Review: Falls the Shadow by Stefanie Gaither

Goodreads Summary:

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 smile. The same perfect face. Thanks to advancements in mind-uploading technology, 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 protestors 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.

In a thrilling debut, Stefanie Gaither takes readers on a nail-biting ride through a future that looks frighteningly similar to our own time and asks: how far are you willing to go to keep your family together?

Publication Date: September 16, 2014

Falls the Shadow was a great YA read! I wasn’t sure where the book was going when I started it and I really liked the direction the author took the story. There were a few unexpected twists that really had me taken by surprise.

I loved the characters in the book. Cate was very relatable and I loved that she acted like a very normal teen girl who struggles to fit in with her peers. Her life becomes complicated when her family decides to replace her sister with a cloned copy. Cate has reservations about Violet but tries to make the best out of the situation.

The secondary characters were all amazing with my favorites being Jaxson, Seth and Violet. The budding romance between Jaxson and Cate was so sweet and although they had their ups and downs I was holding out hope that things would work out in the end. Jaxson’s friend Seth added plenty of comic relief in the more suspenseful scenes. I also enjoyed the loyalty between Violet and Cate despite their complicated relationship.

I thought I was strong in my stance on cloning, but the book made me look closely at some of my views. What I liked about the book was the author brought up some great points about the gray areas in regards to cloning. What if the end of civilization was threatened? Would it make sense then for cloning to be a viable option to guarantee continued survival?

The pacing was good and there was loads of action in the second half. I enjoyed never knowing who was the good guy and who was the bad guy. The ending offered a solid conclusion but was open-ended enough to leave room for sequels.

Overall, a fun and exciting read! Fans of YA romances with a sci-fi twist will enjoy Falls the Shadow.

4.5/5 Stars

Thanks to the publisher for a copy of the book for review!