Review: Between the Lives by Jessica Shirvington

Between the Lives by Jessica Shirvington
Publication Date: May 1, 2013
Publisher: Harper Collins Australia
Number of Pages: 336
Format: Paperback
Add to Goodreads

Above all else, though I try not to think about it, I know which life I prefer. And every night when I Cinderella myself from one life to the next a very small, but definite, piece of me dies. The hardest part is that nothing about my situation has ever changed. There is no loophole.

Until now, that is...

For as long as she can remember, Sabine has lived two lives. Every 24 hours she Shifts to her ′other′ life - a life where she is exactly the same, but absolutely everything else is different: different family, different friends, different social expectations. In one life she has a sister, in the other she does not. In one life she′s a straight-A student with the perfect boyfriend, in the other she′s considered a reckless delinquent. Nothing about her situation has ever changed, until the day when she discovers a glitch: the arm she breaks in one life is perfectly fine in the other.

With this new knowledge, Sabine begins a series of increasingly risky experiments which bring her dangerously close to the life she′s always wanted... But just what - and who - is she really risking?

I'm extremely lucky enough to have an amazing friend and co blogger who sends me Jessica's books since they are published in Australia long before they are even available in the US.  First let's take a minute to gush over the cover. Isn't it gorgeous? I could stare at it all day. And second, I want to address the genre(s) I label this book as. I struggle with what I thought this book would fall in. There's no supernatural creatures or even themes in the book. The shifting between two lives is more of a sci-fi theme, but that's the only sci-fi/fantasyish thing about this book. The rest of it is more contemporary. It's a twist, and one I love.

Meet Sabine, a typical 17 year old girl. Or maybe not so typical since she has two lives, and I don't mean she lives a double life. Every night at midnight she shifts to her other life, and relive the same day over again. Her two lives are different as day and night. In one life she has it all; money, the clothes, the right friends, and even the perfect boyfriend. Or at least that's what everyone sees. We learn quickly she just stays with him because that's what their society expects. But not everything is perfect. She has two older brothers whom she doesn't get along with one bit, and she feels like she should act and say certain things because that's what is expected of her. In the other life her family is hard on money. She has friends, but they are labeled as trouble. One bright light in it is she has a younger sister she adores. But when Sabine realizes everything has changed, and she might be able to only have one life, she must choose.


Just like all of her other works, this book is very fast paced and addicting. I couldn't put the book down and read it in one day. And of course falling in love with Ethan in the "wrong" life wasn't in Sabine's plans. But Ethan has his own secrets. And just when you think the book couldn't get any better, BAM! The heartbreaking twist. Which not really too much a twist since you could see it coming. Ethan taught Sabine to cherish life, both of her lives. Without trying to sound too cliche, after the rain there's always a rainbow. The ending was perfect. Well almost perfect. Which is what I hate about stand a lone books. There is always room for more, and it leave you wanting more.

I do love how she after her attack, she became real close to her oldest brother Ryan. And even closer to her other one. I'm always a sucker for brother sister closeness relationships. And it's the one thing I hated throughout the book.

In one word this book was AMAZING! It took the concept of suicide with a twist, instead of trying to end your life, pain, suffering; she wants to end her life so she could live.I do wish we would of learned why/how Sabine ended up with two lives. Maybe one day she will write some kind of a sequel, even if it's a short story. I would love to know if Sabine got her happy ending.

Rating: 5/5