"When we were that young, we invented the world, no one could tell us a thing . . . "

. . . that quote is from Audrey Niffenegger's Her Fearful Symmetry, which I read over winter break. I read like crazy over the break; for the most part, I don't let myself read for pleasure when school's in session, since once I get really into a book, I often literally cannot stop myself from reading until it's done, no matter what time it is or how much homework and studying I have to do. So on breaks, I make up for lost time and read whenever I can; I believe I finished three books over winter break this year!

Anyway, Audrey Niffenegger also wrote the very popular Time Traveller's Wife, which was made into a movie. For those of you who've read The Time Traveller's Wife, Her Fearful Symmetry is VERY different, but, in my opinion, every bit as good. The Time Traveller's Wife deals with the supernatural to a degree, but the main focus is on the romance between the two main characters. Her Fearful Symmetry is a classic ghost story. The estranged aunt of two 21-year-old identical twins, Julia and Valentina, dies and leaves them her flat in London. The twins move into the flat, discover that it is haunted, and the plot sort of takes of from there. I

I really enjoyed this book; it combines the whole "classic ghost story" motif with really well-developed characters and a very clever plot, with a crazy twist near the end. Also, in my opinion, it's a huge testament to Niffenegger's skill as a writer that she can write two very different but equally excellent books. Interestingly, this book was not as popular as The Time Traveller's Wife. I didn't hear any rave reviews on it, I just stumbled upon it while browsing in Barnes and Noble. The hardback copies were 50% off and there were several left; it clearly was not a major seller, which confuses me, because her first book was so popular that I would have thought people would buy this just because it had her name on it. In any case, I would recommend it to anybody, with the caveat that if you're expecting another The Time Traveller's Wife, you're going to be disappointed. If you're just expecting a very well-written novel-plus-ghost-story, though, you will probably have as much fun with this book as I did!