Book Review
Title: Replica (Replica #1)
Author: Lauren Oliver
Genre: YA/Fantasy
Rating: *****
Review: I hadn’t heard much about Replica before reading it but it’s a flip book which I found interesting, (by the way I read Gemma’s perspective first). The opening was great we are introduced to Gemma, who has been very sick since childhood, but she is better now and looking forward to Spring Break with her best friend April. However, when someone throws a Frankenstein head through their window, Gemma believes it is a girl from her school but after a conversation she overhears between her parents she learns it was a message for her father as Frankenstein was the doctor who created the monster. Through this conversation, Gemma also learns about the Haven Institute but she doesn’t give it much thought at the time but when her parents tell her she can’t go to Florida with April immediately after, it all seems a little suspicious to me.
Gemma after almost being abducted decides to investigate the Haven Institute but it throws up more questions than answers and the only credible bloggers is based in Florida and after thinking about it very briefly, she decides to hitch a ride with Pete Rogers although he is commonly known as Perv. On the nine-hour drive to Florida, Gemma learns that there has been a huge explosion at the Haven Institute and her plan might be falling apart before it has even started. Arriving at her destination means parting ways with Pete whose company she has come to enjoy especially as he sees her as a normal girl but he does give Gemma is number and tells her to call him so he can make sure she is ok which was extremely sweet. I have to say at this point I wouldn’t be opposed to a romance between the pair.
In Barrel Keys Gemma just happens to come across Jake whose father was obsessed with the Haven institute and uncovering the secrets that the Institute is hiding, which unfortunately lead to his death. Gemma learns a lot from Jake, but she is beginning to wonder what sort of stuff her father was involved in and I can definitely see Gemma and Jake teaming up to investigate the Haven Institute to get the answers they are looking for. Despite all this, things aren’t going smoothly for Gemma as her father is flying home, her best friend is covering for her and the Government seems to be erasing every piece of the Haven Institute from the internet. However, Jake and Gemma find someone calling themselves Angel Fire who is claiming responsibility for the bombing of the Institute for the unholy crimes being committed there. Together the pair set off for the Institute taking advantage of the explosion to get inside unseen and unheard, all the while Gemma is trying to deal with the new feelings she is having for both Pete and Jake.
When the pair finally reach the Haven Institute the discoveries, they make leave them reeling and it forces Gemma to question her father’s involvement in it all. However, one conversation with April who has been hiding her, Jake and the Replicas from Haven; Lyra and 72 forces them to leave as April has kicked them out because of something Gemma said. I have a feeling though that Gemma will turn to Pete for help in hiding from the Haven Institute who are tracking down the two missing Replicas and by extension them as well. Gemma realises since she has memories of the Haven Institute as a child when she was sick, it remains to be seen whether or not she is a Replica herself. The journey Gemma takes to help Lyra and the recently named Caelum is extraordinary and with the help of her boyfriend, best friend, and her parents, she is going to discover once and for all the secrets Haven is trying desperately to hide.
As Gemma’s tale ends, we know it isn’t the end as we have Lyra’s tale and the sequel to come. Knowing what we know about her it is going to be interesting to see this group interacting together. The opening to Lyra’s tale was brilliant, we see her inside the Haven Institute and how there is dissent in the ranks, there are some that believe that the Replicas are no better than lab rats while others like Doctor O’Donnell believes they are just like humans. O’Donnell even begins teaching Lyra to read as well as giving her a name, and in a way, Lyra falls in love with her a little. We also learn that 72 escapes long before the bombing of the Institute. We follow Lyra’s life at the Institute until the bombing, I don’t know if you can even call it life, but Lyra survives but when she starts getting sick, she knows her time is running out but doesn’t even think about running away. It is only when she is looking for a place to hide the things she has stolen over the years, that she comes across 72, the boy that escaped and he refuses to let her go because she could turn him over to the Institute.
After the explosion, we are only 77 pages into Lyra’s story, but this event happens around a ¼ of the way through Gemma’s tale. As we approach the halfway mark in Lyra’s tale we see Lyra and Gemma’s stories overlap. We notice two major things about Lyra here, one; if 72 hadn’t escaped dirty or been caught then there was no way Lyra would have survived to get away from Haven, and two; Lyra is the first to realise and say out loud that Gemma is a replica just like them. 72 is very interesting as he worked out what the replicas were just through observation and finds himself distrustful of the outside world but for some reason, he takes care if Lyra and priests her even when it would have been easier if he left her behind.
As we cross into the second half of Lyra’s tale, we are seeing the events of Gemma’s tale but through the eyes of a replica. We see what is ready happening to Lyra as well as setting the unique bond she and 72 shares develop and grow. However, we already know from Gemma how worried she was for them the following morning and what she went through to find them again and make them realise that she really wanted to help then without wanting something in return.
As we cross into the final section of Lyra’s tale, the pair are trying to track down nurse Em only to learn she is dead but some clues were left behind that they take with them. Learning what Lyra and 72 were doing in the time Gemma was trying to track them down was really interesting especially seeing Lyra start to feel human emotions which she has always had but repressed like anger and desire. However, 72 is a huge enigma and I have a feeling that he might get a more interesting storyline in the sequel. The ending of Lyra’s tale was interesting as we see Lyra take her revelation as well as Gemma did earlier in the story but through it, she has found someone to love and someone who loves her. It was a little strange to see two couple that are complete opposites of each other, Pete its a human and Gemma a replica and the reverse is that Caelum is a replica while Lyra is human. The couples also have opposing personals as Pete is loud while Gemma is quiet and Caelum is a lot louder than Lyra but she does worry a lot more than he does.
In the end, I’m not sure why I was so skeptical of reading Replica because I absolutely loved it and while I am not one for taking a side I was definitely #teamgemma all the through both halves of the story but honestly Pete and Caelum are my favourite characters. Highly recommended even if you only read it for the adorable cinnamon rolls.
Buy it here:
Paperback/Hardcover: amazon.co.uk amazon.com
Kindle Edition: amazon.co.uk amazon.com
Also see: Delirium by Lauren Oliver
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