Ten Thousand Skies Above You, the second instalment in Claudia Gray’s Firebird Trilogy, kicks right into the action with higher stakes and more emotional turmoil than before. The tension is sky-high and the uncertainties of the worlds and how things work makes reading this novel a truly gripping, heart-stopping experience.

Ever since Marguerite used the Firebird to cross into alternate dimensions, she has caught the attention of enemies who will do anything to force her into helping them dominate the multiverse, including hurting the people she loves. She resists until Paul, her boyfriend, is attacked and his consciousness scattered across multiple dimensions. Marguerite has no choice but to search for each splinter of Paul’s soul, with the hunt sends her racing through a war-torn San Francisco, the criminal underworld of New York City, and a glittering Paris where another Marguerite hides a shocking secret. Each world brings Marguerite one step closer to rescuing Paul, but with each trial she faces, she begins to question the destiny she thought they shared. Not only that, but other versions of her and her loved ones are planning something far too sinister to comprehend, and it is only a matter of time before they start enacting their plans.

This ones takes a deeper look into the ethics and assumptions of this sci-fi world, questioning morality and who gets to decide what happens. This reinforcement of philosophy and psychology in a mathematics-heavy and physics-heavy science fiction book helps balance out the perspectives and story elements in my mind. I like seeing the contrast in perspectives; Marguerite’s artistic background in A Thousand Pieces of You created that difference but it wasn’t going to provide enough of a chance this time around. Having something more weighty to consider in the grand scheme of things – and something that ultimately sets her apart from the different players in power across the multiverses – gives Ten Thousand Skies Above You an edge, in my opinion. I feel drawn into the darker sides of the story due to the conflicting assumptions that lead the narrative beforehand.

Marguerite is still a naive girl, that hasn’t changed all the much in the three-month timeframe between books, but what has changed is still fundamental to this book. Her certainty that she loved Paul and will love him in all universes no matter what is happening or will happen is a key concept that is contested and broken throughout this novel. I appreciate that Marguerite is the kind of character who can take these hits and reconsider what she thought was a tried and true fact of her life (and every life she could have). Similarly, though perhaps more so than Marguerite, Paul goes through a lot of character development as a result of the compounding experiences he goes through. Theo also takes a long, winding highway to character development that is full of twists and turns, but ultimately leads to a happy end-point for all. I’m not sure how I feel about him as a character – if he has enough to him to make him stand out or even come across as interesting outside of the enforced feelings Marguerite puts into his interactions. To me, Theo seems a little underdeveloped outside of his love triangle and grey-area choices, but A Million Worlds With You may solve that for me without many more issues.

I love the change is pacing and direction that the plot takes overall. There feels like there is an overarching purpose or scheme now and the lines between ally and enemy are getting clearer. There are also some really interesting relationships evolving that I am eager to see flourish in A Million Worlds With You. The reality of what could happen is intense and I know for a fact that my heart will be reeling in the finale when everything starts to unfold. I can only hope that it is a strong, imaginative, and believable ending.