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Wednesday, November 14, 2018

The Similars

The Similars (The Similars, #1)

The tagline on the ARC (advanced reading copy) I received says Can you be original if you've been copied? And on the back it says Six clones. One elite boarding school. Countless deadly secrets. Okay I can get behind that. Clones and a boarding school? Sign me up. Secrets? Of course! I was quite taken with the premise of this one and found it to be a fast read as well.

I received this ARC in exchange for a review, and this has not affected the substance of my review in any way.

Emma Chance is enrolled at the prestigious Darkwood Academy in Vermont, and as the school year begins she is mourning the suicide of her best friend Oliver. The two of them had been inseparable, and at some point in the recent past he had told her he loved her, which she brushed off, wanting to remain friends even though deep down she seems to have had similar feelings. So now she carries around guilt over that as well as the fresh grief of his recent passing. Imagine her shock when she arrives at Darkwood to discover that a clone of Ollie is also attending. A mysterious benefactor has cloned six people, including Ollie, and they are attending the academy for the first time.

To complicate matters, another of Emma's friends has been cloned as well, so she not only has a likeness of Ollie to deal with, her best friend Prudence has a lookalike running around too. The six clones are called the Similars, and their arrival on campus sparks outrage and resentment from some, including some of the students who were copied, and support from others. So there is an undercurrent of current events here, with the cloning question- should clones have rights?- standing in for many of the issues facing the world today in real life.

Emma soon gets to know some of the Similars, but she also learns some disquieting things about them and their strange patron. It turns out the academy has a lot of secrets (shocking right?) and a lot of history that dovetails with Emma's prior life. Her father attended after all, and on top of that she begins to feel drawn to Levi, the clone of Ollie.

I'm a sucker for clones and I love the exploration of clones' rights as well as the science fiction aspects of the story that popped up. I was interested enough in Emma's past and her relationships with Levi and others that it was compulsive reading for me. I would like to see more on the other Similars, and a little more exploration of Darkwood but otherwise I had a lot of fun with this.

It wasn't clear to me that this was a series when I started it, but I see now there is an untitled sequel listed on Goodreads, so I'm glad to see that. I will absolutely read the next one and I have to know what happens next. 

45 comments:

  1. The cloning aspect sounds interesting. Glad you enjoyed it!

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    1. I did, it was a nice take on cloning with them attending a boarding school, and sorta being their own group.

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  2. We talk about a person being the sum of their experiences. How much of who we are is genetic? Fascinating topic Greg! ❤️❤️

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  3. I'm always fascinated by cloning, and as always love your review. Can you imagine walking up and down those steps every dang day?(lol) Hugs and Happy Thursday, Greg! RO

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    1. I am too. Thanks Ro! And haha I do love a spiral staircase :)

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  4. Cloning does interests me but I'd like to read adult plots about it rather than the YA aspect. Sounds like you enjoyed it and I hope you like the next book!

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  5. I don't think I've ever read a books that feature or involve clones. This sounds like one fascinating mind eff for the main character. Excuse the language I could think of another way to put it! I hope the sequel lives up to what this story presented :)

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    1. I've read a few and I always love cloning. And it's alright :) that's a pretty good way to decribe this one actually! In a good way :):)

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  6. OMG, a clone of your best friend who committed suicide? Nope. This does sound good, though!

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    1. I know, how traumatic would that be? Lots of interesting wrinkles in this.

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  7. Having a genetics major, I am always interested in DNA stuff. I will definitely have to check out this book. Glad you enjoyed it. Thanks for sharing.

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    1. Do you? How cool. It's a good cloning book.

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  8. I loved this cover so much and glad to hear it delivers on plot.

    Karen @ For What It's Worth

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  9. This is the first review I've seen for this one, so I'm happy to see you enjoyed it! I've been on the fence about adding this one to my list, because sci-fi is usually hit-or-miss with me. However, I love the idea of clones being integrated into a school system, and that they are duplicates of other children that are/were attending.

    I'm curious... did they ask permission to clone certain people? I'm guessing not, since some of the students were upset about it. Does that mean their parents signed away their rights, or was the school taking liberties of its own? I have so many questions!

    Lindsi @ Do You Dog-ear?

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    1. You should read it! A lot of that stuff is addressed. They did not ask permission, it was supposedly an "accident", so the parents only knew their kids had been cloned afterward. And there's a reason why the boarding school is part of it.

      I think this is the first book I've read where clones are part of a school like this and it was a cool take.

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    2. How the hell do you "accidentally" make clones of six students?? That's total bullshit and I haven't even read the book, haha. Clones are complex and require forethought and a ton of work, so there's no way it was done without extensive research and time.

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  10. It's the first time I hear about this one and it looks interesting there so I'm curious

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  11. I don't think I've read a book with clones in it before.

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    1. I've read a few- I seem to be a sucker for cloning :)

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  12. This sounds really interesting and happy to see that you enjoyed it. I'm not much of sci-fi reader, but this one will get added to the list.

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  13. I've seen this book a few times on your Sunday posts and other features and I was so curious! So happy to see the review! I was so intrigued! I'm a sucker for cloning topics too! and it's set in New England YAY!

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  14. I haven't read a clones story in ages. The Similars has a great take on the issue and sounds like a thoughtful as well as well-paced story

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  15. I rarely read YA, but your review won me over. Added it to my TBF. So you must love to pieces Never Let me Go, right? amazing book

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    1. Excellent, I hope you enjoy! And no I've never read that book- sounds like I should?

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  16. I’ve never read a book about clones but it certainly opens up a boatload of ethical questions to be explored. Glad this is the start of a series so there’s more to look forward to!

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    1. I loved how the ethical issues were a huge part of this!

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  17. I'm a sucker for books set in boarding schools. And with clones? Even better! Great review. :)

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    1. Exactly. Clones plus boarding school = win.

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  18. Very cool! It must be so weird for the students to see copies of people they know walking around.

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    1. I know! Wouldn't boarding school be hard enough, without clones to deal with???

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  19. Yay! I saw this one on Goodreads and had to add it to my tbr. I've only read one book with clones but I absolutely loved it. For that reason, I have a good feeling about this one. Glad you enjoyed it and will continue the series.

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  20. This was definitely fun, and I loved the direction it took toward the end (you know, when it got more.... science-y). Even though it was a bit predictible, it was entertaining, and that's good enough for me. (Also, I love how professional you are about it- mine will literally just be a GIF and probably whatever I said in the comments here, if I bother at all 😂 And LIES because no one made you review it hahahha)

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  21. I mean you had me at clones and boarding school! Love the cover too.

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  22. This sounds like an interesting and exciting read, Greg! Great review!

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  23. I haven't read too many books about clones, but not for lack of interest. I am glad you ended up liking this one, Greg. I would like to read it too.

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  24. I've been waiting for your review of this book to see if I think it might interest me, and oh yeah, count me in!

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  25. Ooh!! This sounds awesome! I definitely have to add it to my TBR! Love the cover!!

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