The cover caught my eye but it turned out not to be a new book by Reid, just a new cover for the omnibus edition of books my library had, which I had dismissed because their covers didn’t look like my sort of thing (and I had previously established that, while some of Reid’s stories appeal to me, others do not).

The story is told in three parts. Motion is solely from nineteen-year-old Mona’s perspective. She’s in the midst of interviewing for PhD programs when she reluctantly agrees to impersonate her twin for a week. Her sister is caught up in some legal trouble she doesn’t want their parents to find out about, and the only person Mona really needs to convince is the guy house-sitting for their parents.

My interest was caught because I really wanted to see Mona find a better support network! Her reserve is understandable -- that’s how she’s dealt with being the daughter of celebrities, with going to college so young, with being a teenage girl in a male-dominated field. Perhaps also with being neurodivergent. (That’s how she reads to me.) Impersonating her twin provides an opportunity for the two of them to repair their relationship and build a better understanding of their differences. Meanwhile, Abram has the potential to be supportive but also to challenge Mona on some of her assumptions in a way I think she needs -- except Mona very much doesn’t want to pursue a relationship under false pretences.

I liked her awareness of those sorts of issues -- power and boundaries and consent.

Space is a dual POV. Mona and Abram cross paths again, at one of Mona’s parents’ properties. During a snowstorm. They’re both hurting, and it’s deliciously angsty.

I didn’t care much for Time, it didn’t focus on things I found as interesting. But it also didn’t unravel my investment in these characters nor ruin their relationship, so… *shrugs*

(What I wanted from a third act in this narrative would have been drama that pushed Mona to grapple with, and re-evaluate her upbringing, maybe confronting her parents, and having Abram supporting her throughout that.) ( )