Andromache Between Worlds by Gabriel Bergmoser

Title: Andromache Between Worlds

Author: Gabriel Bergmoser

Genre: Fantasy

Publisher: HarperCollins Australia

Published: 31^st January 2024

Format: Paperback

Pages: 272

Price: $19.99

Synopsis: A page-turning, action-packed adventure that is perfect for fans of the Jane Doe series.

All fourteen-year-old Andromache Peters wants is a normal life. But normal is pretty near impossible when your parents were famous adventurers who saved the world, and nobody will let you forget it.

On top of this, Andromache’s father has been missing and presumed dead since she was only two, and her mother has retreated into grief ever since. So, it’s no surprise that the last thing Andromache needs is to be reminded of where she came from.

But when a mysterious stranger reveals that Andromache’s father is not only still alive but trapped in a parallel world, Andromache is thrown into a daring journey across other universes to find and save the father she never knew.

A journey so strange and dangerous that it will forever transform Andromache’s life to anything but normal.

~*~

Andromache Peters is the daughter of famous adventurers – but all she wants is a normal, quiet life. Yet, with the reputation her parents have, this is nearly impossible – everyone thinks she is just like her brave parents. The problem is, nobody will let Andromache forget how brave her parents were and what they did, nor do they let her forget that her father is gone. He’s been gone since she was two – twelve years, and everyone thinks he is dead. That is, until a mysterious stranger says he is still alive, trapped in a parallel world…and then Andromache is thrust into a strange travelling dynamic, where she ends up in parallel worlds with a what if slant to it – what if certain empires hadn’t fallen, what if revolutions happened where they didn’t. As Andromache and her new friends, Rylee and Tobias search the worlds for her father, there are threats bubbling along and people who think they can use Andromache to get their way.

Andromache’s story begins at a boarding school – at Alabaster’s Academy for Ladies – when she sneaks out after hearing what she thinks is a cry for help. Instead, she’s caught in a trap and is expelled and sent home to a distant mother. She’s determined to find out about her father and history. And she is fascinated by history, in particular Ancient Egypt – which is in direct conflict with science-minded Rylee, who doesn’t see how history is useful. And yet, Andromache knows it is history that shows us what the world can be, and where it can lead people if they let things get out of hand.

As Andromache used a device to travel between worlds, I could see that each world was meant to reveal something to Andromache, but at first, her friends saw it as a fun jaunt. In doing so, we get to know Rylee, Tobias and Andromache and what drives them in their lives. I found the revealing of their family situation and histories throughout the book worked well too – so readers understood them at the right time and in the right way that made sense for the story. I liked that it explored world-jumping in a different way – through DNA, which made it interesting, as the location the characters went to was determined by that connection. When it comes to portal worlds and novels, there are so many out there, and anything that finds a different way to make it work can really stand out like Gabriel’s new novel. I feel that novels and authors these days are finding clever ways to use tropes that have been used before along with engaging stories like Andromache’s, filled with mystery, friendship, and a little bit of magic. I think this is a fantastic book, and one that middle grade and early young adult readers will enjoy. Andromache is not perfect, she’s a bit nerdy and that’s what I love about her. She is trying to find where she fits in, like many readers. And I love that she was allowed to be who she was without compromising or changing herself to appease the people who don’t like her or think she should be something she isn’t.

Andromache’s story shows that there are many ways to live your life, many ways to fit in with the world, and being yourself is important, as is finding your passion – whether it is history or science, or something else that makes you smile. This is a fun book, filled with adventure and history, where anachronisms are fair game, and this made the book enjoyable to read. I hope other readers feel the same.