Summary from
Goodreads:
Two girls, two
stories, one epic novel
From Lauren Oliver, New York Times
bestselling author of Before I Fall
and the Delirium trilogy, comes an epic, masterful novel that explores issues
of individuality, identity, and humanity. Replica
is a “flip book" that contains two narratives in one, and it is the first
in a duology. Turn the book one way and read Lyra's story; turn the book over
and upside down and read Gemma's story. The stories can be read separately, one
after the other, or in alternating chapters. The two distinct parts of this
astonishing novel combine to produce an unforgettable journey. Even the
innovative book jacket mirrors and extends the reading experience.
Lyra's story begins in the Haven Institute, a building tucked away on a private
island off the coast of Florida that from a distance looks serene and even
beautiful. But up close the locked doors, military guards, and biohazard suits
tell a different story. In truth, Haven is a clandestine research facility
where thousands of replicas, or human models, are born, raised, and observed.
When a surprise attack is launched on Haven, two of its young experimental
subjects—Lyra, or 24, and the boy known only as 72—manage to escape.
Gemma has been in and out of hospitals for as long as she can remember. A
lonely teen, her life is circumscribed by home, school, and her best friend,
April. But after she is nearly abducted by a stranger claiming to know her,
Gemma starts to investigate her family's past and discovers her father's
mysterious connection to the secretive Haven research facility. Hungry for
answers, she travels to Florida, only to stumble upon two replicas and a
completely new set of questions.
While the stories of Lyra and Gemma mirror each other, each contains
breathtaking revelations critically important to the other story. Replica is an ambitious,
thought-provoking masterwork.
Review:
Lauren Oliver books are either hit or miss with me. Usually,
I love them so much, I can’t help but compare all other books in the same genre
to them. But occasionally, as was the case here, I just don’t feel them at all.
At all.
I’m slightly breaking my rules in even writing a review for
this. I tend to not write reviews for books I don’t finish. That being said, I
normally stop reading a book I don’t like somewhere between 10-50% of my way
through it. I made it about 70% into this book. I feel like that’s enough of a
book read to write a review and generate a clear understanding of the book.
Mostly, I was just barely tolerating Gemma’s point of view,
and hoping I’d like Lyra’s better. Unfortunately, I loathed Lyra. And I guess
that right there was my issue with the book: the characters. For such character
driven narrative to work for me, I need to be more interested in the main
characters. Gemma did have some interesting characteristics, but for some
reason those characteristics all disappeared in the face of the plot. When
exciting, suspenseful stuff happened, Gemma didn’t feel like the sarcastic, fun
character built up from before: she felt like every other two dimensional girl
main character. I should have known I’d like Lyra less. She was supposed to
come off as well, clone-like. And I get that. But seriously, she could have
been a million times more interesting.
I thought I really liked Gemma’s best friend, April. But,
then there was a really lame fight that didn’t make sense to me. And April was
really awful to Gemma out of nowhere. The unnecessary fight just felt like a
bad plot device, when really, I think a supportive best friend throughout would
have made more sense to the character and the story. So, that made me not like
April so much either.
Also, the plot was so familiar. The twists were the kind of
twists we have all already read a million times and can call from the beginning
pages. If the plot wasn’t so cliché, I may not have realized how uninteresting
the characters were.
That being said, the premise of this book is amazing. I
loved the idea of a story that could be read in such a unique way. I loved that
we were meant to connect the stories, yet separate them on their own as well.
It was like someone put a writing challenge in front of the author, and she was
like, “No problem. I got this.” It’s just with such a unique idea, I was hoping
for more of a unique plot and characters.
It’s hard writing such a negative review for an author I
love. Seriously, some of her other books are books I think all YA readers need
to read. I won’t stop reading this author by any means. This one was just a big
disappointment for me. I give it a 3/10.
