THE SINGULAR LIFE OF ARIA PATEL

A Chicago teen must find her way home after being thrown into a succession of universes.

Aria Patel loves physics: Unlike relationships, it’s data-driven, not emotional and capricious. Aria, who constantly catastrophizes, recently dumped her boyfriend, Rohan, pre-emptively avoiding any problems before they leave for college. Racing off on her moped one day, panicking over her widowed mother’s sudden health emergency, Aria sees a truck crash into the car her mother is driving to the ER. Aria blacks out and wakes up in front of a strange house, wearing different clothes. Her mom is there—but she’s not her usual self. Aria experiences a series of different lives before getting stuck in one for some time. She enjoys this latest world—her dad is alive, she has an adorable little sister, and there’s an undeniable attraction between her and this Rohan—but she’s desperate to get back to her original life to save her mom. Aria, whose Muslim family is cued Indian American, realizes that stabbing headaches, Rohan, and a poem entitled “To Be or Not To Be 2.0” are commonalities in every existence. She uses these clues to try to bend space-time and return home. The rush of the multiple universes and scientific mystery-solving brings excitement to this well-paced story, counteracting Aria’s anxious perseveration, and the romantic storyline is sweet.

A heart-pounding coming-of-age story of a girl trapped in the whirl of a “multiversal tornado.”