This book is Multiple Universe Sci-Fi for the Young Adult market, which is handled quite well, with one exception I will discuss later. Clara, the main character, is quite typical of the genre: an orphan (in this case well off,) and a bit of a geek who just doesn’t fit in with her world. So, while she reacts appropriately when she finds a doppelganger in her room, she adjusts quickly to the new worlds she is taken to.

The opening chapters are rather lighthearted, with a touch of slapstick comedy to entertain us. The next section is a bit of a stretch, scientifically, where Clara is able to use some very sophisticated chemistry to activate an artifact from another world. But this is younger YA Sci-Fi, so we can accept it.

There follows a fun-and-games section where the author explores various worlds and lays the groundwork for the main conflict. As we expect in this genre, the multiple worlds are varied and imaginative, although perhaps lacking in the detail Sci-Fi fans thrive on.

A darker note enters the story when she learns about the government system and social problems of the multiverse. Thematically, her background sets her up perfectly to compare the dysfunctional societies of the worlds she visits with her own world and her place in her society.

And now the problem. There are several criteria we can use to predict the reading level of a book. In YA literature, a good guideline is the age of the main character: usually about two years older than the prospective reader.

Clara is fourteen, which would place the average reader at twelve. Unfortunately, I suspect there are very few twelve-year-olds who would accept that a character would go to an alternate world with mostly steampunk technology and find that her cellphone wi-fi works. It’s just too convenient.

Another problem: this is a translation, and it is plagued by awkward sentence structure.

“Was he really willing to buy for 20 gold bars her watch?”

“Shortly after the white vehicle, a blunt wedge about twenty meters high was placed not far away on three powerful articulated legs with still smoking nozzles.”

In general, this is a well-laid-out book, but a bit simplistic in the Sci-Fi department, which restricts it to younger readers. It could also use a tune-up on the translation.

Three stars.

This review was originally posted on Reedsy Discovery.