Book Review :: Replica, by Lauren Oliver

Replica by Lauren Oliver
Series: Replica #1
Published by HarperCollins
on October 4th 2016
Genres: Science Fiction, Young Adult
Pages: 520
Goodreads

Two girls, two stories, one epic novel

Lyra's story begins in the Haven Institute, a building tucked away on a private island off the coast of Florida that from a distance looks serene and even beautiful. But up close the locked doors, military guards, and biohazard suits tell a different story. In truth, Haven is a clandestine research facility where thousands of replicas, or human models, are born, raised, and observed. When a surprise attack is launched on Haven, two of its young experimental subjects—Lyra, or 24, and the boy known only as 72—manage to escape.

Gemma has been in and out of hospitals for as long as she can remember. A lonely teen, her life is circumscribed by home, school, and her best friend, April. But after she is nearly abducted by a stranger claiming to know her, Gemma starts to investigate her family's past and discovers her father's mysterious connection to the secretive Haven research facility. Hungry for answers, she travels to Florida, only to stumble upon two replicas and a completely new set of questions.

Last updated on 7 June 2022

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What is Replica by Lauren Oliver about?

Just like the description of Replica says, Gemma starts putting together pieces of her family’s past and their connection with something called Haven.

She gets a ride during Spring break down to Florida to look into the matter more, telling her parents she’s going to see her best friend April, and what she finds is not what she expected. Gemma teams up with Jake, who knows a lot about the Institute, and as they creep their way over to the island, they witnessed the explosion of Haven.

Lyra lives at the Haven Institute. It’s all she’s ever known. Lyra is a replica, and while all the replicas have numbers assigned to them rather than actual names, one of the nurses gave “names plucked straight from the stars.” When Lyra is caught up in the explosion of Haven, she meets 72, one of the male replicas whom she hasn’t had anything to do with until now.

Gemma and Lyra’s paths cross in this moment, and from there, things get both interesting, fascinating, and confusing for all involved. Gemma, Lyra, and their new friends put together the pieces of Haven and how everyone is involved. They discover too much and put themselves and others in danger.

“A strange and baffling truth: that the people we’re supposed to know best can turn out to be strangers, and that near strangers can feel so much like home.”

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My thoughts on Replica

What I really liked about this book was the fun way that it was written. Oliver wrote it in such a way that you could read Gemma’s story, flip the book and then read Lyra’s story. Or you could read both at the same time, alternating chapters.

Because this isn’t something that you can do with a book every day, I opted for this option, and for the most part, it was a fun way to read a book. I did find, however, that in the chapters that Gemma and Lyra were together, I got a little bored because even though their perspectives and thoughts were different, the same scene happened twice.

In terms of characters, I enjoyed Gemma’s character more than Lyra’s, but at the same time, I was intrigued by the life that Lyra lived at Haven. I think Gemma was more relatable, but Lyra was more interesting.

The other characters like 72, Jake, Pete, and April all had their quirks and were definitely unique and no two characters were the same. I liked Pete from the beginning and even liked Jake for a time. April I was a bit ‘meh’ about and I didn’t care for 72 (even after he got a star-name).

The storyline was great. I really liked the concept, and I think having the alternating point of view was very cool. It was interesting – or rather weird – how I had just read a book prior to reading this was called The Haven. The concept was similar: a place called Haven, which was run by government-like people, which was secretive and holding young people who had been there their whole lives etc etc. It was incredibly odd finishing that book, and then reading this and feeling like I had accidentally merged the two together.

Even though that was the case, I really enjoyed Replica and thought it was a fun flipping concept that Oliver created. While I don’t think I enjoyed it as much as some of her other books (the Delirium series, or Panic), I think I will read the next in the series. According to Good Reads, it’s called Helix. This won’t be out for a while, I don’t imagine, as Replica was only released in the past month or so.

Have you read Replica by Lauren Oliver? How did you read it? Did you enjoy it?