When the World Was Flat (and we were in love) by Ingrid Jonach - Ashley's Pre-Reading

*I received this book as an eARC from Angry Robot/Strange Chemistry on NetGalley in exchange for an honest review*

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Title: When the World Was Flat (and we were in love)
Author: Ingrid Jonach
Year Published: 2013

Synopsis: Looking back, I wonder if I had an inkling that my life was about to go from ordinary to extraordinary.

When sixteen-year-old Lillie Hart meets the gorgeous and mysterious Tom Windsor-Smith for the first time, it's like fireworks - for her, anyway. Tom looks as if he would be more interested in watching paint dry; as if he is bored by her and by her small Nebraskan town in general.

But as Lillie begins to break down the walls of his seemingly impenetrable exterior, she starts to suspect that he holds the answers to her reoccurring nightmares and to the impossible memories which keep bubbling to the surface of her mind - memories of the two of them, together and in love.

When she at last learns the truth about their connection, Lillie discovers that Tom has been hiding an earth-shattering secret; a secret that is bigger - and much more terrifying and beautiful - than the both of them. She also discovers that once you finally understand that the world is round, there is no way to make it flat again.

An epic and deeply original sci-fi romance, taking inspiration from Albert Einstein's theories and the world-bending wonder of true love itself.

Why?: I love sci-fi books, and I'm really interested how this book is going to take real science and incorporate it with a huge secret and a romance. How do you turn Albert Einstein's theories into a YA novel that catches the attention of the everyday reader? I'm also really interested in the metaphor behind the flat world. I've also heard rave reviews about this book, and I've never been disappointed by a Strange Chemistry title, so there's that too.

Expectations: I expect a pretty heavy read. I don't think it's really possible to water down Einstein's theory of relativity so much that any book about it or containing it could be considered an easy read by any stretch of the imagination. I also expect this book to be heavy on the romance, although I think the science fiction will be the focus. At least I hope it is. Also, huge mysteries and secrets and all of that jazz.

Judging a book by its cover: As simple and minimalistic as this cover is, I kind of really love it. The red against the blue really pops for me, and I love the silver heart key. It doesn't give too much away, and it's not a standard "girl with pretty colors" cover that you see nowadays. I would be really likely to pick this book up off of a shelf if I saw it  somewhere. 

Also, while we're on the topic of covers, this is one of the first Strange Chemistry novels to be published as a hardcover book (instead of paperback), so yay! 


--Ashley