Ringer

September 1, 2017

Gr 9 Up-Gemma and Lyra's story comes to an end in this companion novel to Replica. Gemma wants nothing more than to return to her normal life and spend time with her boyfriend, Pete. Instead she finds herself stranded on the side of the road where she and Pete are captured after being mistaken for replicas and taken to the Haven Institute, which was thought to be destroyed. Pete and Gemma have to face the replicas that survived. Lyra and Caelum are finding it difficult to live among the human race as Lyra's illness worsens. Feeling abandoned, the two head to Philadelphia looking for a promised cure. Instead, they uncover their complicated past and threatened future. Like Replica, this entry is a flip book and can be read in either order or by alternating between Gemma's and Lyra's stories-yet the narratives are intertwined, making for an interesting reading experience for teens. They will want to have read the first volume to fully understand the characters' plight. Sexual situations between Pete and Gemma make this a better selection for older readers. VERDICT Bringing this duology to a close, this sequel will delight fans of the previous entry.-Karen Alexander, Lake Fenton High School, Linden, MI

Copyright 2017 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

August 1, 2017
It has been three weeks since the Haven Institute fell, but it still has subjects Lyra and Gemma in its insidious grip.Lyra's time is running out; as a result of Haven's research, she's terminally ill. She and Caelum set out to locate Dr. Saperstein, the man who gave her the disease. Failing that, they search for Lyra's old friend, Dr. O'Donnell--but she seems to be hiding something. Alone but for Caelum, Lyra doesn't know whom to trust. Meanwhile, Gemma's powerful father arranged Lyra and Caelum's new living situation, promising Gemma he wouldn't give them up. When he breaks that promise, Gemma and Pete go to try to warn them. On their return home, they're believed to be Lyra and Caelum and are kidnapped, taken to a decommissioned airplane hangar where surviving replicas have been packed in by the hundreds. Gemma and Pete will have to find a way to survive here until they're rescued. Lyra, Gemma, and Pete are white, Caelum has dark skin, and a number of important minor characters are described as having dark, black, or brown skin. As with Replica (2016), Gemma's and Lyra's interlocking stories are told separately, bound together in a dos-a-dos volume that gives readers control over how to go forward. The third-person narration plunges along at a positively addicting pace. Speculative fiction at its core, Oliver's novel is also a reflection on the nature of humanity as explored through the dualities of life/death, autonomy/ownership, truth/lies, and good/evil. (Science fiction. 15-adult)

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August 1, 2017
Grades 9-12 Lyra's and Gemma's parallel stories conclude in this thoughtful, thrilling sequel to Replica (2016), Oliver's near-future drama about human clones and corporate greed. Three weeks after escaping Haven, Lyra and Caelum are ostensibly safe, living in a Tennessee trailer park with Lyra's biological father. While Lyra's had trouble adjusting to Outside and the idea of being human, Caelum seems unable to adapt. The only thing keeping him going is Lyra, and she's dying. Meanwhile, everyone expects Gemma to return to her regular life now that her father has helped Lyra and Caelum, but she can't forget the truth: she's not even human, and her father is not to be trusted. Gemma's and Lyra's lives intersect again as they uncover an insidious new plan to profit from cloning technology. The mirrored structure and flip book format work especially well here, as the two narratives connect but rely less on reimagining the same scenes, heightening the emotional resonance and providing double the suspense. This sequel is more exciting and a great deal steamier, with authentically bittersweet resolutions. HIGH-DEMAND BACKSTORY: You probably don't need to be reminded that Oliver is big news, but lest you forget, a major publicity campaign is planned for this best-selling author's newest.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2017, American Library Association.)

July 1, 2018
The companion to Replica finishes the stories of Gemma and "replica" Lyra. Both girls are struggling to recover from the Haven Institute's atrocities and lead normal lives when they learn that they aren't safe after all. Following its predecessor's same dual-story structure (starting at either end of the volume), plot twists keep the action humming amid heady moral and ethical questions.

(Copyright 2018 by The Horn Book, Incorporated, Boston. All rights reserved.)