Falls the Shadow

Falls the Shadow #1

by Stefanie Gaither

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?

Genres: Young Adult, Science Fiction, Dystopia, Thriller, Mystery, Fiction, Fantasy

352 pages, Hardcover

First published September 16, 2014

About the author

If you'd like to contact me, email is your best bet (stefanie.gaither@gmail.com). Thanks!

Reviews

[Anatea Oroz · Rating 2 out of 5]

I'm not sure what exactly drew me to Falls the Shadow, but I think it would have to be the combination of the creepy cover, cloning and science-fiction. When you look at the cover, you get the feeling that this is a book with a lot of character (one face is even screaming!) but I didn't really feel what I thought I would as strongly. At some points, this book felt really blah, and there were points where I actually wondered if I should even finish the book. Now, don't get me wrong, it wasn't as horrible as I make it sound, but while reading I wasn't exactly excited to be reading it, and the pacing really got the most of the rating.

Falls the Shadow had a really intriguing storyline. It has this science-fiction/thriller kind of feel and it's about cloning. There is this new technology which enables parents to decide if they want to clone their kids at birth and in case something happens to their 'real' kids, they'll have an exact replacement. To some this sounds horrifying and unhuman, but some people are deciding to do it. Cate's parents are one of those who cloned their children. From the moment Cate and her twin sister Violet were born, they had a clone who was exactly like them, doing the exact same movements in the exact same moment. When Cate's sister dies, a couple hours later, her sister's clone joins them with all the memories, looking just like 'real' Violet. Like all the clones, Violet is stronger and faster then normal people which is terrifying to some. But the 'new' Violet is acting weird, always causing trouble and when she is accused of murder, Cate is confused and she decides to put an end to it and figure out what is really happening there.

I just can't get over the fact that this book had SO MUCH potential to be amazing, but somehow it failed to amaze me. I love science-fiction as a genre, and I pretty much like everything in it, but somehow, that wasn't the case with Falls the Shadow. I just don't have much to say about it. The relationship between Cate and her twin sister was left unexplored. We see the traces of the relationship that they have, but I didn't feel any depth, any real genuine connection between them. It's the same with the romantic interest Jaxon. I wouldn't call their romance exactly insta - but it was really close to it. I didn't feel the connection between them, it didn't feel real, and suddenly they both care so much about each other. I just didn't buy it.

I wasn't really fond of the ending either. It felt rushed and I believe that we could have gone without some things, while adding some more action. So, the question is, did I like this book enough to recommend it? Probably not. Even with a great premise, I just couldn't shake the meh feeling, but you may enjoy it more then I did.

For more reviews like this, visit my blog, Anatea's Bookshelf

[Melanie · Rating 2 out of 5]

This had one creeeeeepy premise (hence the 2 stars) and it was the main reason why I wanted to read this one so much. The basic idea is that Cate’s sister dies but then a few hours after her sister’s funeral, they go to pick up her sister’s replacement. The replacement basically is the exact same replica of Cate’s sister, and many people are suspicious that these ‘replacement’ people are evil, and are not as benign as they seem. In terms of execution, this one didn't go too far as I felt like there was so much unexplored potential. Also, I couldn’t connect with Cate - she was too bland and didn’t offer anything new to the table for me (maths textbooks are more interesting than her). I ended up just skimming the last 1/2 of this book, due to my lack of interest.

Honestly, I can’t recommend this.

[Mary Summer · Rating 5 out of 5]

FALLS THE SHADOW is a surprising book. It bills itself as a near-future thriller, and it is—chilling reveals, reversals, betrayals, and bad guys under every rock. But the surprising part is how thoroughly thought-provoking it is. The moral ambiguities inherent in the premise, as well as the ethical dilemmas the characters face throughout the story, make for some serious enlightenment-salon-style conversation fodder. I found it completely engrossing. The major relationship question in the book is between two sort-of sisters, though there is a lovely romantic relationship introduced as well. And the side characters are a dynamic bonus to the main. Loved this book. I still find myself thinking about it out of the blue, even though I read it a month ago!

