Lawrence, Michael.
A CRACK IN THE LINE
New York : Greenwillow, 2004.
IL YA
ISBN 0060724781

Life has not been good since his mother's death two years ago.  Alaric lives with his father in a rundown home that neither seems to want to care for.  When Alaric touches his mother's handcrafted replica of their home, he is transported into an alternate reality.  Here, his mother survived the train crash and has gone on to win the lottery.  And here he finds his alternate self as well -- Naia, a girl who is so much like Alaric that she could be his twin.  When these two meet, they spend time in each other's universe.  Alaric loves Naia's home with it's warmth and coziness.  Naia feels sorry for Alaric when she sees how he is living and tries to help him.  Come along as the two travel back and forth between universes and try to make sense of what is happening to them.

Booktalk #2

Since his mother's death in a train derailment two years ago, sixteen year old Alaric Underwood and his father have let her beloved house and garden go. Nothing seems worth the trouble any more. What Alaric doesn't know is that in a neighboring reality like his in almost every detail, his mother survived the crash and the family continued happily. But in that reality there's no Alaric. There his place has been taken by a girl called Naia. When Alaric and Naia meet, the full catalog of the differences in their lives since the accident presents itself, with (this time) life-changing consequences for both of them. (http://www.wordybug.com/Contents.htm,permission from author)