All Our Wrong Todays ~ Reviewed by Elizabeth Barnes

"It is amazing how much damage one person can do."







Tom Barron is from the world we were supposed to have, a technologically advanced utopia with flying cars and space vacations. He wakes up in the wrong today - our present. His life is surprisingly more fulfilling, but he feels guilty about erasing the lives of millions of people. Should his loyalties be to the people in his original world or the future people who make his new life so much better? Is salvaging his old world even possible? Everyone is skeptical of Tom's story. Could Tom's memories of a Tomorrowland like reality be delusions? How can he prove that his memories are real without advanced technology of his original world?

Like most science fiction, one of the best parts of the book was the constant questions that made you think. Tom draws several parallels between the fantastic aspects of his story and the ordinary lives we lead. Existing in multiple realities is not just something that happens in science fiction. As Tom matures, he sees how everyone is complicated. We all consist of different versions of ourselves, even some versions we'd rather live without. Tom sees that time travel isn't necessary to destroy a world. Tom has to learn that beliefs not backed by action are useless and to possibly never stop being open to different possibilities.

While the technical aspects of this story appealed to me, I had a hard time connecting with the main character. First-person, single point of view made this a very difficult issue to overcome. Tom is my least favorite type of character. He is a narcissistic, self-described loser who these women keep sleeping with. He is completely aware of how annoying and whiny he is, but that does not stop him. Sometimes it was hard to get too annoyed with him, because he'd read my mind every time I would start to have a negative thought.

Throughout the book, I found that there are a lot of messages to learn from. I narrowed it down to the most important messages. The central messages I walked away with were:
1.) There is no such thing as the life you are supposed to lead.
2.) Trying to control your world/life can have disastrous consequences.

I give this book a 3 out of 5 stars.

Special thanks to NetGalley and the Publisher for the copy!