False Future by Dan Krokos

Series: False Memory (bk. 3)

Genera(s): Sci-fi/Dystopian/Action Adventure thriller

Subjects: genetic engineering, cloning, psychic ability, parallel universes

Setting: New York City

POV/Tense: 1^st person POV, present tense: Miranda North

Age/Grade Level: Teen

Length: 308 pgs.

HC/PB: Hardcover

List Price: $17.99

Publisher: Hyperion

Summary/ product description: “True Earth has returned during a massive snowstorm in Manhattan-and this time they have an army. Rhys, Noble, Sophia, and Peter know they don't stand a chance against the enemy without Miranda. And once they revive her, she's horrified to find her world in flames.

The enemy occupation is brutal, but the director promises to release her hold on the city if Mr. East is turned in, and Miranda and her team are determined to find him. With her grief over the losses she has suffered fueling her spirit, Miranda knows that this time the sacrifices have to be worth it.

Packed with suspense and deception, Dan Krokos brings Miranda's journey to a mind-bending conclusion as she risks losing everything in the fight for her future.”

My Review: False Future is the final book in the False Memory trilogy. The first book was False Memory and second book was False Sight. It’s a pretty awesome finale with a ton of twists. This series has so much action in this series. Lots of sci-fi stuff. Interesting world building and great characters. The group of characters reminded me of the Flock in Maximum Ride. I enjoyed all three books. They are short, fast reads and will surely entertain any teen who’s a sci-fi fan.

In False Future, big stuff is going down. World-changing events. True Earth, The Director and the Roses/clones are in NYC looking for someone: Mr. East. Miranda and Rhys pose as clones from a team by capturing two wearing red suits. They try to find out as much as they can. They try to fight back, but they may have to come up with a better plan. Miranda finds out what True Earth really is and who the director really is. Miranda’s past may not be what she thought, but neither is her future.

This book doesn’t have just one epic battle. There’s fighting through out it, and spying on the enemy and planning. Miranda finds that that clones of her friends act like her friends, but are still different. She also finds Peter later one also pretending to be another clone. There are some romantic scenes between them. There are also a few deaths of important characters, much like the previous book. I laughed, cried and was surprised. It’s everything you can hope for in a finale.

If you haven’t read any of the books, it’s kind of like Maximum Ride by James Patterson, Altered by Jennifer Rush and a bit of Shatter Me by Tahereh Mafi. There are clones and genetic engineering and villains with big egos. But the alternate worlds things is reminiscent of Fringe. Two of the characters share names with the main character Peter and Olivia, but it’s Miranda and Peter that are together here. I bet Dan Krokos is a fan of Fringe. Also books like Unraveled by Elizabeth Norris and Tandem by Anna Jarzab, which also include parallel worlds.

Cover Art Review: I like the key design in the computer chip and the colors are cool. Fits with previous books covers.

Divided by Elsie Chapman

Series: Dualed (bk. 2)

Genera(s): Dystopian Sci-fi

Subjects: action, assassins, murder, post-apocalyptic

Setting: A city called Kersh in the future

POV/Tense: 1^st person POV, present tense: West Grayer

Age/Grade Level: Teen

Length: 309 pgs.

HC/PB: Hardcover

List Price: $17.99

Publisher: Random House

Summary/ product description: “The hunter becomes the hunted. . . .

West Grayer is done killing. She defeated her Alternate, a twin raised by another family, and proved she’s worthy of a future. She’s ready to move on with her life.

The Board has other plans. They want her to kill one last time, and offer her a deal worth killing for. But when West recognizes her target as a ghost from her past, she realizes she’s in over her head. The Board is lying, and West will have to uncover the truth of the past to secure her future.

How far will the Board go to keep their secrets safe? And how far will West go to save those she loves? With nonstop action and surprising twists, Elsie Chapman’s intoxicating sequel to Dualed reveals everything.”

My Review:  I wasn’t sure how Dualed would have a sequel, but I think Divided did a good job. I liked the first book better, but this book had even more assassin stuff and action. The main character is pretty interesting, but also similar to other heroines in dystopian books. West is very blunt in her narration. There’s not a lot of humor, but with the story line it works well.

She’s pretty serious and similar in personality to Katniss from the Hunger Games, but without much sarcasm. She’s also only 15 and has already killed. In the previous book she killed her Alt and assassinated other Alts. West faces the dilemma of being told to assassinate 3 other Alters in exchange for the safety of any future children she’ll have. Is there anyway to be safe in a world where everyone must kill?

The side characters still don’t feel very developed. Cord is West’s boyfriend, and also completed like her. There’s West’s trainer, Baer, a little kid named Dess and other characters. We also got to know more about the history of Kersh. They never say what country the book’s set in. It could be Canada or even Japan, since the author is a Japanese Canadian. It’s most likely in North America, somewhere on the coastline. We find out about why there are Alters and what Kersh used to be.

I can’t say I truly enjoyed Divided because I ended up skimming a lot of parts. I lost interest in some parts, but some of the action made up for it enough to be 3 stars. I like dystopian series and this one is very unique compared to other ones. The world building is good. The idea of everyone having a doppelganger that they have to eliminate. It’s a good concept, but the story wasn’t as fast paced as I hoped.