[Ruth Turner · Rating 2 out of 5]

DNF

Well written with an interesting story line, but I didn't enjoy it.

I read more than half before I gave up. For the most part I was bored and I didn't even have enough interest to want to know how it ends.

I think many readers, especially YA will love it, but it wasn't my cup of tea.

[Alyssa · Rating 3 out of 5]

***Review posted on The Eater of Books! blog***

Falls the Shadow by Stefanie Gaither
Publisher: Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers
Publication Date: September 16, 2014
Rating: 3 stars
Source: eARC from Edelweiss

Summary (from Goodreads):

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?

What I Liked:

I'm not sure how I feel about this one. On the one hand, I enjoyed the ride. On the other, it was nothing special. It felt like other science fiction novels I've read, which makes me a little sad. I love science fiction novels, but I love original ones.

Cate and her sister have clones. Her parents decided to have clones made when Cate and her sister were born, because life is dangerous in this futuristic world. Diseases and sickness ravage the world, which make her parents cautious. When Violet (Cate's sister) dies, they go to get her clone. A perfect copy of Violet, with even her memories intact (the clone and the origin are linked in the brain through devices). Four years later, Violet (clone) goes missing, and Samantha Voss is presumed dead. Everything is about to change for Cate, and she will finally know the truth.

So basically, Cate doesn't know where her clone sister went, but everyone expects her to know. When she is taken to the CCA (which, for the life of me, I have no idea what that organization is or stands for), she learns that the cloning lab/company is evil, with nefarious, ulterior motives. But the CCA is just as bad, for kidnapping her and refusing to let her go. She goes on the run from both, and to find her sister.

The first half of the book was interesting. The second half of the book was anticlimactic. It wasn't an epic showdown, a heart-pounding thriller. I wasn't turning pages like a crazy person (or clicking the "next page" button on my Kindle, etc.). But I liked the first half of the book. It had my attention, even though I was convinced that this book wasn't anything unique.

There is romance in this book, but it's insta-love-y. The female protagonist was already in love with the male protagonist. And hey, maybe the male protagonist was already in love with the female protagonist. Maybe that's what the author was going for. But it seemed like instalove. These two were too familiar with each other, too forgiving, too able to make difficult, heartbreaking decisions for each other too quickly.

Like I said about the second half... anticlimactic. I expected a more crazy ending, but it seems like things just smoothed out and ended, which is certainly NOT how I imagine science fiction thrillers ending. There was a pretty interesting climax, but it was so jumbled and ehhhh written that I barely understood what was going on. WAIT. I'm in the wrong section. Read on.

What I Did Not Like:

Anticlimactic borderline boring book. Instalove. Scrambled ending. Similar (in specific ways) to other science fiction books. Need I say more?

I think I liked the book, but it was a bit boring. I wanted to finish the book, but I struggled. I wanted to like it, but there was no spark, nothing that made this book stand about. There was nothing special about this book.

It reminded me A LOT of Linked and Unravel by Imogen Howson. In fact, the ideas are eerily similar. Same publisher too. Hmmm. In Linked, there are twin girls linked together by a path in their brain. The spare escapes. In this book, there is an origin and a clone, linked in the brain. The clone has extra abilities, just as the spare does in Linked. I really enjoyed the Linked duology. It was a lot more fleshed out than this book. This book wasn't very developed, in my opinion. The plot is simple and predictable, and it doesn't hold much. The story isn't based on much, either. Who cares whether or not Cate knows where Violet is? Why is Cate so important? I still don't get it. Go after Violet, not Cate.

I'm confused about a lot of things in this book. Like what the CCA is. I don't even know what the acronym stands for. I understand the players in the game - Huxley or CCA or anything. I didn't understand why Cate was being chased like a terrorist. Yes, her father is the mayor. Yes, she is cloned. Yes, her sister possibly killed a girl. But why go after Cate like that? It makes no sense.

