Fair Coin

This book came to my attention when it won the Andre Norton Award. I have wanted to read it since then, but with so many other books to read, it kept getting pushed off. Well, I had to kill time in a book store the other day and found this on the shelf. I started reading. I didn't want to stop. I ended up reading 3/4 of it in one day.

Fair Coin is intense from page 1 and doesn't let up until the very end. The mystery grows more complicated by the page. Where did Ephraim's double come from? How does the coin work? Why do little things--and big things--change with every flip of the coin? It's dizzying at times, and I'm left wondering how Myers mapped out everything to keep it straight as he wrote. This is the sort of science fiction I love show more because it's all about the people, not the science. Every character in this feels well-drawn and real, from teenage Ephraim to his crush Jena to his alcoholic mother. I can't say much more without giving away spoilers.

I can see why it won the Norton Award. Now I want to read the sequel, too. show less

From the start of Fair Coin I was enamored with Ephraim. He made this book for me. Here is a character who is so easy to relate to that I genuinely cared what happened to him. His friend Nathan was the same way. These two are the epitome of nerds, and I loved that! Their friendship is palpable and, even when it changes, that link is there. I happily followed Ephraim as he made wishes and changed his world. Of course I'll admit that I kept wondering when something bad would happen. I've read enough to know that things like this come with a consequence or two. Still, when it did happen, I was taken completely by surprise.

That my friends, is exactly when the book gets really interesting! When Ephraim discovers what the coin is really show more about, what it really does, the book blossoms into something brand new. I refuse to spoil this for you, and so you won't hear from me what happens. What I will say is that I applaud E.C. Meyers for taking such an abstract concept and putting it so simply that I was able to stay immersed in the story. It's almost like two separate stories were merged seamlessly into one. At this point I was glued to the pages. I warn you, this isn't a book you can read only a chapter at a time.

Another thing I wholeheartedly loved about Fair Coin were the moral dilemmas that pop up in this book. It's going to be a bit hard to explain without spoiling, but I'll try my best. Imagine that you could have anything that you want. Would that make it okay to take it? What if what you wanted caused someone else to loose something that they already had? These are the type of issues that Ephraim comes upon in this story, and I can't say enough how much I loved the way that E.C. Meyers addressed them. His characters have a conscience, and it made all the difference in the world.

As you can tell from this long, rambling review, I really loved this book! Fair Coin is a refreshingly unique read. It's a story that takes you from fantasy into science fiction and back again, and it does it seamlessly. I loved the characters, I loved the concept, and most of all I loved how immersed I was in the story. Thank you to E.C. Meyers for changing up my YA reads! When the second in the series comes out, I'll be there to devour it. You can count on that. show less

You may also read my review here: http://www.mybookishways.com/2012/07/fair-coin-by-ec-myers.html

Ephraim Scott’s life could be better. He comes home to find his mother unconscious with pills all over the floor, and realizes that she thinks he’s dead. A trip to the hospital confirms that a boy his age has indeed been killed in a bus accident; a boy that happens to look just like him, and has a library card with his name on it. Ok, maybe the library made a mistake, and hasn’t it been said that everyone has a twin somewhere? Ephraim could live with these explanations, until he finds the coin, and the note telling him to flip it and make a wish. What can possibly go wrong, right?

The ways that things can go wrong are pretty much show more endless in Fair Coin, author EC Myers’s debut novel. At first, after Eph makes a wish on the coin, things seem to be better. He wishes that his mother wasn’t so messed up, and waking up to the smell of bacon and coffee, his mom in the kitchen getting ready for her office job (instead of a job at the local ShopRite), is most certainly a step in the right direction. Then there’s the girl he’s crazy about, the geeky cool Jena. Maybe wishing she’d like him would help steer things in the right direction, yes? When things start changing for the worst, namely some alarming (and violent) changes in his best friend Nathan, Ephraim decides to get rid of the coin, with disastrous results.