I recommend this to fans of Enclave by Ann Aguirre, The Hunger Games, and various other dystopian series.

Cover Art Review: I love the repeating girl and guy in the mirrors and the hexagonal floor tiles. The color scheme is good. The turquoise, violet and red go together.

The Originals by Cat Patrick

Series: Standalone

Genera: Contemporary Sci-fi, Romance

Subjects: Clones, high school, sisters, love, individuality, California

Age/Grade Level: Teen

Length: 296 pgs.

HC/PB: Hardcover

List Price: $18.00

Publisher: Little, Brown

Summary/ product description: “A riveting new story from Cat Patrick, author of Forgotten and Revived.
17-year-olds Lizzie, Ella, and Betsey Best grew up as identical triplets... until they discovered a shocking family secret. They're actually closer than sisters, they're clones. Hiding from a government agency that would expose them, the Best family appears to consist of a single mother with one daughter named Elizabeth. Lizzie, Ella, and Betsey take turns going to school, attending social engagements, and a group mindset has always been a de facto part of life...
Then Lizzie meets Sean Kelly, a guy who seems to see into her very soul. As their relationship develops, Lizzie realizes that she's not a carbon copy of her sisters; she's an individual with unique dreams and desires, and digging deeper into her background, Lizzie begins to dismantle the delicate balance of an unusual family that only science could have created.”

My Review: Almost as good as Revived and definitely better than Forgotten, The Originals was just as original as both. Cat Patrick makes yet another unique, contemporary, sci-fi-lite romance. I love sci-fi books with genetic engineering, and cloning is pretty interesting too. If you ever read Double Identity by Margaret Peterson Haddix, you’ll know that the main character (Bethany) in that book was a clone of a girl named Elizabeth. In this book there a three clones living together, basically triplets, but only one identity named Elizabeth. Elizabeth is a name with about a million nick-names. The clones are named Lizzie, Betsy and Ella (but if there were more, maybe Beth, Lissa, Liza, Bethany, Bethie, Izzy, could all work.).

Lizzie is the narrator. I was expecting alternating POV, but it’s only Lizzie. The three of them definitely have different personalities. Lizzie is funny and creative. Betsy felt like an older sister for some reason. She likes country music and singing. She nice and caring. Ella scowls a lot apparently. She’s very type-A, overachiever. They each are out for a quarter of the day, taking only some of the classes and going home to switch with each other. The somehow manage to make it through the day without anyone noticing a change of personality. Until Lizzie meets Sean. Dating’s hard when you sisters have to share your identity. 

Sean is you average teenage hottie. He’s funny, smart and basically awesome. He’s also trustworthy and caring. I’m glad that Cat Patrick makes realistic love interests. And no insta-love or love triangles. (Can’t count as a love triangle if Ella likes David and Lizzie like Sean, but Ella and Lizzie have to both be Elizabeth.)

This book didn’t have the best plot in the world. It was lacking action and slow at times. But it had a lot of romance and drama. I loved the funny, romantic scenes between Lizzie and Sean. Like dancing in the bathroom. Sean’s such a sweet guy. I loved that the character made you care about them. They were well developed and distinct. There was a theme of individuality and what it means to be unique and not just a carbon copy. It was a good book. Short and sweet.

I recommend this book if you like high school, romance and sci-fi together. If you like books about cloning. If you enjoyed Double Identity, or Shadow Girl (Jennifer Archer). If you liked any other Cat Patrick books, this is a must-read. I loved Revived.

Cover Art Review: Very cool broken glass image with the three sisters/clones on the cover. This cover is perfect for this book.

Dualed by Elsie Chapman

Series: Dualed (bk. 1)

Genera: Dystopian Sci-fi

Subjects: Murder, assassins, clones, futuristic, post-apocalyptic, action, Canada

Age/Grade Level: Teen

Length: 290 pgs.

HC/PB: Hardcover

List Price: $17.99

Publisher: Random House

Summary/ product description: “You or your Alt? Only one will survive.
The city of Kersh is a safe haven, but the price of safety is high. Everyone has a genetic Alternate—a twin raised by another family—and citizens must prove their worth by eliminating their Alts before their twentieth birthday. Survival means advanced schooling, a good job, marriage—life.
Fifteen-year-old West Grayer has trained as a fighter, preparing for the day when her assignment arrives and she will have one month to hunt down and kill her Alt. But then a tragic misstep shakes West’s confidence. Stricken with grief and guilt, she’s no longer certain that she’s the best version of herself, the version worthy of a future. If she is to have any chance of winning, she must stop running not only from her Alt, but also from love . . . though both have the power to destroy her.
Elsie Chapman's suspenseful YA debut weaves unexpected romance into a novel full of fast-paced action and thought-provoking philosophy. When the story ends, discussions will begin about this future society where every adult is a murderer and every child knows there is another out there who just might be better.”

My Rating: êêê1/2

My Review: This book had a very unique concept behind it. The world building was also very unique. The idea that everyone has a twin that’s born into a different family, and that they have to kill the other. Could you kill someone with your own face and features?  I’m sure that actually having to do that would mess your mind up big time.

Every kid in this book is taught in school about Alts and how to fight them. Alts are not mindless clones, they’re just the other version of you. You and your Alt. are made up of the genes of 4 parents, rather than 2. The parents that raised you and the parents that raised your Alt. Anywhere between age 10 and 20 you can be forced to go from idle to active, meaning you only have 31 days to kill your Alt or you’ll Alt will kill you, and if neither is dead by 32 day, you both die.

This book has a pretty creative city layout. It’s based off of Vancouver, Canada but it’s called Kersh. The city, not the island. There’re 4 different sectors. I’m not sure where she got the names for each sector. They’re not on the map, so she probably made them up. For the most part, Kersh reminded me of the city of Los Angeles in Legend by Marie Lu, but colder and rainier.

The characters are not fully flushed out, or very deep. They’re not boring either. West is really tough and brave, but didn’t deal with her problems in the best possible way. I think if she tried to find a way not to kill she would have been more interesting. The love interest, Chord, was always trying to help her, but she kept pushing him away because she didn’t want to put him in danger. She should have taken his help more often. It would have been more realistic.

Overall I did enjoy this story. The plot was okay, and the book was written in 1^st person present, which I like. It was really action packed and well written. There’s a few minor this that made it tough to get through. Mainly the long chapters. I like short chapters. Chapters that are 20 to 30 pages, or even longer make me feel bored. I made it to the end of the book, and liked it enough. I don’t really understand how it’s a series since the ending wrapped up so well. It’s worth reading if you like dystopia.

Cover Art Review: Very cool cover. I like the metallic title. I love that the shadow is different (scarier than) from the girl. That street looks very dystopian.

~Haley G

The Shadow Girl by Jennifer Archer

Series: STANDALONE

Genera: Mystery/Paranormal Romance/Sci-fi

Subjects: Supernatural, love, Colorado, identity, secrets, death

Age/Grade Level: Teen

Length: 325 pgs.

HC/PB: Paperback

List Price: $9.99

Publisher: HarperTeen

Summary/ product description:  “Sometimes I forget for an hour or two that she's with me. Sometimes I convince myself that she was only a dream. Or that I'm crazy.
For as long as Lily Winston can remember, she has never been alone. Iris, a shadowy figure who mimics Lily's movements and whispers in her ear, is with her always—but invisible to the rest of the world. Iris is Lily's secret.
But when Lily's father is killed in a tragic accident, his cryptic final words suggest that he and Lily's mother have been keeping secrets of their own. Suddenly, Iris begins pushing Lily more than ever, possessing her thoughts and urging her to put together the pieces of a strange puzzle her father left behind. As she searches for answers, Lily finds herself drawn to Ty Collier, a mysterious new boy in town. Together, Lily and Ty must untangle a web of deception to discover the truth about her family, Iris . . . and Lily's own identity”

My Rating: êêêê

My Review: The one thing that made me give this book a try was the setting. Colorado. I’ve been to Denver and Colorado Springs, and I remember how beautiful the mountains were. The only other books set in Colorado that I can think of are Stung and A Beautiful Dark and A Fractured Light.

Picturing scenery while reading a book is like taking a virtual vacation. The author took full advantage of the setting and had scenes where the characters are going on hike or on off-road vehicles. There’s a lot of description and showing instead of telling. I checked on Google Earth, and Silver Lake is not a real town.

This book also had pretty good characters. The main character is home schooled, so thankfully this book didn’t suffer from cliché high school drama. Lily has the spirit of another girl named Iris speaking in her head. She used to think her own shadow was Iris, but she only hears her voice and feels like she’s part of her. There’s the neighbor, Wyatt. He’s funny and cute and slightly reminds me of Tucker from Unearthly. Too bad Wyatt’s not a cowboy.

There’s Lily’s dad who dies at the beginning of the book, and Lily’s mom who’s depressed about it. Her parents are kind of old, like in their 60s. I kept suspecting them to be Lily’s grandparents, and thinking Iris was Lily’s mother. There’s also Ty, the new guy in town who starts repairing the roof for their cabin. He’s hot and mysterious and has his reasons for coming to Silver Lake.

The plot of the book was the mystery behind Lily’s past and who she is, and how she can help Ty. Much of the book was the romance/love-triangle between her, Ty and Wyatt. Sometimes the book felt slow, like there was no plot, but it picked up later on in the story. There’s a few twist towards the end. One of them I saw coming. Kind of changed the genera to sci-fi. Not trying to spoil it, but just saying. Wish there was more sci-fi stuff, because this is only a stand-alone. It was a good, enjoyable book anyway. Recommend it to anyone who likes a mystery or a virtual Colorado vacation.

Cover Art Review: Yet another reflective cover. There’s way too many covers with a similar seen. Like Pivot Point. Don’t care for this cover. But the back cover is pretty nice.

 

~Haley G