Title: A
THOUSAND PIECES OF YOU
Author: Claudia
Gray
Release
Date: November 4, 2014
Pages: 368
Publisher: HarperTeen
Formats: Hardcover, eBook, audiobook
Every Day meets Cloud Atlas in this heart-racing, space- and time-bending, epic new trilogy from New York Times bestselling author Claudia Gray.
Marguerite Caine’s physicist parents are known for their radical scientific achievements. Their most astonishing invention: the Firebird, which allows users to jump into parallel universes, some vastly altered from our own. But when Marguerite’s father is murdered, the killer—her parent’s handsome and enigmatic assistant Paul—escapes into another dimension before the law can touch him.
Marguerite can’t let the man who destroyed her family go free, and she races after Paul through different universes, where their lives entangle in increasingly familiar ways. With each encounter she begins to question Paul’s guilt—and her own heart. Soon she discovers the truth behind her father’s death is more sinister than she ever could have imagined.
A Thousand Pieces of You explores a reality where we witness the countless other lives we might lead in an amazingly intricate multiverse, and ask whether, amid infinite possibilities, one love can endure.
Now on to the playlist!
A THOUSAND PIECES OF YOU Soundtrack
I always create soundtracks for every book I write, and listen
to that music virtually every time I sit down at the keyboard. (Weirdly enough,
if the soundtrack won't come together, I know something's wrong with my
preliminary plans for the book. Kind of spooky, right? But it's always been
true.) However, with A THOUSAND PIECES OF YOU, I … maybe went off the deep end
a bit. I actually made separate soundtracks for every single
dimension Marguerite visits, with a few songs thrown in for her home.
That means the playlist for ATPOY is about 75 songs long. Eventually I'll post
it on my blog, but it would be the Guest Post That Ate The Internet here and
now. So instead of going through the whole list, I thought I'd share a few of
the songs that were most important to the writing process.
1) "Breath of Life" by Florence + the Machine (Jaime loves anything Florence)
This is the theme song for the entire Firebird trilogy. The lyrics don't really match up, but there's something about the sound and the meaning of the whole song that just captures this driving, desperate sense of going forward no matter what. For me it just captures where Marguerite is as she begins these journeys, and the strength of her sense of purpose. No matter how dangerous it gets, she's going forward.
Every single universe's soundtrack had "Breath of
Life" in it. According to iTunes, while writing the first book, I listened
to this song 403 times. That's not even counting the later books – we'll see
how high that count gets.
2) "Once Upon a December" by Sarah Morgann
Yes, the theme song from the movie "Anastasia"! How could I not have that as one of the main songs for the Russiaverse? Although I wanted the version from the movie, you can't buy the single on its own; Sarah Morgann recorded the cover that worked best. The lyrics are about a beautiful Russia lost in time, beyond the singer's memory or reach. But for Marguerite, it's about the family she finds there, the incredible romance that happens in this dimension, and her knowledge that no matter how much the Russiaverse means to her, ultimately she has to leave it all behind.
3) "Problem" by Natalia Kills
LOVE Natalia Kills, always, and this song seemed to fit the rougher, party-girl Marguerite that we meet in the Londonverse. I imagine it playing in the nightclub when Theo finds her.
4) "The Dress Looks Nice on You" by Sufjan Stevens
To me this sounds like the shy, unspoken appreciation and love Lieutenant Markov feels for the Grand Duchess Marguerite in the Russiaverse. The lyrics are so gentle, and there's no expectation of the love ever being returned. It's just this expression of selfless devotion, which was the perfect song for him in the Russiaverse.
5) "In My Life" by The Beatles (Ahem one of Jaime's favorite Beatles Songs!)
Marguerite begins her mad chase through the dimensions to avenge her father's death, and when the story begins, her grief is new and raw and horrible. During her journey, she encounters versions of her father – for whom it's any other day. So there's all this love inside her that she can't fully express. These are the last moments she's ever going to spend with her dad, and they're incredibly precious to her.
Well, Marguerite's father, Henry Caine, would count as a
die-hard Beatlemaniac. His favorite song of theirs is "In My Life,"
and it's something he used to sing or hum around the house. So the song is a
huge emotional touchstone for her during the story.
6) "The Lightning Strike" by Snow Patrol
The other day, someone on Twitter was asking how many YA love scenes are inspired by Snow Patrol songs, and my answer was, "Probably all of them." Cliché? Well, I don't care. This song so beautifully captures Paul's emotions in the final scenes of the book that I had to listen to it over and over as I wrote the last chapters. (The only problem is that the lyrics talk about "gold hair" and Marguerite's a brunette, but we'll all pretend we didn't hear that line, okay?) And this song builds to an amazing climax, which is what I was hoping for with the book! Hope it worked.
Thanks Claudia I loved this! I can't wait to see the playlist for book 2!!!!
About Claudia:
Claudia Gray is a pseudonym. I would like to say that I chose
another name so that no one would ever learn the links between my shadowy,
dramatic past and the explosive secrets revealed through my characters. This
would be a lie. In truth, I took a pseudonym simply because I thought it would
be fun to choose my own name. (And it is.)
I write novels full-time, absolutely love it, and hope to be
able to do this forever. My home is in New Orleans, is more than 100 years old,
and is painted purple. In my free time I read, travel, hike, cook and listen to
music. You can keep up with my latest releases, thoughts on writing and various
pop-culture musings via Twitter, Tumblr, Pinterest, Goodreads or
(of course) my own home page.
If you want to contact me, you can email me, but your best bet
is probably to Tweet me. I don’t do follows on Twitter, but I follow everyone
back on Tumblr, Pinterest and Goodreads.
Giveaway Details:
(1) A THOUSAND
PIECES OF YOU Prize Pack consisting of a scarf with a quote from the
book, a scented candle from one of the mutliverses, and a signed book. International
a Rafflecopter giveaway
Check out the Tour Schedule for more awesome posts!
Week One
Oct. 27th – The Midnight Garden – Guest Post
Oct. 28th – Tales of the Ravenous Reader – Interview
Oct. 29th – BookHounds
YA – Review
Oct. 30th – Dark Faerie Tales – Interview with Paul
Oct. 31st – Reading YA Rocks – Guest Post
Week Two
Nov. 3rd – Parajunkee – Interview
Nov. 4th – Two Chicks on Books - Guest Post
Nov. 5th – Magical
Urban Fantasy Reads –
Guest Post
Nov. 6th – Me, My Shelf and I – Review
Nov. 7th – Page Turners Blog – Review
Morgan ~ drewblythe2004@yahoo.com
ReplyDeleteI can't wait to read this book, I will be getting a copy no matter what!!! I would love to this, so thank you for the awesome giveaway opportunity!!!
this book looks great!!
ReplyDeleteRead a lot of mixed reviews about this book. But I absolutely loved Gray's Fateful so i'm very interested to see how this book goes like. The Dimension jumping thingie is also drawing me in and the playlist is amazing.
ReplyDeleteAparajita @Le' Grande Codex
Can't wait to read!!
ReplyDeleteI've been hearing so many amazing things about this book and am so excited to try it out myself!! It sounds so intriguing! :D
ReplyDelete~Fari @ My Little Corner For Books
I have been eyeing this! I can't wait to dive into this. Happy release day Claudia!!
ReplyDeleteThis sounds fascinating! Also, a thousand times over, that cover is gorgeous.
ReplyDeleteThis looks so good :) Love the cover <3
ReplyDeleteThis book sounds fantastic and I can't wait to read it!
ReplyDeleteI've just started reading it and I am already loving it!
ReplyDeletei like claudia's books...thx u for the chance to win her new book ^^
ReplyDeleteI love the cover and the story looks amazing !
ReplyDeleteA Thousand Pieces of You has such a beautiful cover and I've been hearing very good thing about it! I can't wait to get the chance to read it and the playlist makes me even more curious about the book.
ReplyDeleteWith beautiful writing, stunning world-building and a protagonist with a personality and a story that will keep a reader on their toes, this is one book from Claudia Gray that readers won't want to miss. I know that I was absolutely blown away after reading this, and I believe that you will be too.
ReplyDeleteMica
HP Elitepad Review