Happy Birthday, Dear Amy

Replica #16

by Marilyn Kaye

It's a day like no other!Amy's birthday is coming up. She's turning 13. Now she'll be an official teenager -- and she wants to celebrate with a real blow-out. But on the big day, Amy wakes up and is definitely not ready to party. Her appearance is somewhat unexpected. Her growing pains have taken on . . . well, unusual proportions. Her family and friends don't know what to do. Amy may be an extraordinary girl, but can she ever be just a normal teenager?

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

180 pages, Kindle Edition

First published February 13, 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 I thought some of the other stories were unrealistic, this one takes the first place. I guess I could see how someone can grow in accelerated rate, but to be able to un-grow back?
Still, I hope we could see some more of the characters from the Sanctuary, especially Karen and Max.

[Jamie · Rating 3 out of 5]

Alright, I feel this series has crossed the line of "too far." It has been pushing it on an unbelievable level for awhile but this one? How can you even begin to scientifically explain how a 13 year old can wake up the next morning looking 25 and blame an implant? Really?! Now if you are using wishes, some fantasy story I say this idea is fine. I mean, I LOVE the movie BIG with Tom Hanks. But that was a minor fantasy aspect. This tries to use science! No! So that annoyed me. Eric getting a crapping camp experience and not able to fix it grated on me. And how could the Santuary exist and when it is questioned it goes down in this ridiculous, over the top way.

2.5 stars

[meri · Rating 2 out of 5]

i had completely forgotten about this book and maybe it was for the better. had 13 going on 30 already came out when this was published? (it hadn’t, surprisingly.) this was just too much of an unbelievable plot (not like most of them aren’t) and way too many things happened. kaye probably had something personal going on with all the save the children stuff here. yeah not my favourite replica. 2,5 stars.

[Jonathan Pongratz · Rating 3 out of 5]

Aw man, another stinker! This one seemed promising, but it just didn't pan out.

This time around, Amy is celebrating her 13th birthday! However, she soon discovers that something very wrong has happened to her, something that she has to figure out fast or risk losing the everyday life she's come to enjoy. Can she, Nancy, and Dr. Dave figure out how to reverse this?

What really worked with this book was the underlying message. The theme is youth homelessness, which is actually still a huge problem in the states. The message was presented in a way that made a lot of sense given Amy's situation, and it really pulled at the heartstrings.

I also liked Amy's mindset. Despite the changes she's gone through, she soon adjusts and comes to terms with what happened, accepting it as her fate if Nancy and Dr. Dave can't figure it out. She puts her worries aside when the youth homeless theme really presents itself and devotes herself to the cause. That was really admirable of her.

Where things fell apart for me was the science fiction element. I'm doing my best not to spoil this, but what has happened to her is something that science simply can't cure. Magic might, but not science, so I really didn't enjoy the way things resolved because it didn't make any sense to me. This was also an opportunity to take the series in a new exciting direction and that wasn't taken. It just felt lackluster overall, so I'm really hoping the next book comes through. Fingers crossed!

[Mia Sativa · Rating 2 out of 5]

Slightly ridiculous, off-brand plot

Out of all the books I've read so far in this series, this is the first one that really challenged my suspension of disbelief - which is saying something considering this is a series about perfectly designed & engineered human clones. This book honestly just felt lazy, like there wasn't that much thought put into it and it was just churned out to get another installment out.

Eric and Tasha were mentioned in a few chapters and Eric had a part in the climax of the story, but their summer camp drama was not essential at all to the plot.

☆ possible mild spoilers ahead ☆

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The thing the most bothered me was Amy's sudden irrational behavior that made her run off and end up at an unofficial children's shelter run by an overzealous couple with" good" but wildly misguided intentions. Amy's experiences at the shelter do not serve any greater purpose to the story of the book nor the series, and the things that happened there just made me roll my eyes.

☆ MAJOR SPOILERS AHEAD ☆

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Also, once Amy got back, after having been missing for days, Amy's mother was totally fine with what Amy did. Then Amy was "miraculously" returned to her normal state because she was struck by some laser in just the right spot. Again, lazy writing.

[Ema · Rating 3 out of 5]

This one required a bit too much suspension of disbelief for OldEma. The science made zero sense, and the home was too perfectly drawn

[Aga]

At this point in the series the things get really weird. Did Marilyn Kaye run out of ideas?

[Janita · Rating 3 out of 5]

2,5⭐

[Nana Boss · Rating 3 out of 5]

Dobra knjiga, ali opet je bilo puno držanja za glavu jer je Amy pre ambiciozna.

[Sonja · Rating 4 out of 5]

Hyvä ja nopealukuinen. Tätä Amy -kirjaa en ollut ennen lukenut. Hieman erilainen kuin muut lukemani Replicat.

[Em's Adventures · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is my second tine, I love this series!