Some Laneys Died (Skipping Sideways #1) by Brooke Skipstone Book Review
ARC kindly provided by the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review In all honesty, this book messed around with my head. With its discussion of parallel universes and alternate realities where things did and did not happen, Some Laneys Died made me question my own existence and the reality of our universe. I often had to do a double take to work out what did and did not happen in book's main storyline and I had to reflect back on what I previously read. All in all, it was definitely a learning experience and I don't think I ever received such a throwback to my physics lessons since this book came into my life.
Some Laneys Died follows main character Laney who, after walking into a very intimate moment with her father and his lover, regrets causing the collapse of her family. If only she could turn back time and change that moment and everything that happened afterwards. The only way she can escape her misery is through discovering more about a murdered body, killed not so far away and at the same time as where she caught her dad. Somehow, Laney cannot shake the feeling that those bones are somehow connected to her and the sister she always wanted. Laney takes a trip across multiple universes to discover the truth and uncovers dangerous secrets that threaten to change the whole world that she knows. And what a trip she took. With all the time jumps and the alternate realities, I'm not going to lie, I did get confused a bit with what actually happened in conjunction to what didn't happen. As a result, that really did make it hard for me to fall in love with this book. I just couldn't get into the feel of it easily neither with the alternate realities nor with the characters.
Characters are usually easy for me to fall in love with if well-written and well-rounded. What I found was that there were so many characters that, although flawed, didn't really stand out on the page for me. Rather than feel sorry or empathetic for the dad, I felt rather annoyed by his actions throughout the entirety of the novel. The same thing goes with Gibbs, I was meant to feel remorse for her after everything she has been through but honestly, as bad as it may sound, I didn't feel anything for her character either. I suppose this was the result of my lack of connection with story line though, I wish I could find something to relate to, something that would've made me enjoy reading about her more. I must admit, the sad backstory for her was what really bumped my review rating up though and made me enjoy reading about her narrative arc. She has gone through hell and back but her resilience really shone through. I wish the same could've been said about the main character. I found her to be probably the most mature out of all the characters since the adults all had messy and complicated lives that they seemingly couldn't return back to normal.
It kind of annoyed me though, why did Laney have to be so mature? These were adult problems that the adults honestly should've been able to deal with rather than a teenage girl who can open up universes. If I'm being completely truthful, the whole plot could have been resolved if the adults just took more responsibility for their actions rather than enact short-term and ignorant solutions. It wasn't on Laney to solve or fix but she did it anyway because her mum, dad and Gibbs just couldn't have a meaningful and open conversation about it with one another. That's what annoyed me the most out of everything I reckon, which definitely dampened my thoughts and opinions about Some Laneys Died All in all, great story idea but the characters really let me down. ACTUAL RATING: 3.3 STARS
