Fair Coin by E.C. Myers

Author: E.C. Myers
Title: Fair Coin
Publication:March 27, 2012 
Publisher: PYR
Source: Publisher

Synopsis
The coin changed Ephraim's life. But how can he change it back?
Sixteen-year-old Ephraim Scott is horrified when he comes home from school and finds his mother unconscious at the kitchen table, clutching a bottle of pills. The reason for her suicide attempt is even more disturbing: she thought she'd identified Ephraim's body at the hospital that day.
Among his dead double's belongings, Ephraim finds a strange coin--a coin that grants wishes when he flips it. With a flick of his thumb, he can turn his alcoholic mother into a model parent and catch the eye of the girl he's liked since second grade. But the coin doesn't always change things for the better. And a bad flip can destroy other people's lives as easily as it rebuilds his own.
The coin could give Ephraim everything he's ever wanted--if he learns to control its power before his luck runs out.

Thoughts:Ephraim is a typical teenage boy pining for the girl he has a crush on just take notice. One day he returns home to discover his mother has attempted to kill herself in the aftermath of thinking him dead and believing she had lost him, well so she thought. He manages to save her in time but remains baffled by the mistaken identity and the wallet that looks just like his own. While going through his "deceased" self's belonging he comes across a unusual coin that he later discovers grants wishes when he flips the coin. He just never expects the outcome, depending on whether it lands on head or tails, things can get better or...worse. He learns that there is so much more to the coin than he realized, it's unpredictable and dangerous. Ephraim must uncover the secrets of the coin before he loses everyone he loves, forever.

Ephraim is naive and innocent to a fault. He just wants the best life possible with the girl of his dreams but as he keeps wishing, other people's lives begin to unravel. The person most changed by the wishes is his best friend, Nathan, who seems creepy scary each time. In Ephraim's original life, Nathan already has stalker tendencies but as the shifts take place he becomes more aggressive and a bit sadistic. Ephraim can be frustrating because it takes him several times to realize that no one else remembers the life before his wish, so they all think he's crazy. I think this book ending well, so I'm curious how the author will continue this story. There is a love story but no love triangle, but the way the author handles the love interests will appeal to readers of this genre. Overall, this is an intriguing book with an unusual yet unique concept. The writing is good as are the characters and it's so nice to have another book with an interesting male lead. This is a good read that I recommend to anyone that likes sci-fi and fantasy books.