I liked Eph. Really, I did. In spite of him being a pretty horny teen (a nice pair of, um, lungs, could distract him like you wouldn’t believe), he really did try to do the right thing, even when things started going to hell. And boy did they. Let’s put it this way, the coin is no monkey’s paw (you know, magic talisman, three wishes?), although it may remind you of one. Actually, the coin is part of something much bigger, and much more complex than Eph could have imagined. Ultimately, he learns that every time he uses the coin, he’s transported into a parallel universe. Yep, we’re talking multiworlds and quantum physics (and doppelgangers!). I love stories like this that deal in some pretty fascinating science, while throwing in a ton of adventure. Things move very, very fast, and once Eph and the gang start hopping all over the place (parallel universes!), it can be a bit difficult to keep up with. I did find that, instead of stopping to try to collate everything , just go with the flow of the story. Seriously, it totally works. It really gives you no chance to catch your breath, and even though Eph is the main character, that Jena is a scene eater, and she doesn’t take Eph’s crap. Kudos to strong female characters! But I digress… A truly scary, psychotic villain rounds out the cast of characters and this is one ride you won’t soon forget. Things never get too deep with the characters, but if you’re looking for a fun, nonstop read, you’ll enjoy this. Good thing Quantum Coin, the 2nd in the series, comes out in October, because if this crackling debut is any indication, it’s gonna be a humdinger of a sequel! show less

If you follow my blog there are two things you should know by now:

· I love a story told from a male point of view
· I'm hopelessly addicted to all things Sci-Fi / Fantasy

Put these two things together in a Young Adult novel and you get Fair Coin, a story about a teenage boy who finds a magic coin capable of granting his every wish. And, come on, who wouldn't want that?

When Ephraim makes his first wish—that his mother wasn't in the hospital from her suicide attempt—he gets more than he bargained for, returning home to find his mother not only healthy but darn-near perfect. Like a dream come true. Of course not all his wishes go as expected and as it turns out, they each have unintended consequences.

Fair Coin is one of those show more stories that begs to be read. You think you can stop after a few pages or chapters, but thoughts of it will always be there, tugging at your mind even as you try to sleep. There's a constant air of mystery. I spent a lot of time when I wasn't reading wondering what would happen the next time Ephraim made a wish, where the coin came from, and why it had this inexplicable power to transform his life.

I loved Ephraim, Nathan, and their relationship with one another, at least in the beginning. They're geeky, but in an adorable geeky sort of way. And they're hilarious. For me, there's something genuine and honest about a male/male friendship that I always seem to find lacking in a female/female friendship. Teenage girls can be catty, but teenage boys are usually just fun.

Jena, Ephraim's long-standing crush, is awesome. She's snarky, responsible, and intelligent. She's not the kind of girl who gets all googly-eyed over a boy and forgets she has a brain. Even Ephraim's mother is a very real and relatable character. And when each of Ephraim's wishes alters their personalities or their circumstances, I still had this sense that they were very much the same people, that they still possessed some ingrained characteristic that the new environment could not change.

Fair Coin is a stellar debut. It's witty, adventurous, and thought provoking. It takes the age-old tale of wishes gone wrong and turns it into something new and extraordinary. Bravo to E.C. Myers for not only making complex theories exciting and accessible to a young adult audience, but for refusing to dumb down the science aspect of science fiction. The characters aren't know-it-all brainiacs—they're regular teenagers—but they're intelligent enough to grasp and explain what's going on. And they're funny and interesting enough to keep the reader tearing through the pages.

Highly recommended. This one made it straight to my favorites shelf. The sequel, currently entitled Quantum Coin, should be released sometime in 2013. show less

Ephraim Scott, “Eph” to his friends, is a typical teenage boy living a typical (sadly, it -is- fairly common for children to deal with this situation) life. He isn’t entirely happy, but he does seem to be coping; he has friends, he’s performing at an at least average level in school, and has a job that the reader can assume he appreciates. Truthfully, though, he’s a boy who is hurting and he’s all too eager to step away from his not-so-idyllic life.

When he gets the opportunity to do so, he leaps at the chance. It’s through wishes and hopes and chance that Ephraim makes his way through the twists and turns of Mr. Myers fast-paced plot, and it’s really fun to try to figure out just what is going on and why.

