" Suddenly Alaric realizes something. He's stumbled into another version of his life. One that's almost the same, but not quite. Naia is also sixteen. She lives in a big Victorian house on the outskirts of London with her Father (Alaric's Father), and her Mother (Alaric's Mother), only Alaric's Mother is dead, Naia's Mother is alive. However she did have a close call in a train crash a mere two years ago (the same train crash Alaric's Mother died in). Now Alaric's trying to figure out the answer to the age-old question, "Who am I, and what's going on here?"

I feel so fortunate to have been able to read Michael Lawrence's A CRACK IN THE LINE. This is one of the most gripping, interesting, engrossing, thought-provoking books that I have ever read in my life. His choice of words for the characters dialogue is superb, keeping your eyes glued to the pages, while at the same time on the edge of your seat to find out what is actually going on. Lawrence's effort will have even the most uninterested reader unable to escape the mysteries of A CRACK IN THE LINE, and will leave you thinking, talking, wondering, and more about time, identity, space, etc. long after the book is over. A must have for all looking for a wonderfully, engrossing novel.

Erika Sorocco
Book Review Columnist for The Community Bugle Newspaper

This book changed my life the first time I read it, I've read it three times so far. This is the story of Alaric, a boy who's mother has died, leaving him and his father to fall into depression and disrepair. One day when Alaric is struck with a bout of grief, he ends up in an alternative reality where his mother is alive, married to his father but instead of an only son, they have a daughter instead, Naia. Is it the story of how Alaric and Naia come to grips with the alternate versions of their lives and how they fight to stay in the reality they prefer.
Extraordinarily well written, this book was up for a Printz Award when it first came out. I was sorely disappointed it didn't win. It really is that great of a book. It makes you rethink your own life and the decisions you've made. It deals with heavy issues in a really accessible and enjoyable way. Teens and adults will love this book. I highly recommend you try it, and for the ebook price, you can't beat it.

Michael Lawrence has written a mysterious novel about the existence of an alternative and parallel universe. A boy, a girl and a snow globe with magical powers. How can two separate teenagers share the same life at the same time... or can they? Are their lives one and the same? "A Crack in the Line" is a strange tale to the end. Welcome to the twilight zone.

-Tenaya Jacob, author of "Seasonings of the Soul."