Book Review: ‘A Million Miles Away’ by Lara Avery

A one sentence review of A Million Miles Away: I wish I could be a million miles away from this book. You could stop reading this review now if you wish. However, if you still have the bravery to continue reading this review, thank you for joining me as I try to take apart — but not tear apart entirely — this ridiculously predictable and far-fetched novel.

When high school senior Kelsey’s identical twin sister, Michelle, dies in a car crash, Kelsey is left without her best friend. It’s a full blown tragedy, except that one person – Michelle’s boyfriend, Peter – doesn’t know. Kelsey can’t bear to tell Peter, who was recently deployed to Afghanistan, so she lets him think that Kelsey is Michelle. Seeing her is the one thing that keeps him alive, he says. So she lets him believe the facade, which leads to her crossing the line from pretend to real, and begins falling hard for the one boy she shouldn’t have or want.

We all know how this book is going to end, so I’m not going to pick that part of the book apart. Instead, I’m going to pick apart the components of the book that lead up to the ending, beginning with Peter’s belief in Kelsey’s facade. Honestly, Kelsey and Michelle are completely different people; Peter should have realized from the start that something was up. This plot point is a specific example of the book’s overall vagueness; I had so many questions about the feasibility of the plot that were never answered. I guess the title can also symbolize the distance I am away from believing any of this story could ever make sense…

As for the characters themselves, they were really flat. The romance especially was flatter than a pancake. (Using those cliches to escape the cliches of the book…) I mostly wasn’t rooting for the relationship that was built on lies, but the part of me that was despised Kelsey’s behavior, even though I didn’t hate Kelsey and Peter together. I just didn’t approve for a multitude of reasons.

Aside from the ridiculousness of the plot and the characters themselves, there’s nothing glaringly intolerable with A Million Miles Away. Though it plays out like a sub-par Nicholas Sparks book, it’s still a read that will occupy a good chunk of your day. It’s cute at times, but whether that cuteness is worth the price of reading the novel is your decision to make.

Rating: 4 out of 10
Publisher: Poppy (July 7th, 2015)
ISBN #: 9780316283687
Length: 320 pages (Hardcover)
Source: Netgalley