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Between Worlds 1: The Move
Fourteen-year-old Juliana tries to make herself heard after a big move leaves her feeling ignored.
Juliana’s parents didn’t ask her opinion about moving half-way across the second largest country in the world. They didn’t ask if she minded interrupting her last year of junior high or first year of dance apprenticeship training. And they certainly didn’t ask if she wanted to be separated from her best friend of ten years.
Instead, Juliana spends a week trapped with her parents in an SUV as they repeatedly tell her why she has to begin a new life in a new city. When they arrive at her grandfather's home, she tries her best to be polite to everyone, but it's all too much.
Overwhelmed by the size of her mother's family, Juliana escapes to the musty basement of her grandfather’s home. There, she discovers an old sketchbook of unknown people, struggles, and celebrations, all drawn by an artist about her age. Who is this person? What do these drawings mean?
And why does the artist feel familiar to Juliana?
The Move is the first book in Lori Wolf-Heffner’s uplifting YA series, Between Worlds, which follows two teenaged girls growing up a century apart.
Juliana’s parents didn’t ask her opinion about moving half-way across the second largest country in the world. They didn’t ask if she minded interrupting her last year of junior high or first year of dance apprenticeship training. And they certainly didn’t ask if she wanted to be separated from her best friend of ten years.
Instead, Juliana spends a week trapped with her parents in an SUV as they repeatedly tell her why she has to begin a new life in a new city. When they arrive at her grandfather's home, she tries her best to be polite to everyone, but it's all too much.
Overwhelmed by the size of her mother's family, Juliana escapes to the musty basement of her grandfather’s home. There, she discovers an old sketchbook of unknown people, struggles, and celebrations, all drawn by an artist about her age. Who is this person? What do these drawings mean?
And why does the artist feel familiar to Juliana?
The Move is the first book in Lori Wolf-Heffner’s uplifting YA series, Between Worlds, which follows two teenaged girls growing up a century apart.
176 pages, Kindle Edition
Published September 8, 2019
7 people are currently reading
21 people want to read
About the author
Lori Wolf-Heffner
27 books34 followersLori Wolf-Heffner is the author of the young adult series Between Worlds and the sweet romance series Love on Belmont. She was an inaugural member of the Canadian National Tap Team, wrote and submitted a Star Trek novel in her teens (it was rejected—she needed an agent), and spent one day twice in Luxembourg and 15 minutes once in Switzerland. She can still do cartwheels.
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Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews
August 11, 2021
Beautiful story of strength and resilience.
The Move is my first novel by Lori Wolf-Heffner and I thoroughly enjoyed it. It is not simply written; I enjoyed the many layers in the narrative. Dance is used as one vehicle to get at those complexities of the human condition.
There are many themes present that resonate. Life is difficult no matter what era you’re from. Loss is part of life, but when we examine situations deeper, there is often a journey or lesson involved. This is what I discovered about The Move. Beneath the frustrations and fears are two, resilient women. Excellent characterization.
The Move is my first novel by Lori Wolf-Heffner and I thoroughly enjoyed it. It is not simply written; I enjoyed the many layers in the narrative. Dance is used as one vehicle to get at those complexities of the human condition.
There are many themes present that resonate. Life is difficult no matter what era you’re from. Loss is part of life, but when we examine situations deeper, there is often a journey or lesson involved. This is what I discovered about The Move. Beneath the frustrations and fears are two, resilient women. Excellent characterization.
April 13, 2021
"Dance was not something to be contained and analyzed in the mind—it was meant to live in and be expressed through the body."
At 64 I still remember trying to dance as a child, so this book struck nerves and memory within me. As the history converges you can see the parallels with the two girls as well as their divergent lives. Both are trying to work on what has been lost and it is lovely. Highly Recommended 5/5
At 64 I still remember trying to dance as a child, so this book struck nerves and memory within me. As the history converges you can see the parallels with the two girls as well as their divergent lives. Both are trying to work on what has been lost and it is lovely. Highly Recommended 5/5
August 18, 2020
An enjoyable story of two young women experiencing challenges in their lives over which they have no control. Learning what they do have control over is part of the journey. A well written story with some interesting historical detail. Thanks Lori Wolf-Heffner for the reading pleasure.
August 31, 2020
Very realistic story of a girl who has to move so her parents can care for her grandfather. As we follow her move, we also follow another young girl dealing with her father moving out of the country to America. We see the differences and how culture both familial and societal result in their abilities to deal with the changes they must face. Are the luxuries we give our Kids really helping them or hurting their abilities to cope with change and see how there are others that are in need? I received a free copy and am voluntarily leaving my honest review.
October 15, 2022
Two moving tales on maturation of two girls facing unexpected challenges
A touching story about two girls, living in two different time periods, and facing a stressful challenge early in their lives. The narrative is about how they build their strength while dealing with their families. Both are gifted; one is in dancing; the other is in drawing.
I realized that the word ‘move’ in the title has a double meaning in this book; the title meant to tell the consequences of an actual move of a person to another place; the other meaning meant to describe ‘move’ as actionable responses of the girls to the new situation; a movement toward a maturation phase, which makes the two round characters.
Throughout the reading, I’ve tried to delineate the differences between Juliana and Elizabeth, as if there is a hidden secret the author would like me to find out. Juliana relies on herself while Elizabeth is driven by faith as a guide to happiness. Juliana spontaneously responds to anything that irritates her while Elizabeth restrains herself.
Juliana soon finds a replacement for her addiction to dancing in a form of addiction to exploring that elusive book she found, and perhaps her family’s past.
A peak moment by Juliana:
‘In the box lay numerous leather-bound books with gold-embossed writing and decorations on brown spines. The script was fancy, like something out of an old movie. She wiped her nose and then reached into the box and pulled out a book. Its cover was navy blue and had no title, just little black triangles at the top and bottom right-hand corners. She inspected the spine again. The script of the title was too elaborate for her to make out the letters, but below the title was an embossed creature of some kind: it had a lion’s body and tail, a hawk’s wings, and a bird’s face.’
And here is a piece of Elizabeth's thought, reflecting her nature:
‘Which is what I’ve been doing because of Tata’s departure, she thought to herself. I only thought of me, but Tata is thinking of all of us.’
Overall, the book is well-written and the dialogues are authentic and convincing. I could actually visualize each scene clearly and sincerely enjoyed the read.
A touching story about two girls, living in two different time periods, and facing a stressful challenge early in their lives. The narrative is about how they build their strength while dealing with their families. Both are gifted; one is in dancing; the other is in drawing.
I realized that the word ‘move’ in the title has a double meaning in this book; the title meant to tell the consequences of an actual move of a person to another place; the other meaning meant to describe ‘move’ as actionable responses of the girls to the new situation; a movement toward a maturation phase, which makes the two round characters.
Throughout the reading, I’ve tried to delineate the differences between Juliana and Elizabeth, as if there is a hidden secret the author would like me to find out. Juliana relies on herself while Elizabeth is driven by faith as a guide to happiness. Juliana spontaneously responds to anything that irritates her while Elizabeth restrains herself.
Juliana soon finds a replacement for her addiction to dancing in a form of addiction to exploring that elusive book she found, and perhaps her family’s past.
A peak moment by Juliana:
‘In the box lay numerous leather-bound books with gold-embossed writing and decorations on brown spines. The script was fancy, like something out of an old movie. She wiped her nose and then reached into the box and pulled out a book. Its cover was navy blue and had no title, just little black triangles at the top and bottom right-hand corners. She inspected the spine again. The script of the title was too elaborate for her to make out the letters, but below the title was an embossed creature of some kind: it had a lion’s body and tail, a hawk’s wings, and a bird’s face.’
And here is a piece of Elizabeth's thought, reflecting her nature:
‘Which is what I’ve been doing because of Tata’s departure, she thought to herself. I only thought of me, but Tata is thinking of all of us.’
Overall, the book is well-written and the dialogues are authentic and convincing. I could actually visualize each scene clearly and sincerely enjoyed the read.
October 22, 2020
I really enjoyed this story. I loved the way the author shows us the historical version of a teenager's Christmas hundreds of years ago and then shows us the contemporary version of a teenager who has to leave all her friends to move to another province in Canada. I enjoyed that we were shown the similarities and differences between both teenagers and how they deal with their problems and anger. I would highly recommend this book. I received this book as an ARC and this is my honest review.
Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews