A New York Times Bestseller!Don’t miss the series debut that readers are calling Gossip Girl meets The Umbrella Academy, set in an elite boarding school, where secret societies rule, nothing is as it seems, and the genetic copies of attending students have just joined the Junior class…This fall, six new students are joining the junior class at the elite Darkwood Academy. But they aren’t your … class at the elite Darkwood Academy. But they aren’t your regular over-achieving teens. They’re DNA duplicates, and these “similars” are joining the class alongside their originals.
The Similars are all anyone can talk about. Who are they? What are the odds that all of them would be Darkwood students? And who is the madman who broke the law to create them? Emmaline Chance could care less. Her best friend, Oliver, died over the summer and it’s all she can do to get through each day without him. Then she comes face-to-heartbreaking-face with Levi, Oliver’s exact DNA copy and one of the Similars.
Emma wants nothing to do with the Similars, but she keeps getting pulled deeper into their world. She can’t escape the dark truths about them or her prestigious school. No one can be trusted, not even the boy she is falling for with Oliver’s face.
This exhilarating and riveting debut by Rebecca Hanover is the next obsession for readers who devoured Two Can Keep a Secret, One of Us Is Lying, Scythe, and Stronger, Faster, and More Beautiful.
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This one grabbed me from the start, and I couldn’t put it down. I loved the idea behind these clones, and so much about them fit in with how the world is today with other types of discrimination. But when I would think one thing, something happened and it went another way, and I loved all the twists and turns that kept me guessing and on the edge of my seat. Even though I wanted to be done with it by the weekend before Christmas, I also had wished I’d been on Christmas break already so that I could have stayed up and finished it one night, it was that good. I’m happy to see that it is supposed to be a series, or at least have a sequel, because the ending left it so that we need to know more!
As a teen, I did not enjoy this book at all. The main character Emma is completely emotionally numb until she falls for the clone of her boyfriend/ex-love-interest, which strikes me the wrong way. They don’t go into any of the other character’s lives so no one, even Emma, gets a good character development. The plot was so-so it wasn’t bad but it definitely wasn’t anything special. The way they introduced clones was cool, how controversial it was but that was the only thing I felt was right. (SPOILERS) They go weeks without talking, get mad and kiss everything better? No one consented to that, that’s not how that works? The whole Darkwood Ten was absolute bullshit. If any sane person was in that position, even at the cost, they wouldn’t do it.
Interesting YA debut novel. It’s a mystery and a sci-fi. I’ve never read a book about clones so that was kind of cool. A few of the books elements were reaching and/or predictable…but I enjoyed it overall.
There’s a cliffhanger which sets up for the next book. 3 1/2 starts rounded up to 4.
I received a copy of this book via Sourcebooks Early Reads program. My thoughts and opinions are my own and without bias or favor.
I really enjoyed this book. The premise was interesting and I liked the ethical questions it posed. The pacing was excellent(which can make or break a book for me) and the Mystery was fairly solid. I did want to shake the main character, Emma, a little too frequently, but hey, she’s a teenager. I’ll definitely check out the sequel.
I received a free copy through the Early Reads program.
I have just read book 1 and I loved it. There were a couple of things that were supposed to be surprises that were pretty obvious but there were other developments that I did not see coming. I have just started book 2 and I hope it it is as good.
Emma is going back to Darkwood Academy for her junior year without her best friend Oliver who committed suicide over the summer. It’s hard to get excited about the current gossip about six clones or “Similars” being enrolled at Darkwood, but when one of them is the clone of Oliver it’s hard to ignore. As she gets to know Levi and the other Similars she realizes that even though they have the same DNA they have individual personalities and aren’t exact copies of the original. As pro and con Cloning groups spring up on campus and around the nation Emma is enmeshed in an investigation into how her friend Oliver’s death was tied to the man who developed and raised the six Similars.
The Similars had such a great premise! Can you imagine showing up for school and finding your face on a cloned classmate? It’s not like high school isn’t difficult enough, right? Then there are the political and moral ambiguities of whether cloning should be accepted or not? These are all details that helped create this finely crafted novel that played out as more of a political intrigue then a YA fantasy novel. What struck me the most is that the hate and bigotry in this novel is not necessarily determined by color or societal hierarchy, in this case bigotry comes in the form of originals and copies. A subject that is topical in today’s world as much as in a fantasy novel. Although not quite yet to human copies. At least I don’t think so?
Emma was a wonderful heroine. She never sat back and just watched, she was always asking just one more question. That one last question always seemed to be slightly over the line but would give her the answers she’d need to make a decision to move forward in her thinking or to fall back on her upbringing. I really admired her fortitude. She never gave up on her friends, and never stopped looking into the Why’s and Who’s. The Similars, even with all of their mysterious backgrounds and “special powers” seemed more real and fleshed out than their human counterparts. This definitely made it easier to like them but truly the humans were portrayed as pretty awful. You’d be inhuman to like the hateful attributes that were portrayed as “human”.
It took me a little while to warm up to Levi’s character. Emma was so distraught over Oliver’s death that you really felt her anguish over seeing his face on another guy. When she gets to know Levi and realizes they are really nothing alike he still keeps his distance until, well, he doesn’t. It’s really hard to talk about these characters without giving away a lot of the plot. I’ll just say that there is a reason that he keeps himself aloof, but Emma’s investigation makes him get involved and he goes all in emotionally at that point too.
The Similars was a very fast paced novel. Rebecca Hanover filled the story with enough moral, political, and personal subplots that my mind didn’t stop to chew before swallowing this novel whole. When you get ready to read it have your snacks and a coke at your side because you will NOT want to put it down!
I received an ARC of this book through NetGalley for my honest review and it was honest!
I was one of those lucky individuals to snatch an advanced copy of this book at the NYC Book Expo this year before it’s official release.
That cover though.
Where’s the fire emoji when I need it most?
I loved the simplicity and symmetry of this cover- and to be honest, it was what pulled me in and made me want to read further. Always a great start.
Reading this book, I can say it stole me away from reality for three whole days while I devoured every page – not unlike one of those soul-sucking spirits from a Japanese horror flick (in the best way possible). It was fast paced and easy-to-read.
The main protag, Emmaline, starts off her junior year at Darkwood Academy just like any other year, except this time, without her best friend and confidant, Oliver, who died tragically over the summer. Suicide is a real issue and coming to terms with something so unexpected is tough for anyone at any age. I think Rebecca Hanover got this right. I also thought the mystery of her best friend’s death was interesting enough plot, but add in six clones, newly attending the school – and one of those clones just so happens to look exactly like Oliver… well it added a nice bit of steaminess and mystery to it that kept me reading.
The only negative I took away from this book was the overall plot – for me, it was a little too predictable, and some of the actions that Emma took in response to being in the top ‘Ten’ irked me. I felt like this part of the story was contrived and overdone and it would have made me root for her more if she would have turned the opportunity down. By staying on, it turned me completely off of her. A few other questions I had: What was the clone process like? Why wait until junior year for these six to come forward? I felt that the introduction of the antagonist was a tad one-dimensional, but all in all, this was a very fast, fun read. I expect great things out of this author.