Quantum Coin

Gr 8 Up—This science-fiction adventure picks up a year after the events described in Fair Coin (PYR, 2012) and builds upon information provided in that book. Ephraim Scott thought his days of traveling through parallel universes at the flip of a high-tech coin were over. Then, on the night of his senior prom, an old friend from another world shows up to tell him that the fate of the multiverse is in his hands once again. Ephraim, his girlfriend, and his girlfriend's doppelgänger from a parallel reality (awkward!) travel to the universe where the quantum coin originated. From there they venture to yet another universe in search of a physicist who can explain why all of the universes seem to be collapsing in on one another. When Ephraim gets stranded in one of them without the coin, he realizes that he must make some decisions about whom to trust, and whom to save, before it is too late to save anyone. Myers dishes out just enough quantum physics to make the story plausible without swamping it in technical jargon. Subtle references to everything from Batman to Harry Potter will delight fans attuned to that sort of minutiae, and the action-packed plot will keep readers' attention despite a few minor hiccups. All in all, a highly enjoyable read.Misti Tidman, Boyd County Public Library, Ashland, KY