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24th out of 179 books
—
9 voters
A Crack in the Line (Withern Rise #1)
by
Michael Lawrence (Goodreads Author)
What if someone else was living your life?
You are sixteen. You live with your father in a big Victorian house on the outskirts of London. Your mother is dead, killed in a train crash two years ago. It is snowing. The snow is falling on the house and the wide yard and the gnarled old tree that everyone calls the Family Tree. It makes you restless. You reach out your hands t
...morePaperback, 352 pages
Published
August 23rd 2005
by Greenwillow Books
(first published September 25th 2003)
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Apr 12, 2013
Emma
added it
Alaric and Naia Underwood both live in an old Victorian house in a small village. They both have dark hair and the same nose and the same parents. They even have the same bedroom. But Alaric and Naia have never met; they don’t even live in the same world. Things have been difficult for Alaric since his mother died in a train accident two years ago, after being given a fifty/fifty chance of survival. When Alaric travels to an alternate timeline, he meets Naia, who is the female version of himself...more
I read the second book in this series Small Eternities first by accident but I don't think it really spoiled my appetite for this one. I'm not sure that either book is as original and innovative as the blurb on the back cover would have me believe. Still I rate Small Eternities as one of the most memorable books I have ever read but A Crack in the Line is a worthy precursor.
Alaric Underwood and Naia Underwood live in the same house in parallel universes - they are in fact, counterparts of each o...more
Alaric Underwood and Naia Underwood live in the same house in parallel universes - they are in fact, counterparts of each o...more
"A Crack in the Line" is about a boy named Alaric whose life has been pretty messed up since the death of his mother in a train crash. His once lovely home is now something you would see in a third-world country, and better yet, he and his father do not get along. There is also a girl in the story named Naia who has already forgotten about the accident that ALMOST killed her mother. Naia's life is going pretty well and she lives in a beautiful home that resembles Alaric's... This is because Naia...more
Aug 13, 2011
Jennifer
rated it
3 of 5 stars
Recommends it for:
anyone who liked Sliding Doors or other exercises in multiple dimensions
Recommended to Jennifer by:
No one (just picked it up from the Library)
Shelves:
read-2011
An interesting exercise in alternate universes . . . this book is about Alaric and Naia, who are essentially the same person but in different realities. In addition to the gender difference between them, there are are other differences. In Alaric's world, his mother died in a train accident two years before but in Naia's world, her mother survived. With the help of a craft project created by their mothers and some mysterious property of their old family estate (Withern Rise), Alaric and Naia fin...more
Alaric and Naia are closer than siblings - even closer than twins. They are two versions of the same person, living in two, alternate dimensions, and when their lives are suddenly and inexplicably brought together by a carved model known as Lexie's Folly, they are forced to rethink everything they know about the universe, their families, and themselves.
Alaric's mother, Alex Underwood, was involved in a terrible train crash when he was fourteen. She had a fifty-fifty chance of dying. She died. N...more
Alaric's mother, Alex Underwood, was involved in a terrible train crash when he was fourteen. She had a fifty-fifty chance of dying. She died. N...more
Jun 17, 2009
cat.r.piller
rated it
5 of 5 stars
Recommends it for:
people who are smart
Recommended to cat.r.piller by:
my mom
Shelves:
very-good
This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it,
click here.
Alaric lives in the crumbling Withern Rise house with his widowed father. Nothing has been the same since his mother's death in a train accident two years ago. Now his dad is off helping his girlfriend get ready to move in with them, and his crazy Aunt Liney is there to keep an eye on him. Miserable, he touches a carving his mother made of the house from wood from the family tree years ago and finds himself transported to a parallel universe where a girl, Naia, is living his life--only with thei...more
This review was originally posted on my blog, The Reading Hammock (readinghammock.blogspot.com).
This is the type of book that I can reread thousands of times and still never tire of. As soon as I picked it up, I couldn’t put it down. The beginning was slightly confusing because the author shifts between the two major characters and their respective realities. However, my initial confusion soon turned into a deeper interest in the story and my discovery of its true originality. At the end of the...more
This is the type of book that I can reread thousands of times and still never tire of. As soon as I picked it up, I couldn’t put it down. The beginning was slightly confusing because the author shifts between the two major characters and their respective realities. However, my initial confusion soon turned into a deeper interest in the story and my discovery of its true originality. At the end of the...more
This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it,
click here.
Awhile back, many of my friends were reading a book called Einstein's Dreams by Alan Lightman. There were giving it good reviews, and I went ahead and read it myself. I was disappointed. The book was basically a collection of short stories (in some cases very short) depicting universes in which time worked differently than in our universe. I found the premises of the stories not really as logical as I would have liked, although perhaps I should have just taken them to be the often illogical worl...more
Dang i wish this book would continue it leaves you wanting more even though nothing more can be said. It deals with alternate realitys and what happens if things happend the other way instead of how things are now. Like a fifty fifty on life basicly i dont know i guse you will have to read it to get it.
