Folding Paper & Spilling Ink

This is a great book. It damn near gets the coveted 5 star rating from me, but not quite. I won't rehash a summary of the book, you can find that elsewhere, but I will say I found the concept of living two lives simultaneously fascinating. It reminded me of Every Day by David Levithan, and Before I Fall by Lauren Oliver (with a dose of Bell Jar). The pacing is masterful, the structure engaging, and I couldn't stop reading. Despite not being terribly fond of the main character, Sabine, I found her story interesting, and I was invested in her plights. Many of the side characters aren't filled in well, but that fits given the fact that we are getting this all from Sabine's perspective and she's wrapped up in her own head. The plot itself was predictable, but that didn't make it any less readable. And even though I saw the end coming from a million miles away, it was still satisfying and made me an emotional mess. I realize that is a lot of criticism mixed in with the praise, but I offer up the bad with the good in order to emphasize how even with these faults I still loved it. An impressive feat to be sure! I'll be keeping my eyes out for future, more polished, works from Shirvington.