patchworkbunny reviewed Replica by Lauren Oliver
Review of 'Replica' on 'Goodreads'
3 stars
Replica is two books in one, following the same story from the view point of two different characters. The print version is presented so that you turn the book over and upside down to read the other story, keeping them separate. The reader is invited to choose for themselves how to read the book, Gemma first, Lyra first or alternating between the two. I'd be interested to see how different choices affected how people got on with it. For the record, I read Lyra's story first, then Gemma's immediately after.
When I saw it was about a clone and a girl who always been poorly, I thought it might be story about the two sides of a moral conundrum. Using one group of people to save others but it wasn’t so. There wasn't any moral ambiguity but a general message that it doesn't matter where you came from, it's what …
Replica is two books in one, following the same story from the view point of two different characters. The print version is presented so that you turn the book over and upside down to read the other story, keeping them separate. The reader is invited to choose for themselves how to read the book, Gemma first, Lyra first or alternating between the two. I'd be interested to see how different choices affected how people got on with it. For the record, I read Lyra's story first, then Gemma's immediately after.
When I saw it was about a clone and a girl who always been poorly, I thought it might be story about the two sides of a moral conundrum. Using one group of people to save others but it wasn’t so. There wasn't any moral ambiguity but a general message that it doesn't matter where you came from, it's what you make of yourself that matters.
Lyra’s story is the more interesting of the two, seeing her limited world view and the idea that she isn’t aware there is anything wrong with Haven. I don’t think I would have found the ending satisfactory if I had read this after Gemma’s. I also really wish they hadn't tried to make a romance out if it, it didn’t seem quite right.
Whilst I enjoyed Lyra's side, I found Gemma's a bit of a trudge. Their narratives do deviate in places but I had that sense of knowing what was going to happen and I'm not sure there was enough difference. Just a few chapters in I just knew what it was that Gemma would learn, and I was right. Although her romantic arc was a bit more plausible and natural.
The girls both have low self-esteem, especially when it comes to body image. Both girls see themselves as ugly freaks. Lyra sees Gemma's softness and curves as beautiful. Gemma sees an ill yet pretty girl who has no reason not to think of herself a person.
Haven's motivations are a bit tenuous. I don't suppose many readers will know much about prion disease but it seems an odd choice. I do think the science side was more of a convenient vehicle for the structure rather than exploring the idea itself. On the plus side, at least a bunch of teenagers don't change the world. The stories are quite contained and more personal.
Review copy provided by publisher.