Welcome to the Nerdette Book Club! Each month, we read a book and chat about it, first with the author and then later with a rotating group of panelists. This month’s pick is The Space Between Worlds by Micaiah Johnson.

It’s an alternate-universe story about hundreds of different Earths slightly different from our own. It’s possible to “traverse” to other planets, but only if your doppelganger there is already dead. Enter Cara, our protagonist, whose impoverished and oppressed upbringing means she’s already dead on every planet except for eight of them.

This is Micaiah Johnson’s first book, and it’s an ambitious one. In today’s episode, Nerdette host Greta Johnsen has a spoiler-free conversation with the author about the book’s themes and how Micaiah’s own life story intersects with Cara’s.

Be sure to come back later this month for a spoiler-filled conversation about The Space Between Worlds. And don’t forget: we want to hear from you too! Record your thoughts about the novel and send an audio file to nerdettepodcast@gmail.com.