#Review - The Pretenders by Rebecca Hanover #YA #SyFy #Mystery

Series: The Similars # 2
Format: Hardcover, 416 pages
Release Date: December 10, 2019
Publisher: Sourcebooks Fire
Source: Publisher
Genre: Young Adult / Science Fiction

Perfect for fans of The Umbrella Academy! In this thrilling conclusion to The Similars duology, Emma must figure out who she really is, decide between two boys with the same face, and stop a dangerous plan based on revenge.

Emma is still reeling from the events of her junior year at Darkwood. Not only is her best friend, Oliver, shockingly alive, but the boy she loves—his Similar, Levi—is still on the island where he grew up, stranded with his deranged creator.

More importantly, she is grappling with who she really is. Emma can't accept the hard truths she learned last year and refuses to share her secrets with anyone, isolating herself from her friends and Ollie.

But when more of the Similars' creator's plot is revealed, Emma and her friends will have to try to stop him from putting a plan into motion that could destroy everyone she loves.

Rebecca Hanover's The Pretenders is the second and final installment to the authors The Similars duology. Emmaline Chase and her Similar friends are back at Darkwood Academy but with a surprise. Oliver Gravelle, who was thought to be dead, has been returned from Castor Island after being away for his entire Junior year. On the other hand, Levi, who is Oliver's similar, is still on the island and not allowed to leave or contact Emma. As the story opens, Emma has been told a really twisted secret by Gravelle. 

 

Now, it is a matter of her believing what she's been told, or choosing to ignore it and try to get Levi back from the clutches of Augustus Gravelle. She and her friends must also fight the growing anti-cloning movement that is still lingering around the school and elsewhere. Clones are now banned from gaining citizenship. They are banned from leaving the country. They really have no rights. Yet, they aren't shying away from the bigotry. This book once again digs deep into high school shenanigans and drama. 

 

The same old antagonists are once again back and relentless in their hatred towards Emma's friends.With Emma dealing with her own identity crisis, it becomes even more twisted when Levi seemingly returns to Darkwood. Of course, Oliver, who has been Emma's best friend for a long time now, decides now is the time to tell her exactly how he feels. What's even more curious is Emma's awareness of how different she is from before. She heals quicker than before, and she can hear thoughts. 

Emma and her friends eventually discover the truth, but it is covered with too many secrets to deal with while trying to stop the creator from doing any more damage. I could go further into the story, but won't. I will say that the story ends in a very twisted manner that left me scratching my head. The whole time I'm reading this story, the author adds yet another element to the clones. I just couldn't imagine she would upturn the apple cart and screw with readers heads that badly. But she does. I don't believe that this series needs another installment.

 

Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Kobo

#Review - The Similars by Rebecca Hanover #YALit #SyFy

Series: The Similars# 1
Format: E-Book, 400 pages
Release Date: January 1, 2019
Publisher: Sourcebooks Fire
Source: Publisher
Genre: Young Adult / Science Fiction

When six clones join Emmaline’s prestigious boarding school, she must confront the heartbreak of seeing her dead best friend’s face each day in class.

The Similars are all anyone can talk about at the elite Darkwood Academy. Who are these six clones? What are the odds that all of them would be Darkwood students? Who is the madman who broke the law to create them? Emma couldn't care less. Her best friend, Oliver, died over the summer and all she can think about is how to get through her junior year without him. Then she comes face-to-heartbreaking-face with Levi—Oliver's exact DNA replica and one of the Similars.

Emma wants nothing to do with the Similars, but she keeps getting pulled deeper and deeper into their clique, uncovering dark truths about the clones and her prestigious school along the way. But no one can be trusted…not even the boy she is falling for who has Oliver's face.

 

The Similars is the first installment in author Rebecca Hanover's The Similars series. 16-year old Emmaline Chance is returning to her prestigious Vermont Boarding School called Darkwood Academy just months after losing her best friend, and her heart, Oliver. But, things are about to change radically with the addition of 6 new students to the school. What is so special about these kids? They are clones of students who already attend the school. But, one clone in particular has Emma all twisted up and confused.

The arrival of these clones triggers Emmaline because one of the clones, Levi, has replaced her dead friend, Oliver. It is also the fact that the clones are very secretive and appear to be up to something nefarious. As Emma gets to know Pippa, Jago, Theodora, Ansel, Maude, and Levi, she learns multitudes of good and bad about them. Then the unthinkable happens. Her roommate, Prudence, is attacked and left to die. There is so much mystery surrounding the events that took Prudence away, that it will lead to some pretty heavy and revealing secrets.

This leads Emma to dig deep into the schools secrets, the secrets of the parents of the clones, the secrets of the schools teachers and administrators, the clones themselves, and the mysterious benefactor who 16 years ago, stole DNA from 6 babies from 6 very high profile parents. These clones where created without the families knowledge, or permission which also led to cloning being deemed illegal in the US. I will say this. I suspended belief for a bit in this story. 

I don't believe in cloning. I think it's amoral to create a life out of umbilical cord blood or any other method. But, scientists have used umbilical cord blood, which contains stem cells, to treat hematopoietic and other genetic disorders. I do  enjoy the stories written about clones if they are written well. I do think the ending and the surprises where a bit on the predictable side. I don't know where the author is going to go from where she left off this book, but I might be interested in reading the sequel once it comes out presumably in 2019.

Similar books: Diabolic by S.J. Kincaid, Replica by Lauren Oliver.

Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Kobo