I already explained the instalove. Instalove is almost as bad as a love triangle, but not quite. No love triangle. Look, Cate's not a bad character. Neither is her boy. Neither is Seth, her boy's best friend. Don't worry, Seth isn't part of the romance - he's more of a comic relief character (love him!). I can't remember the male protagonist's name, so we're going to roll with "her boy". What was I saying... oh, yeah, the instalove. Meh.

I mentioned the characters in the previous paragraph... I didn't really *like* Cate, and couldn't connect with her. Jaxon - THAT'S HIS NAME - is cool, but too perfect. Too good. Too selfless. I like character flaws, imperfections, human (negative) traits. Ahem, Jaxon.

The ending was kind of meh too. It ended on a boring note and wasn't all that exciting, in my opinion. Meh.

Would I Recommend It:

No. Not really. It's an okay novel, and I think I liked it while reading it, but ehhh, I wouldn't recommend it.

Rating:

2.5 stars -> rounded up to 3 stars. Perhaps if there is a sequel, I might read it. IF there is a sequel. We'll see though.

[Jay G · Rating 3 out of 5]

Want to see more bookish things from me? Check out my youtube channel: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCfer...

Catelyn Benson and her sister Violet were close when they were younger. Violet becomes sick and dies suddenly only to be replaced by her clone 2 hours after the funeral. This new Violet is genetically the same as the old Violet and shares her memories but she is different in subtle ways that Catelyn can't help but notice. When the news of the most popular girl in school being murdered and fingers are pointing to Violet as the murderer, Catelyn teams up with her crush Jaxon to find her sister and clear her name before its too late.

I think that this book had so much potential, but it fell short for me. The book was a bit slow plot wise, I felt that it took to long for anything to actually happen. When the action did occur, it was fast-paced but then it went back to the boring plot. I also couldn't connect to either Cate or Jaxon and didn't care much about what happened to them. I honestly just wish the book had more Seth in it as he was great comic relief. Overall, a quick, easy read... but nothing memorable in my opinion.

[Nora · Rating 4 out of 5]

This one went from (almost) zero to (nearly) hero.

What I Liked
•The character development. Cate, our MC, starts out as a timid, slut-shaming brat and ends up a kickass, awesome, responsible protagonist you can really root for by the end of the book. Plus she never allows her feelings for the love interest to distract her from what she has to do.
•The romance. It wasn't cheesy. It wasn't overdone or unbelievable. It wasn't too fast. The "l word" is never uttered and I was grateful for that.
•The love interest. Jaxon is sweet, funny, and badass, and he really, truly cares about Cate. He's not even a dick! Wow! Imagine that! He respects her and doesn't ever pressure her into doing anything.
•The complexity of the characters. I just adore antiheroes and morally-gray characters. There are very few characters in this book that are either wholly good or entirely bad. Nearly all of them are a mix of both (in varying degrees, of course) and they all are forced to make difficult and sometimes damning decisions.
•The plot twists. They were interspersed evenly throughout and I never got the feeling that they were melodramatic or just for shock value.
•The way it made me think. Not only are the characters complex, but so is the issue of whether or not cloning is moral. I've always thought cloning was gross and unnatural, but I found myself also sympathizing with those characters who supported cloning. After all, it's pretty tempting to want to give yourself and your loved ones another chance at life, should worse come to worst.
•The ending. It tied up (most of the) loose ends, and leaves room for a possible sequel in the future.
•It moved really fast, and the suspense was awesome.
•The relationship between Cate and Violet is messed up, but it was beautiful and heartbreaking and I loved it.
•Speaking of, I adored Violet 2.0 (but I can't say why because spoilers)

