Like Father, Like Son

Replica #20

by Marilyn Kaye

Chris Skinner, Amy’s new boyfriend, comes from a broken home. He hasn’t seen his father in, like, forever. And when his dad finally appears, it isn’t to make up for Chris’s miserable childhood. Mr. Skinner is ill — so ill that he needs a bone marrow transplant. Chris could be the perfect match. Nothing strange in that, except . . .

What if ailing grown-ups could tap into a guaranteed reserve of healthy body parts? What if innocent kids were being harmed? What if you were bred to become an unwilling donor? Amy knows she’s blessed with superhuman genes, but no way, nohow is she going to let herself, or any other kid, fall prey to freakish science-fiction experiments!

Genres: Science Fiction, Young Adult, Middle Grade, Childrens, Fiction

133 pages, Paperback

First published October 9, 2001

About the author

I was born in New Britain, Connecticut, and grew up in Atlanta, Georgia. I also spent a year (5th grade) in Montgomery, Alabama, and a year in Ann Arbor, Michigan(8th grade). As a child, I always wanted to be a writer, but I had lots of other ambitions too. I wanted to be a teacher, a librarian, a movie star, the president of the United States, and a ballerina.

I didn't achieve all my goals. I never became a movie star, the president of the U.S., or a ballerina. But I've been a teacher and a librarian and most of all, a writer. I've been writing for as long as I can remember. Growing up, I always kept a diary. I wrote poems, stories, plays, songs and lots of letters. Writing wasn't easy for me, but it felt natural and right.

I've always read a lot, too. I was an English major at Emory University (I love Shakespeare), and I also received a master's degree in library science at Emory. I earned a Doctor of Philosophy degree from the University of Chicago, and I taught children's and teen literature at St. John's University in New York for over 20 years. Now, I'm a full-time writer, living in Paris, France - the most beautiful city in the world.

Reviews

[Lila · Rating 3 out of 5]

If you thought genetically engineered clones are unrealistic, famous people cloning themselves so they can have spare parts in the future is even more so. Especially considering how many of those clones ended up in Parkside Middle School. *sigh*

[meri · Rating 3 out of 5]

this shit just gets wilder. literary wise very mid but entertainment and nostalgia wise full five stars

[Jonathan Pongratz · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5/5

Not bad, but I'm not super blown away either.

This time around, Amy's enjoying some time with her boyfriend Chris when his long lost father shows up wanting to make amends. The only thing is, he seems to care much more about Chris helping him improve his health through a transplant than to work on their relationship. To make matters even stranger, several other individuals show up in the local area with a shockingly similar situation. Is there something going on, or is Amy just seeing the worst in people?

This one was a good mix of scifi and some light thrills. At first I thought this story seemed like a waste of time, but when the novel picked up it became a lot more interesting. Once it did there was some mild action and mystery that I liked.

As usual, the writing is super fluid and easy to plow through. I read this one in two quick settings, and I always enjoy that about this series.

I wouldn't necessarily say that Amy had a lot of character development, but she learned that sinister actions in the world expand far beyond Project Crescent and the extra worldbuilding was appreciated. She also learned some hard truths about Chris and has to exercise some serious patience when she wants to just spill her guts about her truth.

With just a few more books in this series, this one just didn't take me to that next epic level that I'm looking for. Hopefully the main plot will become a priority soon, but either way I'm going to finish this series. Looking forward to it!

[Lara Vehar · Rating 5 out of 5]

I read this entire series when I was much, much younger- I am slowly getting my hands on the books again and rereading them as an adult and ... I still really enjoyed this one - the concept is interesting - having a lot of important wealthy people make clones of themselves in case their organs fail and them having spare parts they can use - the story was short and interesting, the characters are interesting, though it's also both interesting and predictable that the main character's rival/bully and her boyfriend both turned out to be clones - the only thing that bugged me was that Scott's suspicious death was brought up and then never talked about again - you assume that his father killed him because he needed a new heart but it's just never brought up again and Ace never pays for it. Other than that, this was a short and interesting book I enjoyed a lot- I can't wait to reread the rest of this series in the future.

[Ema · Rating 4 out of 5]

And in this one I found too many nice coincidences wrapping together. But this was another fun one with some cool interweavings of past characters and tropes, and some really sweet 13-year-old relationship development.

[Julie Durning · Rating 2 out of 5]

good for the bit

[Anna Reta Maria]

Mielestäni replica-kirjat olivat siinä mielessä poikkeus, että sarja eteni (tosin hitaasti) ja Amylla ehti olla kolme poikakaveria tai ainakin osittain poikakaveriksi määriteltävää miekkosta vierellään. Tämä tarina jäi sen karmivuuden takia mieleen.

[Em's Adventures · Rating 5 out of 5]

Okay this book creeps me out so much! But in a good way :)

[Ridho · Rating 5 out of 5]

its very good :D