A review by bookcheshirecat
Replica by Lauren Oliver

challenging dark mysterious medium-paced

3.0

“When she was little, she'd liked to pretend that stars were really lights anchoring distant islands, as if she wasn't looking up but only out across a dark sea. She knew the truth now but still found stars comforting, especially in their sameness. A sky full of burning replicas.” 

➽ Replica is one of those books I didn't get to when it was released and all the hype built up. I was still intrigued by the unique format, so I ended up checking out the audiobook from the library. I definitely think Replica is a unique book as it tells Lyra's and Gemma's stories, but you can read them however you like. It's possible to start with either of them or alternate chapters, which is a great concept! I didn't like the execution of this idea at times, but there was potential in both stories!

➽ PART 1: Lyra's story feels more sci-fi! She grew up in the research institute Haven as a replica, a human clone who is constantly medically evaluated to perfect the process. Lyra doesn't know the outside world and trusts the doctors and nurses to take care of her, even when more and more replicas get sick. Her narrative was immersive at first, as we see Lyra's reality crumble around her. Now on the run, she is confronted with the real world for the first time and struggles to adjust to how normal people act. The more she finds out about Haven, the bigger her resentment grows for all those who lied to her. I think I preferred her story, but unfortunately, the insta love ruined it.

➽ Lyra escapes with a boy called 72 and immediately obsesses over him, as she has never interacted with any boys before. The only reason they are drawn to each other is because they lack any experience and feel attraction for the first time. I still think that the romance was less about 72 and more about Lyra falling for the first boy she interacted with (and who actually knew about what life at Haven was like). Her swooning over him took away from the story at times and I didn't like how he ordered her around in the beginning.

➽ PART 2: Gemma's story feels more contemporary, but is still mysterious. I liked that she had always been a sickly child, so her parents are overprotective. Gemma's father is away on business a lot, but she always had the feeling he didn't truly love her. When secrets come to light, Gemma is forced to question the extent of her parents' lies that lead her straight to Haven. It's a different side to the story, as Gemma's father seems to have been involved in Haven and fate brings her together with Lyra, a replica.

➽ Gemma's story could have been great, but I was uncomfortable with the amount of fatphobia in the story. Gemma is plus-size and her weight is constantly brought up throughout the story. There is a ton of internalized fatphobia, as she resents her body and is often self-deprecating about her weight. It was so iffy as I don't think any sensitivity readers were used and the author didn't approach this topic with care. I also didn't like Gemma's love interest, mainly because the author was obsessed with calling him a 'Perv', as Gemma heard rumors about him being a creep. Why would you do that to your love interest? It was hard to root for them when Pete has such a bad reputation and Gemma disregards it, as she's 'flattered' he noticed her. 
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