One Way or Another

Paige Collins is constantly paralyzed by the fear of making the wrong decision.  Sure, things could go well, but there are also a million ways they could go wrong, and her brain makes sure she shuffles through all those possible negative consequences for every decision.  Paige has also been in love with her best friend, Fitz for years, but she's too afraid to do anything about it.  Fitz always has a girlfriend.  Everyone is in love with him, and Paige totally understands why.  He's charming, thoughtful, and sweet.  That's why she loves him, but she also knows he's not in love with her.  

After his girlfriend breaks up with him, Fitz invites Paige to spend the week after Christmas at his family's cabin in the mountains.  She's never seen snow, and her mom always works extra shifts at the hospital around the holidays, so it seems like the perfect escape even if she's doubting her ability to keep her crush a secret in such tight quarters. 

Then her mom surprises her with tickets to New York for Christmas.  It's something they could never afford on her mom's nursing salary, but she won a drawing at work.  Paige has dreamed of traveling for as long as she can remember.  Her bedroom walls are plastered with photographs from travel magazines.  This seems like a dream come true, but what about Fitz?  Could she be missing out on an opportunity by going out of town when he's single?

Once again, Paige can't decide what to do.  All she can see are the possible negative consequences of each choice.  Then she slips on a wet floor at the grocery store and bumps her head, and both fates play out.  In one, she spends Christmas with Fitz and his family, and in the other, she flies to New York.  In both options, there are opportunities for romance and for Fitz to finally find out her true feelings for him, but which is the true reality?  

I have to be honest.  I did not enjoy this book.  I found Paige and her indecision to be tedious.  I am not trying to belittle people with anxiety, but her anxiety is cured in about five minutes in the end, so it's not really about anxiety in my opinion.  Also, if her lifelong dream is to travel, go to New York.  That seems like an easy decision to me.  She's in high school, and it's for one week.  It's not like the stakes are super high.  The main problem is that Paige doesn't really grow as a person in either timeline.  I'm a big fan of the movie Sliding Doors, and I was expecting something more along those lines where the character has the opportunity to grow and change in either timeline through positive or negative experiences, but this book never goes beyond the surface.