NEW ADULT
What If - Rebecca Donovan (2014)
As children, Cal, Nicole, Richelle and Rae were inseparable. But then Richelle and her family moved away and Nicole turned her back on Cal and Rae. Now at Crenshaw University, the last person Cal expects to see is Nicole who won a place at Harvard. But this girl is not Nicole but Nyelle. Though Cal is sure he is not mistaken, Nyelle is a very different person to the Nicole he once knew. This story is something of a strange one; the whole Nicole/Nyelle confusion is somewhat bizarre and implausible. And as a character Nyelle comes across as manic. Richelle's storyline offered a glimmer of something substantial but this wasn't given much focus. The novel lacked the passion and drama of NA and would work best aimed at the Young Adult market. There's definitely intrigue and invention here but for me it was all an imaginative leap too far. (JC)
