2 Stars
Meh. Perhaps previous positive reviews raised my expectations too high, but I just didn't enjoy this book. Promised a dystopian tale with tons of emotion, I found instead a narrative masquerading as a memoir with a hint of dystopian wrongness. The descriptions of the narrator were involved and reminded me of my grandmother's stories -- a bit rambling, but eventually they got to the point, but sometimes it was so late that you weren't sure why the point was even relevant any more.
Soooo, if you're looking for a great dystopian novel... this isn't it. However, if you want beautiful descriptions of childhood friendships and coming of age stories in a slightly altered life situation, then this is for you. There's probably some literary merit in this as well. It just wasn't enough to keep me interested. It just dragged on and on. Since the previous reviews promised that it got really good at the end, I kept plowing through, but any reader who has read more than a few dystopian novels would realize the transparent nature of the secret... and that's the only part that was truly interesting.
I can see this being used in a high school setting as a springboard for discussions on the controversial topic within. Of less literary merit, but certainly more action, consider a book study on the same topic that includes Unwind by Neil Shusterman, The House of the Scorpion by Nancy Farmer, and The Scorpion Rules by Erin Bow (coming out in September). All have powerful themes relating to otherness, cloning, and disenfranchised youth.
My recommendation? It's only for people who enjoy memoirs.
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