What is not so show more typical about the story is the author’s portrayal of the teen mindset. Ephraim is a young man with strong morals and willpower, though these traits only become truly apparent as we get further into the story. There is character growth (though it’s gradual and not entirely deep) with all three of the “main” characters: Ephraim, Nathan, and Jena. Jena is written as a girl with a brain who knows how to use it, Nathan is a many-layered personality, and Ephraim really has to evaluate his life, his choices, his feelings – his entire self. It’s interesting to watch it all unfold. As the book ends, Ephraim comes to the realization that life is what we make of it and that it’s each person’s responsibility to either stay the course or make changes. It’s a really good lesson, albeit a subtle one.

I loved that despite having a male author, a male main character, and just an in general kind of “guy” feel to it, the female characters have strong, independent voices. They may be mainly supporting characters, but they are important and they are not pushed into the shadows willy-nilly.

There are a few bits of the book that make me scratch my head – portions I feel like were glossed over – such as the emotional reactions, or lack thereof, that two particular characters have to losing a friend. It’s a minor flaw, and not one I think takes anything away from the overall story. Also, I feel like there a few unanswered questions dangling there in the open, just waiting…and I’m hoping the sequel answers them for us.

E.C. Myers has written a novel that makes the reader think, which is something that is, sadly, often lacking in the Young Adult genre. He has not over simplified the SciFi aspects of the novel, showing that he has faith in the intelligence and comprehension levels of the young adults reading his novel, which is really rather great of him. Fair Coin is a young adult novel of substance. It is humorous, emotional, and complex in a refreshing way, and I think it’s a book that anyone who enjoys Science Fiction could really love. show less

So this was much more interesting than I had initially thought when I started reading it. What at first seems like your standard YA light fantasy about a boy with a magic coin whose wishes come true slowly reveals itself as a light sci-fi story about parallel universes. The stakes were quite life-and-death, with numerous character deaths which, for parallel universe reasons, are both affecting but also non-permanent for our core characters. Also, Nate/Nathan/Nathaniel was fairly odious in most of his analogs, which made me question Ephraim's loyalty to him.

But basically, this is a really smart and interesting and fast-paced book with an all-too-rare these days boy protagonist. I think teens would quite enjoy this one.

Originally Reviewed At:
Rating: 4.5 out of 5 Controllers
Review Source: Publisher for Honest Review
Reviewer: Me



Fair Coin was a surprise hit for me, one I never saw coming, and one I can’t believe is over (thankfully I just received my ARC of Quantum Coin)! E.C. Myers crafted a hair-raising adventure centered around best friends and a simple “coin”. Fair Coin is reminiscent of The Butterfly Effect, except with a more Sci-Fi edge because of the sheer amount of technology presented and the in depth explanations. And it also has a dark and twisted antagonist who I both adored and loathed. Everything is not always as it appears in Fair Coin and uncovering the mystery of it all is only the tip of the iceberg in this haunting show more adventure.



Sixteen-year-old Ephraim Scott comes home from school one day to find his mother in a devastating state, a suicide attempt based on the fact that Ephraim is presumed dead. To Ephraim this is weird because he is very much alive and in shock, but to a mother who just identified a body in the morgue as her son, this is reality. When Ephraim goes to examine the belongings of the boy his mother identified as him, he discovers not only things that resemble his own, but an odd coin. From here on out we are presented with subtle clues as to what really happened to “Ephraim”, the powers of a magical coin which can “grant” wishes, and the creation – and destruction – of relationships, friendships, and love.



Overall, Fair Coin is a well written, face-paced, EPIC adventure. There are plot twists you will NEVER see coming, and enough science fiction elements to satisfy even the hungriest nerd brain! In my opinion it accurately portrays – to a certain extent – what teenagers would do if they had the entire universe at their disposal. E.C. Myers does a wonderful job by touching lightly on the harsh realities of bullying, making friends, falling in love, making sacrifices, suicide, and alcoholism. I highly recommended it to anyone looking to invest in an entertaining quick read. The first chapter will HOOK you instantaneously, and the rest of this delightful story won’t let you go until you are screaming in agony for the next book! show less