Right Here, Right Now by Shannon Dunlop
Publication Date: April 9, 2024
Summary from Goodreads:
Worlds turn. Particles spin. Love endures.
There are infinite universes in which Elise never dies. Her best friend, Anna, never has to mourn her or choose between the weight of her grief and the weight of her ambition. Her cousin, Liam, never has to lose another loved one or fight to find purpose in a life that already doesn’t feel like his own.
But Liam and Anna do not get to choose the universe in which they live. Across multiple worlds, their paths collide as they wrestle with what it takes to save someone else and how to face love and loss on a quantum scale.
This moving, lyrical novel introduces two teens on the cusp of finding out who they are while finding each other again and again.
Confession:
“The stars have always looked like sheet music in negative to me, like notes that are running wild over an entire sky instead of being confined to a staff. I wonder sometimes what it would sound like if someone were able to play them, if someone could sight-read the song of the universe.”
I wasn’t sure how this story was going to work going in, even with reading the summary, but I was immediately drawn in to this story that spans two possible universes. I really loved how the author wove these two stories about loss, grief and love together. This is a love story that will stick with me for awhile as I think of the possibilities of ‘what if’.
The structure of the book is what really makes it work. For the most part we have two alternate universes, one in which Elise lives and another in which she dies. It is fairly easy to keep the two separate, mostly because of the dual points of view. Anna tells the story in the universe where Elise lives and Liam tells the one where she doesn’t. Both stories relate how two people are often drawn together through their shared grief, as well as the things that they enjoy, in this case music.
I loved how music was used to tell this story. It was so intricately woven into both of these stories. They way both characters used music to help them cope with everything was done very well. The spirit and the creative act of making music was portrayed really well and it is what made this book so wonderful.
“Even when there’s dirt and grit in the space between us, there’s life there, too. I can feel it when she kisses me.“
I really liked both Liam and Anna in both of their universes. i really felt for both of them and was rooting for them to find themselves and each other in both timelines. Their feelings of grief and love felt very authentic as did many of the things that they accomplished in their lives. These two teenagers felt very realistic and reminded my about how turbulent the teenage years can be. The author really got into their heads and did an excellent job of creating these two characters.
A beautifully written story of chances and choices that we make in our lives. Many of us think about the ‘what ifs’ in our lives, and we might have done things differently. A very well done love story that spans the multiverse. Highly recommend to those of you who love a really good thought provoking romance.
Confessions of a Serial Reader 