Otherwood by Pete Hautman (review)

Years ago, Stuey's great-grandfather and his bitter enemy, Robert Rosen, disappeared on the same night, and Great-Grandfather supposedly now haunts the woods. Now ten-year-old Stuey and his new friend Elly Rose, who happens to be Robert Rosen's great-granddaughter, find what they believe to be a magical spot in the woods, and then Elly Rose disappears, leading to questions from the police, a social worker, and a therapist while Elly Rose's parents grieve. Then Elly briefly reappears to Stuey in the woods, claiming that it is Stuey who has disappeared and that in her world, it's Stuey's face on the missing child billboards and posters. Three years later, their separate worlds have mapped entirely different trajectories on the same plot of land, but it isn't until Stuey finally discovers the truth about the past that they can reunite in the same universe. This mind-bending mystery plays right into questions entertained by children and adults alike at least since Schrödinger introduced the possibility of multiple, simultaneous realities: What if the dimension we live in isn't the only one? How might my life be different in an alternate universe, and how do I matter in this one? How does time work in different dimensions? By confining each of the main characters to his or her own universe and linear time, Hautman limits confusion, pays homage to the power of imagination fueled by nature, and explores middle-grade-friendly possibilities of agency, faith, courage, and friendships that have the power to heal generational wounds. KC