2 likes · like · see review
Sep 05, 2011
Jessica
rated it
3 of 5 stars
Recommended to Jessica by:
WPL YA Book Discussion
Shelves:
fiction
Really a novella that the recent trend of book design has created into a 320 page book - font is double large, very wide margins. That said, it also has an awful lot of wordiness and I am anxious to hear how YAs will react to getting minute details about the differences between the house that is integral to the story. I enjoy decorating mags etc. but just found being hit on the head with all the "differences" to get to be a bit much. This is the first of a trilogy - also a publishing house trend...more
Jun 09, 2011
Casey
added it
Wow, wow, wow.
This is one of those strange books that makes you look around, wondering if you might punch a hole in the space-time continuum at any given moment. It's like the movie Inception if it was put into a blender with about four different Twilight Zone Episodes and doctored to be about teenagers.
Even though this story was gripping, I can't say with certainty that I enjoyed reading it, or that I understood a blessed thing about it (I'm telling you, it's the book version of Inception: It w...more
This is one of those strange books that makes you look around, wondering if you might punch a hole in the space-time continuum at any given moment. It's like the movie Inception if it was put into a blender with about four different Twilight Zone Episodes and doctored to be about teenagers.
Even though this story was gripping, I can't say with certainty that I enjoyed reading it, or that I understood a blessed thing about it (I'm telling you, it's the book version of Inception: It w...more
Grieving for his mother who died two years before, 16-year-old Alaric grasps something that she made from the wood of a tree in the garden to find himself transported to an alternate reality where a girl who looks just like him is living his life with a mother who is still alive.
I enjoyed this. The writing is light for a book dealing with such heavy emotional issues but it still conveyed Alaric’s feelings. It could have done more to explore the differences between boys and girls but I suppose t...more
I enjoyed this. The writing is light for a book dealing with such heavy emotional issues but it still conveyed Alaric’s feelings. It could have done more to explore the differences between boys and girls but I suppose t...more
Really enjoyed this book! In fact, I liked it so much I immediately ordered the second and third book in the trilogy. The alternate shifting realities, much like "Sliders" from the 80's, was an interesting concept and for the most part worked really well. There were a few times that it got confusing and a little difficult to follow; but, with a plot such as this one, I think some confusion is unavoidable. One of my favorite characters would have to be Liney - a great addition to the story and sh...more
Alaric lives in Withern Rise, an old decaying manor house on the edge of the river, with his father, Ivan, after the death of his mother, Alex, in a train wreck a year previous. Naia lives in Withern Rise, an improved and well-appointed manor house on the edge of a river, with her father, Ivan, and her mother, Alex, who survived a train wreck a year previous. With the use of a folly, a glass objet d’art containing a replica of the house, Alaric and Naia meet and begin to explore the similarities...more
GAH! SO CONFUSING!! But really cool. Makes you think a lot. Basically, its about 2 kids who realize they are basically the same person, but are living in alternate universes... ok that doesn't really make sense. Think of it this way. You are driving around aimlessly and come to a corner. You can go left or right. If you choose to turn left A,B, and C will occur. If you turn right 1,2, and 3 occur. For you, only one of these choices occur. But REALLY both occur. Does this make any sense? Probably...more
Well, it's more like 3.5, but, what can you do. It might have been moved up to 4, but this was a pretty short story and it took a long time to get going. The last 1/4th of it was really interesting and moved rapidly but it took too long to get there, even though there were glimpses of interest before that, and it was written with a certain degree of skill. I would like to read more in the series, because like I said, by the end it was getting good. Still, I do wish this book would've had more an...more
A great story, though the writing was, at times, lacking depth. I found it took me about three quarters of the book to warm up to the main character (Alaric), however I immediately liked the Aunt and Naia. Whilst not in the same league as Philip Pullman's "His Dark Materials" trilogy, I couldn't help but be reminded of "The Subtle Knife" at times. If you are into alternate realities and parallel worlds, you will enjoy this book. The ending contains a bit of a twist and enough mystery to make you...more
-The premise was a really cool idea.
-The premise is kind of terrifying as well. How weird would it be to step into an almost identical universe and see how things could have been?
-The story keeps you reading because everyone has wondered what it would be like if things were a little different.
-I really like the book. I don’t want to go into too many details but it’s definitely worth a read.
-Apparently this is part of a series? Are the other books any good?
-The ending? SOOO good. I thought the bo...more
-The premise is kind of terrifying as well. How weird would it be to step into an almost identical universe and see how things could have been?
