A review by coco_lolo
The Nobodies by Alanna Schubach

3.0

I've spent the last week trying to figure out how I feel about The Nobodies, and even now I can't say whether I fully liked it or not, but what I can say is that I appreciated how it approached what's typically a sci-fi trope. The main characters' ability to swap bodies is never explained, the reasoning never even hinted at, and this was something I actually quite liked because the reason for it isn't important: it's what Jess and Nina do with that ability. Which, unfortunately, wasn't much. Although I liked the prose and seeing these women as girls growing into themselves (and each other), Schubach didn't go the full mile; we're told they did a lot of damage and seemingly did so to other people, when in reality the damage they do is to one another and themselves, and while I liked watching them sort of self-destruct because they were so enmeshed, I wanted more consequences for their actions. The consequences we did get were expected and not dealt with in a manner that satisfied me, but the codependency and jealousy kept me engaged, even if Nina and Jess (and everyone, honestly) were forgettable in the end.

"Just because we invent our personalities doesn't mean they're not real."
[...] "But what about what we really are, deep down?"
"No such thing," Jess said. "There's only what you do, and what you don't."