***Thanks to NetGalley for providing me a complimentary copy of ME AND ME by Alice Kuipers in exchange for my honest review.***

Review

This YA contemporary read deals with the 'what if's' in the aftermath of an accident on the lake. It begins with our main character, Lark is on a date with Alec, a boy from school whom she has liked for a while. They are canoeing in the lake where they come across Lark's former babysitting charge, Annabelle, who has fallen overboard of her parents' canoe. Lark and Alec jump into the water where Alec then hits his head, and Lark has to decide to save the unconscious Annabelle or Alec - effectively Lark then begins to live parallel lives based on the two choices she could have made...

The book is written in the first person, with a dual same person narrative which was confusing, so much so that I actually made a list so that I could tell which was which when I was reading each one. The chapters weren't well laid out and it always took me a few paragraphs to see who it was about. The secondary characters were a welcome addition and brought in some much needed humour to the story, I really liked Lark's Dad and her bandmates, especially Nifty.

The story was fairly slow paced, finally picking up somewhat in the second half of the book, but overall it fell flat for me unfortunately and left me feeling deflated.

Age Range

I’d say that this book is marketed at the YA category; so would suit ages 13+
Summary

This contemporary YA is a quick read at just 248 pages; in all honestly had it been much longer I very well may not have finished it as I just wasn't invested. For me it draw parallels to Before I Sleep by Lauren Oliver; though unfortunately it was much more confusing to read.
I don't think it helped that I found both versions of Lark irritating for entirely different reasons.

Finally – Would I Recommend It?

Personally, this book wasn't for me and I wouldn't recommend it.

2.5/5 ✰