ARC Review: Falls the Shadow by Stefanie Gaither

Falls the Shadow by Stefanie Gaither

Goodreads

Amazon

Kindle Edition, 352 pages

Expected publication: September 16th 2014 by Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers

Source: Via Edelweiss, from Simon & Schuster for review

My Rating: 3 Stars

From Goodreads:

Cate’s sister may be a clone, but that doesn’t make her a killer. Does it? Murder, morality, and a slow-burning romance fill the pages of this futuristic thriller. When Cate Benson was a kid, her sister, Violet, died. Two hours after the funeral, Cate’s family picked up Violet’s replacement like nothing had happened. Because Cate’s parents are among those who decided to give their children a sort of immortality by cloning them at birth—which means this new Violet has the same face. The same perfect smile. She even has all of the same memories as the girl she replaced. She also might have murdered the most popular girl in school. At least, that’s what the paparazzi and the anti-cloning protesters want everyone to think: that clones are violent, unpredictable monsters. Cate is used to hearing all that. She’s used to defending her sister, too. But Violet has vanished, and when Cate sets out to find her, she ends up in the line of fire instead. Because Cate is getting dangerously close to secrets that will rock the foundation of everything she thought was true.

When I first heard about Falls the Shadow, I knew I had to read it. Clones fascinate me to no end, and I kind of needed it. So, I ever so bravely requested it on Edelweiss, and here we are. I am feeling a bit conflicted. On one hand, I did like the book. Quite a bit, even. But on the other hand, it wasn’t particularly memorable. I think a like/dislike list is in order!What I liked: Clones. If you haven’t been paying attention, I need all the clones. Clones scare the absolute bejeezus out of me. Because there is not any way that a real clone of a human being wouldn’t be all sorts of messed up. And I suppose these clones were, though not necessarily based on the biological/creep factor. The Huxley people who created the clones have implanted them with some kind of memory recording technology, so if the “origin” bites it, the clone can pick right up like nothing ever happened. So it wasn’t exactly the creepiness I expected, but it was definitely disturbing.

I also liked Cate, the main character. I enjoyed that she was really trying to decipher the morality of the situation in general, and that she was a bit conflicted between the choices she had to make. She had quite a few moments of real introspection while trying to figure out who and what she could trust. I also really liked that she wasn’t buying Violet 2.0 from the start. While the adults tried to pretend that 2.0 was legit, Cate knew that you can’t ever replace a human, regardless of DNA and technology.

The romance situation was fine with me too. Jaxon and Cate had known each other for some time, and Cate had always been fond of Jaxon (of course, from afar). I don’t know what Jaxon thought of Cate, but I do enjoy how Cate has to decipher Jaxon’s motives before deciding how to proceed. Jaxon brings his quasi-brother Seth into the mix, and he is good for some snarky humor and a couple of feels. Violet 2.0 really is fascinating too. I couldn’t help but like her, though I was never quite sure she could be trusted.

The plot moves along quite quickly, and I was definitely invested enough to really want to know what was coming next.

What I didn’t: The adults in this book were complete trainwrecks. Who let these people be in control of anything? This group couldn’t manage a 7-11, let alone an entire community plus an army of clones. It seemed a bit convenient to me that absolutely everyone in power was either clueless about what was happening, or trying to be evil, save a handful of fairly useless people.

I really would have liked a bit more world-building too. I get that Cate didn’t know a lot about what was going on in the world around her, but I think it was kind of important to know what led to a world in which cloning would ever become acceptable (even if controversial). There is some kind of biological warfare that leaves the population decimated, and some citizens still bear signs of the illness, but that is about the extent of it. I have a lot of questions that I think could have benefited from more explanation, perhaps even a second book.

Basically, there were a lot of times, even in moments of action, that I felt a bit apathetic. I kind of had an idea of how things would shake out after a certain point, so it lost a bit of appeal. In truth, the more I thought about the book, the more indifferent I felt. While I was reading, I did like it, and I am glad I read it, but I don’t think it will leave a huge lasting impression.

 

 

Posted August 31, 2014 by Shannon @ It Starts at Midnight in Review , / 10 Comments

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10 responses to “ARC Review: Falls the Shadow by Stefanie Gaither

  1. I am so excited for this! I pre-ordered my copy and have been counting down the days till I get my hands on one. So jealous you read it already. This kinda sounds similar to The Unhappening of Genesis Lee by Shallee McArthur…kinda. Great Review!

    • Ohh, you have totally piqued my interest in The Unhappening of Genesis Lee! I have that one too, I need to read it, now I am more excited, I really did enjoy the idea behind this!

  2. This sounds like an interesting read for sure. Clones are fascinating to me so I may have to check this out! I actually hadn’t heard of it before now and even though it sounds like it has a few problems it definetly intrigues me.
    Great review!

    • It was interesting! I do think there were a few things that could have been explained a bit more, or handled a bit better, BUT it was a super interesting concept for sure. I think it’s certainly worth a read!

  3. Glad that you enjoyed it! I have heard some negative things about Falls the Shadow but your review actually makes it sound quite entertaining. Cloning is super interesting and something I’d love to read about. The only thing that concerns me is the lacking world building you mentioned. But I might pick this one up for cheap some day. Great review!

    • Thanks! It really was entertaining (I never felt like I was just trying to get it over with or anything!), though it could have been really phenomenal if some of the issues had been resolved. Definitely still worth a read at some point 🙂

  4. I am reading this one right now! I’m 55% in, but I feel pretty much like you about some of the things so far. I love everything science-fiction, so I’ve been really excited about this one, but I’m a little bit disappointed by it so far. Cate is pretty good, but everything else I’m not a big fan of. I hope it’ll get better towards the end though.

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