ARC Review: When the World Was Flat (And We Were in Love) by Ingrid Jonach

Title: When The World Was Flat (And We Were in Love)
Author: Ingrid Jonach
Publication: September 3rd 2013 by Strange Chemistry
Genre: YA Science Fiction
Source: Provided by the kind publisher
Goodreads

Looking back, I wonder if I had an inkling that my life was about to go from ordinary to extraordinary.

When sixteen-year-old Lillie Hart meets the gorgeous and mysterious Tom Windsor-Smith for the first time, it’s like fireworks — for her, anyway. Tom looks as if he would be more interested in watching paint dry; as if he is bored by her and by her small Nebraskan town in general.

But as Lillie begins to break down the walls of his seemingly impenetrable exterior, she starts to suspect that he holds the answers to her reoccurring nightmares and to the impossible memories which keep bubbling to the surface of her mind — memories of the two of them, together and in love.

When she at last learns the truth about their connection, Lillie discovers that Tom has been hiding an earth-shattering secret; a secret that is bigger — and much more terrifying and beautiful — than the both of them. She also discovers that once you finally understand that the world is round, there is no way to make it flat again. 

An epic and deeply original sci-fi romance, taking inspiration from Albert Einstein’s theories and the world-bending wonder of true love itself.

-- My Rating --

4/5 Oscars: Really liked it

-- My Thoughts --

     Well, I wanted to read this book, mainly because of the cover, and the mysterious synopsis. Although most of the reviews I read of this book are not very positive, I found it refreshing and lovely. And I found myself wishing for a sequel, if there will be one.

     Lillie has been plagued by strange nightmares and weird events since she heard that a new guy is coming to town. Immediately after seeing Tom, she is infatuated with the guy. But he seems to give no notice to her, actually, he looks like he despises her completely. Intrigued, Lillie will be lead down a dangerous path and she will found out that when you know the world is round, there isn't a way to make it flat again.

This book plagued my mind ever since I read it. I can't stop thinking about it, so I decided to do a bullet-points review, to get my incoherent thoughts into meaningful sentences, so bear with me!

- The plot: Until the middle of this book, it feels like a high school contemporary but with a touch of terrifying nightmares, But I knew that the author had more in store, since she plunged us deep into the action right after the middle mark. And it moved swiftly. I loved the idea that the plot line was based on. And I have to say that even though multiple dimensions is not a very popular theme, it has been used before. But Jonach came through with a completely different aspect, and I found it refreshing and original.

- The background: I admired the little physical references. It is obvious that the author is a great fan of physics, in general, and Einstein, in particular. I noticed in many reviews that the people hated the Einstein references, but I liked them. They added a solid back story to the multiple dimensions theme, and even though the author may have bent some physical rules, I still found her love for physics wonderful enough.

- The characters: This is a tough one. I loved some characters but had a few issues with the others. Lillie comes off as a lovable, insecure, but loyal girl. She loves her friends and would do anything for them. She is made to be a role model for everyone. And I loved her, but her dependence on Tom was a bit too much at other times. She had to learn to be independent and I would have loved to see that. But sadly,  I didn't. Tom is a kinda okay character. He didn't shine out for me, but his love for Lillie did. I fell in love with one of Lillie's best friends. So, I was sad to see her go at the end. (She didn't die, of course) But I didn't like it that much of the girls in this book turned out to be the bad guys except Lillie, our main character, of course. I would have loved it if a few loyal girls were still standing in the end.

- The romance: Okay, so this book is not a Sci-Fi Fantasy with a touch of romance. It's Romance with a touch of science fiction. And I loved that. It's known as a universal fact that I am a hopeless romantic ^-^, so the romance in this book is perfect for me. There is some kind of insta-love between Lillie and Tom, but it was explained in the book, so I didn't mind it. The history of the romance and the romance itself were sweet and I loved how real it felt. Definitely an Aplus for the romance!

- The ending: So, we come to the tough part. After the middle mark, as I said before, things speed up and I loved that. But it also got a bit confusing, at times. It wasn't an info dump, of course not. But it was so much new information piled over each other, explained in only a few pages, that it was overwhelming a little, at first. But then, when you see these facts and new revelations in action, you get to understand it more and more. But I still had a couple of questions and i wanted the answers so bad. But I didn't get them. The end was a good wrap-up, nothing was missing. And although it was a bit sad, it was hopeful, too. I wonder if there is a second book, because of there will be, I will be definitely reading it. I need more of this strange world. If there isn't, well, it was an amazing ride and i might read it again sometime. Saying that  is a lot, people!