3:59 by Gretchen McNeil

3:59 by Gretchen McNeil

Release Date: September 17, 2013

Publisher: Balzer And Bray

Age Group: Young Adult
Pages: 400

Summary: Josie Byrne's life is spiraling out of control. Her parents are divorcing, her boyfriend Nick has grown distant, and her physics teacher has it in for her. When she's betrayed by the two people she trusts most, Josie thinks things can't get worse.

Until she starts having dreams about a girl named Jo. Every night at the same time—3:59 a.m.

Jo's life is everything Josie wants: she's popular, her parents are happily married, and Nick adores her. It all seems real, but they're just dreams, right? Josie thinks so, until she wakes one night to a shadowy image of herself in the bedroom mirror – Jo.

Josie and Jo realize that they are doppelgängers living in parallel universes that overlap every twelve hours at exactly 3:59. Fascinated by Jo's perfect world, Josie jumps at the chance to jump through the portal and switch places for a day.

But Jo’s world is far from perfect. Not only is Nick not Jo's boyfriend, he hates her. Jo's mom is missing, possibly insane. And at night, shadowy creatures feed on human flesh.

By the end of the day, Josie is desperate to return to her own life. But there’s a problem: Jo has sealed the portal, trapping Josie in this dangerous world. Can she figure out a way home before it’s too late?

From master of suspense Gretchen McNeil comes a riveting and deliciously eerie story about the lives we wish we had – and how they just might kill you.

My Thoughts: Well, the reviews I have read for this are really really good!  For me, I just didn’t enjoy it as much as everyone else.

3:59 had an interesting premise, it really did. And interesting characters as well. We are introduced to Jo and Josie. They are the same person, but not. Of course, it was Josie I liked and the Nick from Jo’s universe. They were good together. They live in parallel universes and each universe is a bit different from the other. The same side characters but they all seem to be a little different. Things aren't exactly the same. When the girls end up in each other’s universes, things go haywire.

Each girl has wants and needs from one universe to the other. Even though they were quite different, they really weren’t.  They basically have a lot of tasks ahead of them and they have to find out the truth and what really is the truth.

I’m not going to say much about this one. While a lot of people say its amazing, I just couldn’t really connect to it. I did finish it but at times I almost stopped.

Interesting concept and I must now pick up some of the other’s author books to see if I like them more.

Overall: It was alright. I just didn’t love it or connect with it very well. Hopefully you do more than me. I also read a lot of novels so I’m not going to fall in love with everyone I read, I know.   And that ending about killed me. I wanted things to be so different!!

Cover: Like it. Its kind of creepy and mysterious.

What I'd Give It: