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Worlds Divide
Traveling to parallel worlds is a drag. Except when you meet a hottie.
Nina’s family on her home world demands perfection, an impossible bar to meet when she unpredictably slips into other worlds, leaving behind her body, which is obedient but unable to speak. Breaking dishes after dinners and worse from her perceived disability has been a source of humiliation for her and her family. When a poorly timed slip during Church nearly kills her and splinters her family, she’s convinced she’s fundamentally unlovable.
When Nina encounters Corey on her first slip to his world, an instant connection is made. Corey and Nina fall in love. If only she could stay on his world more than one day each week, her life would be perfect.
All she needs is time. But Corey has his own troubles, and every week Nina leaves him behind to return home steers him down a path of his own destruction. If she can’t figure out how to control her visits to parallel worlds soon, every goodbye could be their last.
Nina’s family on her home world demands perfection, an impossible bar to meet when she unpredictably slips into other worlds, leaving behind her body, which is obedient but unable to speak. Breaking dishes after dinners and worse from her perceived disability has been a source of humiliation for her and her family. When a poorly timed slip during Church nearly kills her and splinters her family, she’s convinced she’s fundamentally unlovable.
When Nina encounters Corey on her first slip to his world, an instant connection is made. Corey and Nina fall in love. If only she could stay on his world more than one day each week, her life would be perfect.
All she needs is time. But Corey has his own troubles, and every week Nina leaves him behind to return home steers him down a path of his own destruction. If she can’t figure out how to control her visits to parallel worlds soon, every goodbye could be their last.
328 pages, Paperback
Published April 17, 2026
About the author
Adria Bailton
5 books12 followersAdria Bailton is a science fiction, fantasy, and horror author. Her debut YA science fiction novel, Worlds Divide, is coming April 2026!
Adria Bailton (she/they) spends her day focusing on the nuclei of atoms, and imagines entire worlds and universes to share. Their first published poetry and short fiction were in her high school’s fiction magazine some decades ago. Their first paid short fiction was in 2021 to Wyldblood Flash. Her piece at Constelación Magazine was published in both English and Spanish. Adria is an Associate Member of the SFWA, Member of SCBWI and Codex.
Writing from the U.S. Pacific Northwest and the traditional territory of several Indigenous nations, including the Stillaguamish, Suquamish, and Duwamish, they live with a couple humans, a couple axolotls, several fish, and three dogs.
Adria Bailton (she/they) spends her day focusing on the nuclei of atoms, and imagines entire worlds and universes to share. Their first published poetry and short fiction were in her high school’s fiction magazine some decades ago. Their first paid short fiction was in 2021 to Wyldblood Flash. Her piece at Constelación Magazine was published in both English and Spanish. Adria is an Associate Member of the SFWA, Member of SCBWI and Codex.
Writing from the U.S. Pacific Northwest and the traditional territory of several Indigenous nations, including the Stillaguamish, Suquamish, and Duwamish, they live with a couple humans, a couple axolotls, several fish, and three dogs.
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Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews
Review of advance copy received from Author
I had the privilege of reading this book before its release date, and I am STILL eagerly anticipating its release simply because I cannot wait to have it sitting on my shelf, and to hold it in my hands.
This story is unlike most that I normally read. I don't typically enjoy sci-fi novels, and I have grown weary of YA. However, this story surpassed my biases and completely blew me away.
A brief overview: the novel follows Nina, a teen who "slips" between worlds. Her family does not understand it, and thus Nina suffers for something she cannot control. She meets Corey on one of these slips, and love blossoms between the two. But how can they pursue love while fighting their own demons and Nina is of a different world? Guess you'll have to read to find out...
This story is raw, emotional, and asks tough questions that may or may not get the answers we want. It is beautifully told; with wonderful prose, interesting world-building, characters with depth, and gut-wrenching moments that brought tears to my eyes. Nina and Corey embody the Romeo and Juliet trope while remaining their own persons.
This story will forever remain dear to my heart, as it made me fall in love with reading all over again.
This story is unlike most that I normally read. I don't typically enjoy sci-fi novels, and I have grown weary of YA. However, this story surpassed my biases and completely blew me away.
A brief overview: the novel follows Nina, a teen who "slips" between worlds. Her family does not understand it, and thus Nina suffers for something she cannot control. She meets Corey on one of these slips, and love blossoms between the two. But how can they pursue love while fighting their own demons and Nina is of a different world? Guess you'll have to read to find out...
This story is raw, emotional, and asks tough questions that may or may not get the answers we want. It is beautifully told; with wonderful prose, interesting world-building, characters with depth, and gut-wrenching moments that brought tears to my eyes. Nina and Corey embody the Romeo and Juliet trope while remaining their own persons.
This story will forever remain dear to my heart, as it made me fall in love with reading all over again.
Did Not Finish
February 10, 2026DNF at 21%.
Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for the opportunity to read this early as an eARC.
I really tried very hard with this book, but unfortunately this one just isn't for me at this time. It has a very heavy domestic violence plotline (there is a trigger warning for it so this is not a spoiler) that is, in my opinion, related to undiagnosed neurodivergence in a young teen. Watching so many adults fail this teen is extremely difficult.
In addition to that, I did not really like the insta-love between the two teens. They are making out before 20%, having only just met one another. I typically do not like insta-love.
The writing style is also very frustrating for me. This is just my opinion, but it does not flow well. There were times when I had to stop reading and furrow my brow a bit because the sentence structure was not typical. So on top of the heavy subjects, the writing itself did not help my ability to read this one.
Unfortunately, I have to put this one down. I do hope that this book finds its audience.
Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for the opportunity to read this early as an eARC.
I really tried very hard with this book, but unfortunately this one just isn't for me at this time. It has a very heavy domestic violence plotline (there is a trigger warning for it so this is not a spoiler) that is, in my opinion, related to undiagnosed neurodivergence in a young teen. Watching so many adults fail this teen is extremely difficult.
In addition to that, I did not really like the insta-love between the two teens. They are making out before 20%, having only just met one another. I typically do not like insta-love.
The writing style is also very frustrating for me. This is just my opinion, but it does not flow well. There were times when I had to stop reading and furrow my brow a bit because the sentence structure was not typical. So on top of the heavy subjects, the writing itself did not help my ability to read this one.
Unfortunately, I have to put this one down. I do hope that this book finds its audience.
Review of advance copy received from Netgalley
This is an odd book, but I am not used to reading books for teens, which I guess this is. Nina hops back and forth between her "real" life in universe A (which is not ours) and brief alternative lives in other universes. These shifts are usually quite short and she has no control where she ends up.
Nina's done this since she was a child. When she has jumped, her body enters a fugue state; alive but mentally absent and mute, and this is where I have a problem with the story. In our world she would have been diagnosed with a weird form of epilepsy and managed that way. Instead she is beaten severely by her father, her mother doesn't step in, and the school authorities can't step in.
One day Nina hops to a new place that is rather like the 1970s USA and she meets a boy and falls in love at first sight. From then on she tried to teach herself to control her hops. She starts hopping there in a new pattern - any time from her side, always Tuesday over there.
That's the two-thirds of the book. The rest is working everything out. It's slow and not terribly interesting. There is teenage sexual tension while they decide when and where to make love for the first time, and a fair bit about organizing a wardrobe in the alternate world (she doesn't hop naked but the clothes don't shift with her).
I finished the book but didn't get much excitement from it. But I'm not a teen.
I received a review copy of this book through NetGalley.com.
Nina's done this since she was a child. When she has jumped, her body enters a fugue state; alive but mentally absent and mute, and this is where I have a problem with the story. In our world she would have been diagnosed with a weird form of epilepsy and managed that way. Instead she is beaten severely by her father, her mother doesn't step in, and the school authorities can't step in.
One day Nina hops to a new place that is rather like the 1970s USA and she meets a boy and falls in love at first sight. From then on she tried to teach herself to control her hops. She starts hopping there in a new pattern - any time from her side, always Tuesday over there.
That's the two-thirds of the book. The rest is working everything out. It's slow and not terribly interesting. There is teenage sexual tension while they decide when and where to make love for the first time, and a fair bit about organizing a wardrobe in the alternate world (she doesn't hop naked but the clothes don't shift with her).
I finished the book but didn't get much excitement from it. But I'm not a teen.
I received a review copy of this book through NetGalley.com.
Review of advance copy received from Author
What I Did Like:
+The concept is intriguing and careful consideration is paid to all the consequences that would come with slipping between timelines or worlds.
+Nina and Corey are cute. Definitely instalove but cute. It fits with their young adult age and a sort of first love relationship.
+The author does a good job of tackling some hard things with grace and dignity. Watch those content warnings (provided by the author) and take care of yourself.
Who Should Read This One:
-Fans of hard hitting contemporary novels who like Scifi elements will like this best.
My Rating: 2 Stars
This was hard for me to rate but, at the end of the day, the ending was incredibly problematic and there are not enough answered questions to save it.
For Full Review: https://alltherightreads.com/2026/03/...
+The concept is intriguing and careful consideration is paid to all the consequences that would come with slipping between timelines or worlds.
+Nina and Corey are cute. Definitely instalove but cute. It fits with their young adult age and a sort of first love relationship.
+The author does a good job of tackling some hard things with grace and dignity. Watch those content warnings (provided by the author) and take care of yourself.
Who Should Read This One:
-Fans of hard hitting contemporary novels who like Scifi elements will like this best.
My Rating: 2 Stars
This was hard for me to rate but, at the end of the day, the ending was incredibly problematic and there are not enough answered questions to save it.
For Full Review: https://alltherightreads.com/2026/03/...
Review of advance copy received from Netgalley
A heart-aching debut about the desperate search for belonging, Worlds Divide reminds us that sometimes the home we need isn’t the one we were born into, but the one where we feel truly seen—even if we must travel across the multiverse to find it. Nina and Corey’s journey proves that love knows no bounds, and that your soulmate might be waiting for you in a world yet to be discovered.
Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews