Everything That Makes You

I enjoyed the dual path story of a young girl who did/did not have a tragic accident when she was young - detailing how both paths played out into her college years. Spent a bit of time railing at both young ladies and their decisions until I just let let myself fall into the story. Not a life- changer, but a very good airport, beach, or in my case a rainy day read... I would read more from this author.All the best,Jay

This was an enjoyable and quick read. While it does fall into some cliches and you have to suspend your disbelief (face surgery and the circumstance) it has nice heart and a lovely love story.My only legitimate compliant about this book is that the main characters first names are almost too similar, it’s easy to get them mixed up.

I first thought this book would be hard to read, going back and between to different realities . But it was amazing, in the sense that you not only followed the stories in your mind, but that you are invested emotionally. The author has put the "what if" to play and the character still comes out the other end where she's supposed to. I don't like people giving the story away, so that's the best way I can explain it. I truly enjoyed this book and recommend to ALL ages.

Enjoyed the book. Classified as young adult, but I feel it would be enjoyed by all ages.

MY THOUGHTSThis book was on of my most anticipated releases off the year, so I had high expectations. This book wasn't as groundbreaking as I expected, but I still loved it!Ever since an accident at the zoo when she was a child, Fiona has had a large scar running across her face. Her scar prevents her from being brave (and trying out for any contact sports). She's too scared to face her crush and too scared for anyone to hear her songs. When an opportunity arises for her to surgically change her face, will she take it?Then there's Fi. Fi is what Fiona might've been. Fi doesn't have a scar and is a star lacrosse player.She lives for lacrosse and she wishes her only problem was that her best friend might be interested in her.It's no secret that I love parallel universes. This book isn't as sci-fi as my favorite parallel universe reads, but this book has my favorite factor: What if? This question is what I find so fascinating about parallel worlds. There are so many crossroads throughout our lives and I find it so interesting to wonder how different our lives could be in each one! This book explores this concept in such an amazing way!One thing I always wonder, especially, if how different I would be if my life went a different direction at one point. It's entirely possible that I could be an entirely different person! That's the case with Fiona and Fi. They're the same girl, but they are completely different. They each have different talents, interests, personalities, and lives. Fiona is a songwriter, Fi loves lacrosse. Fiona is shy, Fi is more outspoken. It's just amazing how different someone could be if lives were led a different direction!I loved seeing the differences between the two universes, but I also loved seeing how they connected. Fiona/Fi's stories were different, obviously, and their two lives were different, but the surroundings had similarities. One main factor that I loved was how both of them had the same people in their lives somehow. Fiona's best friend was just an annoying class partner to Fi, but there were others who were always there and I liked that. It gives the idea that the same people revolve in all of your lives.I know I'm raving about this book, so now here comes the part that I wasn't a fan of. This book follows Fiona//Fi for 3 years (last two years of highschool and first year of college. While I liked seeing how their lives went, it was told in a way that we were following their lives. I don't want to say it was uneventful, because there were big moments, but it wasn't enormously exciting. Still liked it, but it's what prevented me from giving this book a 5/5.IN CONCLUSIONOverall, this was an amazing book! I love how the question of "What if?" was addressed and I found the two stories fascinating! This book was a bit slow-going due to the format, but it's still a great read! I strongly recommend it and I look forward to any books Moriah McStay writes in the future!

Review originally posted @ http://feelyourbooks.blogspot.com/Since first hearing about its upcoming release in February, I had been wanting to get my hands on this rare little gem written by an author who shares my full first name. Maybe it's silly, but it meant a little something to me--and the premise sounded intriguing enough to justify my strange cause.This was a strong debut novel for Moriah McStay. The writing was engaging and the book read fairly quickly overall. The parallel universe storyline was something I hadn't read before, though I did notice that some reviewers claimed other authors had done it better. That may be so, but if you are in the same boat I was--not having read anything else quite like this--I'd recommend checking it out.Every other chapter starts a new month and the focus of each chapter alternates between the lives of Fiona and Fi. If I put the book down for a while or got too engrossed in one version of the story, it sometimes took me a minute to regroup and figure out what was going on in the other. It wasn't terribly difficult, but with such similar storylines I had to be mindful of the attention I was(n't) paying to the book from time to time. One thing I particularly enjoyed about the alternation was trying to guess, based on the previous chapter, what new overlap might turn up in the next chapter. I'd also like to mention that I was pleasantly surprised that a plot point I assumed might come near the end of the book actually occurred right around the middle.This story covers a surprisingly decent amount of time, starting in her junior year of high school and progressing through her entire freshman year of college. We get to see both Fiona and Fi grow and change so much through every major and minor event that occurs. I don't think I could ever choose which version of her reality was "better" because they were both so different and affected herself and the other people involved in her life so differently. Either way, she learns important and difficult lessons about relationships, confidence, and the decisions we actually have control over in life.If I were to nitpick, I'd have to say that I found it a little disappointing that the summer months were skipped over, but that may just be me being selfish and just wanting a little more. A few parts in Fi's story also got a little slow, but I think it paid off in the end and emphasized her character growth.Overall, I thought it was good--not totally mind-blowing, but good nonetheless with tons of feels. A few parts made my eyes well up; other parts made me cringe with embarrassment. The love interests in both stories made sense and had me feeling pretty strongly for the characters and their relationships. I even managed to find several phrases that I just had to underline because they were so accurate and spoke to my whole heart. I would recommend this book to most people looking for a not-too-heavy contemporary read that will most likely lead to thinking about life and all of the what-ifs.