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Reviewed by: In a World Just Right by Jen Brooks Karen Coats Brooks, Jen In a World Just Right. Simon ,2015 432p Trade ed. ISBN 978-1-4814-1660-3 $17.99 E-book ed. ISBN 978-1-4814-1662-7 $10.99 Reviewed from galleys R Gr. 7-10 After surviving a plane crash that killed his family years ago, eighteen-year-old Jonathan Aubrey discovered he had a gift to make alternate worlds that he can slip in and out of at will. The most significant alternate realm is Kylie-Simms-is-my-girlfriend, a reality-based world where his scars from the accident don’t matter and popular Kylie is in love with him. The worlds have always been completely separate from each other and from reality, so he’s a little weirded out one day when real-world Kylie notices him and alternate-world Kylie asks for space; it seems that the two are merging, and it’s adversely affecting both Kylies’ mental health. As he finds out more, he realizes that creating and controlling fantasy beings who must behave the way he wants them to may not be entirely ethical. While readers may have lingering questions about the physics of Jonathan’s worlds, they will cycle through sympathy and moral uncertainty as he confronts his deepening understanding of what he has done and what he now must do. Moreover, they will appreciate Brooks’ pacing as she slowly brings both Jonathan and the reader to the knowledge that something is not right in this paranormal romance, so that the reveal is both unexpected and exactly what they suspected all along. Jonathan is both profoundly sad and profoundly boy in his struggle with what it means to be a good person when your moral compass has been shattered and you are left with the power to be your own god. Readers will find multiple points for empathy and reflection in this intriguing take on what-if. [End Page 482] Copyright © 2015 The Board of Trustees of the University of Illinois

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