Parallel Lives

By: Lori Lucero

Narrated by: Susan Reinhardt

If Jen can't get back to her usual self, she'll end up having to do everything all over again. Jen is a thirty-seven-year-old middle-school teacher in 2012. Overweight, underpaid, in debt, and with a bitter divorce pending, Jen wants to start over.

Then Jen is hit by a car. When she awakens, she is a thirteen-year-old kid with her same parents and siblings, but it is still 2012. Initially Jen resists accepting her new reality, insisting that she is thirty-seven years old. However, faced with the possibility of confinement to a mental health ward, she is forced to play along.

Jen struggles to understand her situation. She jumps on every possible source of information until she stumbles upon some discussions in theoretical physics regarding parallel universes. Could this be what happened to her? She contacts a quantum physics professor, who tells her he can help her go "home," thus leaving her with a major decision. Should she stay and relive the pain of adolescence, but have the chance to make better life choices? Or should she return to her highly flawed but familiar life?

©2013 Lori Lucero (P)2013 Lori Lucero

Disappointed

What could have made this a 4 or 5-star listening experience for you?

This book is not ever going to be a 4 or 5 star book.

How would you have changed the story to make it more enjoyable?

The idea is wonderful. The writing is bad. There is a wonderful potential for multiple perspectives. However, it's impossible to tell the 37 year-old Jen from the 13 year old, which would be perfect except none of the other characters can tell the difference either. The dialogue is stilted and awkward. Awkward in the way that you feel bad for the writer as you listen.

How could the performance have been better?

The narrator is very bad, perhaps the worst narrator I've listened to. Her accents are awful and she misses a lot of inflections. A lot.

You didn’t love this book... but did it have any redeeming qualities?

The concept is good.

Mediocre story- worst narrator ever.

Is there anything you would change about this book?

I just don't think it's very well written. A better narrator might help - but not sure. It isn't just about a 13 year old- it often feels like it was written by one. And not in a cute or charming way .

What do you think your next listen will be?

Something else.

Would you be willing to try another one of Susan Reinhardt’s performances?

Oh goodness no! She actually seems to struggle with simple reading at points. Seriously . And her accents are absolutely painful. I haven't heard a worse Irish accent in, well, ever. Her Spanish accent was about as good. I hate to bash her- but I am sad I wasted my money on this.

Did Parallel Lives inspire you to do anything?

Yes- get a different book.

Intriguing Concept

Great read/listen. The premise of the story grabbed me immediately. I have always loved stories about time travel and parallel universes. I gave the story four stars instead of five because it took me a while to warm up to Jen, the main character. I definitely felt sorry for her but she didn't seem to be someone I could root for at first- but I am really glad that I stuck with it because the character definitely grew and matured (ironically through becoming a child again) by the end of this very intriguing story. The narration was top notch. Really enjoyable.

Highly Recommended

I would definitely recommend Parallel Lives because I think that the theme is one of those universal ones that people struggle with: "If I could go back and change my life would I?" I think all of us at one point (or many points) fantasize about what it would be like to go back and start at the beginning of our lives and make completely different choices. It was exciting to read about a character who actually had the opportunity to do that. I loved Susan Reinhardt's narration and take on the characters. She has a smooth, expressive voice and her characterizations definitely brought a lot to the story. Very enjoyable to listen to! Great story. Great narration. I definitely think others will enjoy this book as much as I did.