Title: Through To You
Author: Emily Hainsworth
Release date: October 2, 2012
Publisher: Balzer & Bray
Pages: 272
Source: Publisher
Reading level: YA
Camden Pike has been grief-stricken since his girlfriend, Viv, died. He’d give anything to have just one more glimpse of her. But when Cam visits the site of Viv’s deadly car accident, he sees an apparition. Her name is Nina, and she’s a girl from a parallel world. When Cam follows here there and makes an unbelievable discovery, it’s as if all his wildest dreams have come true. But things are very different in this other world. Nina is hiding a secret, and the window between the worlds is shrinking every day. As Cam comes to terms with the truth, he’s forced to make a choice that will change his life forever.
Emily Hainsworth’s debut novel is one you don’t want to miss. This story of parallel worlds will have you on the edge of your seat until the very last page.
This review is going to be completely spoiler free but let me just tell you, it’s a little harder than normal for me to stick to that with this book. I just want to go on and on about it!
First up, the story is such a unique concept. I admit that I have been getting a little bored with all the similar stories in YA. Through To You definitely switches things up. Cam’s girlfriend is killed in a car accident and he can’t move on. Life just keeps getting worse for him until he discovers this light that leads to a parallel world where she is still alive. However things are quite what they seem in this alternate world and Cam has to figure out how to move on before it’s too late. It’s a blend of paranormal and contemporary and I adored it. And yes there were a few things that I predicted but nothing too major and nothing that made me like the book less.
Cam was a fabulous character. Emily Hainsworth managed to put readers into the mind of this grief stricken teenage boy and I fell totally in love with him. Everything he was feeling came through to me and he came across as a 100% real guy. He was cute, in a messed up way, and I really wanted him to get a happy ending, somehow. Nina was also a great character although I would have enjoyed getting to know more about her. She seemed like such an amazing girl and sister to Owen (who was adorable) and I would have liked to know more about her life before Cam. There were times when I weren’t quite sure of her motives but I never disliked her. As for Cam’s girlfriend, Viv, I can’t say I ever liked her. Both the original Viv and the Viv in the parallel world came across as really controlling and just kind of nasty. I’d be surprised if any readers really liked her but I think that’s how you’re supposed to feel about her. Oh and Cam’s mom was awesome. She seemed really absent at first but she had more of a presence throughout the book and you could tell that she was really trying with Cam.
I think the best part of Through To You though is the perfect blending of paranormal and contemporary. At it’s heart it is a story of love and loss and trying to move on no matter how much you don’t want to. I could feel Cam’s grief in every single page but as the book went on I could see it lessening even knowing that it would always be there. So many paranormal stories have this unrealistic feeling to them and that was so not the case with Through To You.
Overall, I highly recommend Emily Hainsworth’s debut novel. I can’t wait to see what she does next!
Looking for more reviews of Through To You?
OOOH! I won this and now I can’t WAIT to read it!! I didn’t know it was part paranormal but now I’m really intrigued because it was the perfect blending 🙂 And Cam sounds like such a deep character! I’m so glad you liked this one Katie fantastic review!
I’ve definitely been eyeing this one! I’m happy to see a good review for it! I’ll have to pick it up sometime soon and add it to my mountain of TBRs 🙂
I LOVE when genres mix together. That is what attracted me to this one. So glad it worked so well here. Can’t wait to dive into my copy! Great review! 🙂
Sounds like a good read. I’ll put it on my list!
I was feeling totally hesitant about reading this book ever since I heard out about it a while back. I wasn’t so sure about the paranormal elements, but it sounds like they work very well. I’m definitely going to add this one to my tbr list. I’m so glad I read your review!
Unique is always good. On my reading list.
I too adored this book! Cam’s voice was so authentic and he totally grabbed you because his pain came right through.
I too loved the blend of contemporary and paranormal, and in this case his parallel life wasn’t just a gimmick, something new, he needed to experience it to move on.
I hope she’s got more books coming out! She’s a wonderful author! Do you know when her next book’s out? Goodreads says it’s called Take the Fall but that’s it.
Lovely review 🙂