Review: Replica (ARC)

TITLE: Replica
AUTHOR: Lauren Oliver
PUBLISHER: Harper Collins
PUBLICATION DATE: 10/4/2016
FORMAT: ARC
PAGES: 544
SOURCE: Publisher/Amazon Vine
MY RATING: 

SUMMARY (FROM GOODREADS): Gemma has been in and out of hospitals since she was born. 'A sickly child', her lonely life to date has revolved around her home, school and one best friend, Alice. But when she discovers her father's connection to the top secret Haven research facility, currently hitting the headlines and under siege by religious fanatics, Gemma decides to leave the sanctuary she's always known to find the institute and determine what is going on there and why her father's name seems inextricably linked to it.

Amidst the frenzy outside the institute's walls, Lyra - or number 24 as she is known as at Haven - and a fellow experimental subject known as 72, manage to escape. Encountering a world they never knew existed outside the walls of their secluded upbringing, they meet Gemma and, as they try to understand Haven's purpose together, they uncover some earth-shattering secrets that will change the lives of both girls forever...

OVERALL IMPRESSION: As I'm sure most of you know by now, this book is a unique reading experience. The story is told from two different perspective, Gemma and Lyra. You can start on one side and read all of Lyra's story, then flip the book over and read all of Gemma's story, or you can flip back and forth reading one chapter of each girls' story alternating. I chose to alternate chapters. For me, this was pretty annoying. I wish the story had just been written in alternating chapters as it was frustrating to have to keep flipping the book over and try not to lose my bookmark and then when I set the book down, I had to remember which side of the story I was on. But that might just be me nitpicking.

The book itself was great. The further I got into it, the more desperate I was to keep reading to find out what was going on and what was going to happen next. The mystery involving this story was interesting to me. There were some things that were a little predictable, but it was still exciting and shocking all the same. I think the next book in the series will clear up some questions I have and give more insight into Haven and Gemma's parents.

CHARACTERS: I really enjoyed the group of characters that we follow in this book. I enjoyed learning about all of them and finding out who they were.

COVER: This book essentially has two covers. Both of them are nice. I like that they are the same but different.

July Reading Update

In July, I read a total of 10 books. 6 of these books count for the "Real" Book Challenge bringing my total for that challenge to 48 books. I also listened to 4 Audio books during the month. My total count for books read this year is 56.

"Real" Books:

Audio Books:

Panic Review

Goodreads

TITLE: Panic

AUTHOR: Lauren Oliver

PUBLISHER: Harper Collins

PUBLICATION DATE: 3/4/2014

PAGES: 416

MY RATING: 

BACK COVER SUMMARY: Panic began as so many things do in Carp, a poor town of twelve thousand people in the middle of nowhere: because it was summer, and there was nothing else to do.

Heather never thought she would compete in Panic, a legendary game played by graduating seniors, where the stakes are high and the payoff is even higher. She'd never thought of herself as fearless, the kind of person who would fight to stand out. But when she finds something, and someone, to fight for, she will discover that she is braver than she ever thought.

Dodge has never been afraid of Panic. His secret will fuel him, and get him all the way through the game; he's sure of it. But what he doesn't know is that he's not the only one with a secret. Everyone has something to play for.

For Heather and Dodge, the game will bring new alliances, unexpected revelations, and the possibility of her first love for each of them--and the knowledge that sometimes the very things we fear are those we need the most.

OVERALL IMPRESSION: I liked the sweet note from Lauren at the beginning of the book. I'm not sure if this is in all copies since I read from an ARC, but it was nice of her to include it.

There has been a lot of hype over this book, but I just don't get it. The book was fine, but it wasn't near one of my favorites. I'm not sure what everyone was raving about. That being said, I did like the concept and I enjoyed reading it.

CHARACTERS: There were a lot of names being thrown around right from the start, so I was having some trouble figuring out who everyone was and keeping everyone straight. It got a little easier, but I did still have some difficulty throughout the book. I had some trouble connecting with the characters. I wanted to care more about them, but I just couldn't. I was more interested in the Panic games themselves than the relationships between the characters. 

COVER: I like the cover. I like the simplicity of it. I'm a fan of dark covers with a pop of something on them and this has that.

**I received an ARC of this book from Amazon Vine for my honest review.

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