The Once and Future Me

swing and a miss

Was so happy when a friend of mine asked if I wanted to do a buddy read for this book! I read the description and saw that it said “if you liked Dark Matter and Girl, Interrupted” I knew I had to read this asap! Dark Matter was a 5⭐️ and I love the movie “Girl Interrupted”! I really enjoyed the time jumps from the 1950s to the future and see how much had changed in that timeframe. While reading this, you come to find out you cant really trust anyone in this story because some are not who they seem! I felt awful for the women back in the 1950s who were treated so poorly in psychiatric hospitals for “ailments” that didn’t even need the treatment. It was as if the spouses just didnt Want to deal with them.But the action/mystery definitely kept you guessing throughout but the ending just kind of left me underwhelmed, which is disappointed because I did enjoy the book overall.I do look forward to reading more from this author, as this type of genre is what I usually go for.

I loved this book, and it will give me nightmares. The book starts with the FMC on a transport bus in 1954 headed to a psychiatric hospital but with no memory of who she is or why she’s there.This story is told by a very unreliable narrator, who is diagnosed by hospital staff as a schizophrenic and administered treatments common at the time, like electroshock therapy. The narrator is either ‘Dorothy Frasier,’ a paranoid and suicidal schizophrenic, or ‘Bix,’ a time traveler from the future sent back 12 Monkeys style to save the world from a deadly plague.The storytelling is fantastic and unravels in an engaging and captivating way. As a reader, I felt confused and unsure of what was happening right along with the FMC.This is a fantastic edge-of-your-seat psychological sci-fi thriller.Spice: 2/5Plot: 5/5Writing: 5/5My Enjoyment:5+/5***I received an ARC

I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily. This was one of the biggest mindbenders I have ever read. This book has me guessing what was real and what wasn’t the entire way through, same as the main character. Love the theme of a dystopian world but also the undertones of being trapped in your own mind trying to figure out what is really going on around you. For a psychological thriller this is a must read!

Time travel entwines with the genuine horrors of mental institutions in the middle of the 20th century in THE ONCE AND FUTURE ME by Melissa Pace. I enjoyed the plot, the style, the challenges in identity, intelligence, and belonging faced by the remarkable Dorothy, coming to consciousness in transport to a place designated for her crazy self. I cringed a few times at the events and perspectives, but all in all, enjoyed the read and the questions it raises about who gets to decide another person is wrongly made or crazy and what it means to be present, alive, and fully conscious in your own life. While being taken aback at times, I did not have a problem with the different time lines nor intrusive thoughts and memories. I received a copy of this book and these thoughts are my own, unbiased opinions.