Bests & Worsts Reviews from Amazon

This is two separate short stories side by side about one young man and his mother escaping the KGB by fleeing Russia. The chapters alternate back and forth between what was and what could have been. By chapter 5, I realized this was not going to end. I knew it would be too confusing to read this way flipping back and forth between the parallel lives and, therefore, considered only reading the Alex chapters first (the version of the character who goes to New York) followed by the Sasha chapters (the version of the character who goes to England). But since I already was not in love with the book or the premise, I flipped to the last two to three chapters to see if it was worth the time. It was not. The surprise ending is ridiculous and couldn't possibly be explained by the parallel lives that reconnect with Russia in exactly the same moment with the same purpose. It sounds like the author wanted to add a twist but couldn't think of one so he threw something together that only took four pages to explain . . . and yet it explained nothing. Many people who read the book seem to be confused, so I thought I might add my takeaway . . . SPOILER ALERT ** SPOILER ALERT **: Since the book was clearly two short stories side by side about what would have happened if the protagonist and his mother chose the boat to New York (which seemed like the more realistic version), versus what his life would have been like had he chosen the boat to England and a more rewarding life . . . my takeaway was that it doesn't matter which boat (or path in life) you choose if your childhood nemesis is Putin. I realize the author didn't let us know in the beginning that the boy who was jealous of and betrayed the protagonist and his family was Putin. But I believe that is the big reveal in the last four pages. I think the most confusing part was that the author brought together both versions of the same character back into one series of chapters in the end with one name (Alex) instead of keeping them separated by different names. Regardless, Putin was going to have his way with the boy he betrayed as a teenager by never giving him the chance to become president. Therefore, it didn't matter if Alex chose the boat that led him to the better path in life or the harder one, Putin was still never going to let Alex become president and would go to any lengths to stop him.