-The story keeps you reading because everyone has wondered what it would be like if things were a little different.
-I really like the book. I don’t want to go into too many details but it’s definitely worth a read.
-Apparently this is part of a series? Are the other books any good?
-The ending? SOOO good. I thought the bo...more
This is the first book in the Withern Rise trilogy. It is about parallel realities with intersecting points on the grounds of the Withern Rise estate around the Family Tree. This book introduces the reader to the main characters, Naia and Alaric. They are born to the Underwood family and have the same parents in different realities. At times this book and this series can be confusing due to the limitless number of realities. It is an interesting read and has some entertaining parts as it explore...more
This was an extremely difficult read for me, which is why I took so long to finish it.
However, it was indeed a very thought provoking novel. Once I got to a certain point, I was really pulled into the concept.
Summary:
Naia and Alaric live the same lives in alternate universes. Well, not exactly the same..
Whenever there was a 50-50 chance of something happening in their lives, their universes split, causing two separate worlds to branch off.
The 50-50 of Liney being born or aborted
One world in whi...more
However, it was indeed a very thought provoking novel. Once I got to a certain point, I was really pulled into the concept.
Summary:
Naia and Alaric live the same lives in alternate universes. Well, not exactly the same..
Whenever there was a 50-50 chance of something happening in their lives, their universes split, causing two separate worlds to branch off.
The 50-50 of Liney being born or aborted
One world in whi...more
Yup, needed the first book to understand the second one and the second one was good enough to get the first and third books. Unfortunately, when I called my local B&N to see if they had it, I was told that "It was published in 2005, it's out of print." Thank goodness for eReaders. I was actually able to get the trilogy in one entire download, so I did that, rather than get the eBooks of 1 and 3 and have the actual book for number 2. Saves on space on my shelves at least. :)
So far the book is...more
So far the book is...more
Alaric is a sixteen-year-old boy who lives on the outskirts of London in a Victorian-styled house. His mother previously died in a train crash two years ago, and his life has all but completely fallen apart. The house is in shambles. The air is suffocating. He’s furious because his father is bringing home a new woman, and he can’t help but scoff at the fact that it feels like he’s replacing his mother. He is bitter. He is cold. But the most he can do is sulk. He goes to the River Room. It was hi...more
Very intriguing. Alaric and Naia are different versions of the same person, living in side-by-side alternate realities. The differences in their lives are from events where the outcome has a 50% chance of going either way. A baby being born a boy or a girl. Someone in an accident living or dying. Really great book. I especially loved the end where it almost was like a choose-your-own-adventure. The ending was written, then an alternate ending was given because of a different outcome from a speci...more
This book is all about 50-50 chances. It made me think "what if" on numerous occasions. This story specifically focuses on a train accident that brings the death of the main character's mother. In the book, Alaric, the main character, finds a way to an alternate universe where he finds that all 50-50 chances in his life go a different way for his parallel equivelent, who happens to be a girl, Naia. While Alaric's mother was killed in his accident, Naia's mother lived in hers. It is a very good,...more
It was actually the third book in the Withern Rise trilogy that caught my attention. However, since the story seemed complicated, I mused it was best to start at the beginging, so that's what I did, with A Crack in the Line.
The story is essentially about one person really. Or rather what one person had the potential of becoming. Alaric a 16 yr old boy and Naia a 16 yr old girl. They have the same parents, same house, same room, done most of the same things at the exact same time and have never m...more
The story is essentially about one person really. Or rather what one person had the potential of becoming. Alaric a 16 yr old boy and Naia a 16 yr old girl. They have the same parents, same house, same room, done most of the same things at the exact same time and have never m...more
This book was really......just.....odd. That's really the only word I can think to describe it. Two teenagers, Naia and Alaric, live in parallel universes in each others houses. They have the same parents (in a way), and their lifes revolve around a single turning point. Whenever there is a 50-50 chance about something, one gets get one outcome and the other gets the other. For example, Naia is a girl, and Alaric is a boy, because it was a 50-50 chance. They are able to go to each others houses...more
Sep 10, 2010
Susan
rated it
3 of 5 stars
Recommends it for:
fans of fantasy/sci-fi YA, "what if" stories
Recommended to Susan by:
Helen
Shelves:
youngadult,
2010read
This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it,
click here.
I've read this one before but was needing something I KNEW I liked and in the mood for a good parallel universe/time travel kind of story. This is the first in a trilogy. The premise of this series is that when a life event happens, when a split-second choice is made and it could have been 50-50 either way, an alternate reality is created in which the opposite of the choice plays out. But what happens when these realities can be traveled between and begin to overlap - or when you get stuck in th...more
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Apr 28, 2008 04:43pm