Bridge can understand how she got to be Religet. She can imagine the branch point in this reality where she spun off to someone else – she can imagine most of them, actually, the moment she could’ve become that photographer in a luxe apartment or that adventure girl sailing around the world. So much about being you is auditioning for who you want to be.
Reborn, Page 268
In a nutshell
When Bridge’s mother dies, she is desperate to see her again. So desperate that when she comes across Jo’s secret – a gateway to other worlds and lives – she begins to experiment with it. Risking everything, searching through otherworlds and otherselves, Bridget becomes a target. After all, a secret like this is bound to get out, and people want it for themselves.
Book Club Notes
This is the second Lauren Beukes book I have read, and much like the first, I spent a good chunk of the first half trying to figure out what was happening. By the time I figured it out, I wanted to see how it would end, even as it got more disturbing and grotesque. It was like the book version of watching a car crash – wanting to look away but not being able to. It’s a book that definitely captures your attention. Worth mentioning is that this is the first book I have read with a non-binary character. As they/them are a plural, it took a while to realize she was only talking about one person and even after realizing that I found it confusing, not knowing when she was referring to an individual versus multiple people – this was all made even more confusing by a storyline that literally involved multiple “otherselves”.
Read If
You are a Lauren Beukes fan, are intrigued by the idea that there can be multiple universes and versions of yourself out there and aren’t squeamish.
Rating
Writing – 5/10
Character Development – 6/10
Plot Twist – 5/10
Shareability – 4/10
The Nitty Gritty
A note on our book ratings
Storyline: How good is the storyline? Is it believable and complex or does it make you shake your head in its ridiculousness?
Writing: How well written is the book? Do you find yourself wowed by the writing or unimpressed?
Character Development: Do the characters evolve and grow through the book and are they multi-dimensional?
Plot Twist: Were you able to predict the end, or did the author give you some surprises along the way to keep you on your toes?
Shareability: How likely are you to share the book?
