Through to You by Emily Hainsworth

Camden's girlfriend Viv was killed in a car accident, and Camden can't move on.  All he had was Viv, and without her, there's nothing.  On one of his nightly treks to the place of Viv's death, Camden meets a strange girl, Nina, from a parallel world.  In Nina's world, Viv is still very much alive.  Cam can't resist seeking Viv out, but the Viv in this world seems different.  And she's hiding something.

I liked the idea of there being different worlds based on the different choices we make, but the worlds were different in only a few ways, and it wasn't really explained or shown why those particular changes occurred.  In one world, Nina's parents are alive, and in another they're dead.  In both worlds Cam had a terrible football injury, but in one world he recovered to play again and in the other he withdrew.  In one world Viv is alive and in the other Viv is dead.  It all seemed very arbitrary.  Yeah, I know, those were the important aspects to the story, but you know how I feel about world building.  If you want to have a good sci-fie or fantasy book, you can't just do stuff, there has to be a reason.

Spoilers

In Nina's world, Viv is alive but Cam is dead, and Cam eventually learns that Viv is to blame.  .I thought it was a little extreme.  I mean, Viv was so jealous that she actually would have tried to kill Camden if she couldn't have him all to herself?  That's not just jealousy, that's someone with mental problems.  So I didn't love the whole "crazy girlfriend" angle.  Also, I wasn't sure if these different worlds were completely different versions of themselves, or it was still them.  I know that's not clear, but come with me on this.  If you made another choice in another world, is that still you, or does that change you completely to the point where you are a different person?

Whatever the case, I thought it was a little sad, that Cam's experience with the other Viv changed how he thought about his Viv.  Now Viv is the crazy girlfriend.  But ah well, because it let him move on with his life, and we're left thinking he will befriend the Nina in his world, whose parents are not dead, and they will fall in love.  Although Nina with not-dead parents would be quite a different person and maybe she won't at all be interested in Cam.  Wouldn't that be a twist!  Oh science fiction!  You are delightful.  Even more so with good world building.

Through to You came out on October 2, 2012.