What I Didn't Like
•Sometimes I felt like Cate would do or say things that a girl who had grown up rich and sheltered wouldn't (how many upper-crust teenage girls do you know who even know what a tourniquet is, let alone how to make one?).
•Jaxon's best friend, Seth. He was an annoying, jealous, misogynistic ass for like 95% of the book (constantly berating Cate for unleashing her "female devil magic" on Jaxon). He was funny at times, but he's only tolerable once you get very near the end.
•I'm very nitpicky, so maybe this won't bother a lot of readers, but I felt like there were a lot of things that weren't given enough detail. For example, at one point, Cate hurts her wrist, and it's referenced multiple times afterwards. Still, it's never specified which wrist was hurt. It's always "my wrist hurt" and "I held the gun in my unsplinted hand" and "I hurt my dominant hand," but we're never told which wrist it is. Again, this is a small detail, but it nagged at me. Also, Cate's parents are almost nonexistent in the book, and they suddenly reappear near the end with no explanation of where the hell they were when everything was going to shit.
•It bothered me that nearly every female character besides Cate is either "psycho" or just plain nasty, while every male character had at least some redeeming qualities.
•On that note, there's some nasty slut-shaming near the beginning that annoyed me, and Cate comments that her outfit is "modest" for no real reason other than to set her apart from her "slutty" classmate.
•It started out really slow, so much so that I almost gave up on it early on.
•The ending is kinda cliffhangery, and it didn't really leave me satisfied.
•There's reference to a "war," but not much info is given about it.
•Also, there's no mention of what's going on in the rest of the world after this war.
•Finally, when everything goes to shit, apparently no police show up, so that confused me big time.

All in all, this was a fun, fast read, and I would certainly recommend it.

[Bryony · Rating 4 out of 5]

Initial thoughts: Finally finished this! I really enjoyed this one. Review to come tomorrow morning.

I received this book from the publisher in exchange for an honest review.

This review was originally posted on my blog, Daring Damsels.

The entire concept of Falls the Shadow is something I find very, very interesting: clones. Studying year 12 biology last year, we spoke a lot about the science behind clones as well as the ethical matters. When I was perusing Goodreads one day, and I discovered this book, I knew I had to read it. Hence, I’m very lucky and thankful that Simon & Schuster Australia accepted my review request.

Falls the Shadow is told from the perspective of Cate, an origin. Cate’s parents decided to clone both of their daughters (pretty much) at birth just in case something happened to them. However, cloning isn’t a normal thing in this society. Sure, it’s not abnormal either, but there’s a lot of anti-cloning groups. Because of these anti-cloning advocates, Cate and her family have had to put up with all sorts of abuse ever since they picked up Cate’s older sister’s replacement. Cate isn’t necessarily a shy girl, but at school she sticks to herself and doesn’t draw any attention to herself; it’s better that way. However, once Cate is kidnapped, everything she thought was true is challenged and Cate learns more about herself and her surroundings, she becomes very determined.

Cate’s parents are quite harsh characters in a way. They’ve hardened their skin as to not let the media destroy them. This is essential as Cate’s father is the mayor of the city they live in. However, not only have they hardened their skin to the media, but also to Cate and Violet.
Violet is a strange character…it’s obvious she loves her sister once you near the end of the book, but I must admit, you do wonder what is going through her head most of the time.
Jaxon and Seth are likeable characters and I like the friendship that is grown between them and Cate. However, as a reader, I found it quite hard to connect with all the secondary characters, and even Cate at times.

The relationship between Jaxon and Cate could be described as insta-love, but it’s not that. As you delve further into the story, its clear that their feelings toward each other have been there for a while now, they just haven’t done anything about them. It’s clear that Jaxon and Cate care about each other immensely, but I think the impact of their relationship would have been more effective if it was easier to connect to the two of them.

The actual plot is really quite awesome, and I’m not sure how to talk about it without spoiling anyone. However, I will say that it’s pretty intense and filled with action.

Gaither has a very pleasing and competent writing style and I was overall quite impressed by her début novel. The pacing of the novel never felt stilted, though there were a few moments where it moved a little too quickly between scenes. Falls the Shadow is a very enjoyable YA Sci-Fi novel with a very unique concept that I think a lot of people will enjoy.

[rachel, x · Rating 2 out of 5]

If I were a publicist I would be pitching this book as Reboot meets Flawed. There are so many similar elements between the three of them (which I don’t mean as a bad thing) that I think they’ll all appeal to the same type of reader… which unfortunately is just not me. Most of the problems I had with those two books, I also had with Falls the Shadow. While this story promises a fascinating exploration into some very hot topics - genetic engineering and cloning - it was ultimately dull and forgettable.

I think it was a mix of unmoving characters and a meandering plotline that made it so hard for me to get into the story. Cate and Jaxon were fine characters but they didn’t really set themselves apart from the other protagonists in the genre. Cate had some hidden badassery - as usual - but she was so meh most of the story that I never really connected to her. Her relationship with Jaxon was sweet, I guess, but their rocky start really put a damper on their development, in my opinion, and it was hard to ship them when I was so busy being suspicion of Jaxon’s loyalties. I think my favourite character was definitely Seth - for the comic relief he provided and his sensibility in not trusting anyone (unlike his ‘brother’). I’m so excited he’ll be more of a focus in the sequel!

While I appreciate that the book didn’t shy away from the nitty-gritty details associated with such a controversial topic like cloning, and didn’t censor the hardship Cate would realistically have had to face, I think having Cate debate the ethicality of the topic in lengthy, internal monologues was a bit too much times. Yes, it was vital for the development of her character to go through these ideas and decide what she believed in but they were often so goddamn long-winded that they became a little detrimental to the overall story. I also was not a fan of how her naivety of the true nature of the corporations and generally the world outside her mansion was used to limit our knowledge of the situation. I wanted more information about the history of this society so I could understand her parents’ decision to have her and her sister cloned more thoroughly.

The plotline was definitely another sore spot for me. Like I said, the majority of this book actually consists of Cate’s internal monologues. There is some action and when there was, it was generally rather well-written but I think the overall storyline was just a little unmotivated. I could never quite understand why Cate was making the decisions she was making - like leaving the city - but I think that comes down the vagueness of the world-building. We know that two corporations were fighting over having Cate and Violet as their puppets but I would have like their motives to be a little more transparent. I still don’t understand what exactly everyone fighting over and attacking each other for. I’m hoping that there will be something more definitive in the sequel…?

Overall?

I thought Falls the Shadow had a great premise and provided some great discussion points/food for thought about a relevant and contemporary issue. The characterisation and worldbuilding, however, were underdeveloped and somehow strangely vague. I never concretely knew exactly what was going on so I found it hard to form a connection to the characters. Cate and Jaxon’s relationship was sweet but started on some rocky formations so I found it hard to jump aboard that ship. I’m interested to see what the sequel will add to this series though and I will definitely be picking it up as soon as I can.

Review copy provided by the publisher for an honest review.

[i. · Rating 3 out of 5]

The idea of suffering the loss of a relative and two hours later having a substitute is a bit frightening to say the least. The fact that your cloned sister could also be a murderer makes things even worse. But as soon as I started reading it I couldn't put the book down , Stefanie Gaither's novel is a page turner.The writer used to manage a coffee shop while studying for her B.A. in English, if her coffee was as good as the novel I bet the shop was full everyday.

The plot is deceptively simple and really complicated at the same time. The Mayor's family looses a daughter , Violet, they had their clone ready since the moment the daughter had been born so they immediately bring the clone back home and continue living just like nothing had changed. The clone has Violet's memories and apparently behaves like her, but for her sister Cate,things are not so simple and she has a difficult time accepting the new Violet.

Is this new Violet the old Violet in a new body? New Violet's behaviour as a teenager is a bit erratic but would old Violet's behaviour been peculiar as well if she had been alive? Cate , in my opinion ,tries as hard as she can to accept this new Violet because that is all she has left . Even when things get really bad Calel still refuses to give up hope completely ,she wants to see old Violet in the new one.She is in denial and utterly confused but the thought of losing Violet forever is more unbearable for her than anything else.

What makes things even more difficult is the fact that not everybody agrees with the idea of cloning people . If you have a clone you are called an Origin and you have a chip at the back of your neck which is connected to the clone.Both Origins and clones are targets for bullies and the anti-cloning groups.

The society in which Cate and her family lives is a dystopian North America. There was a war called the Silent War in which other countries attacked the U.S. blaming it for the overpopulation, the climate change and the crisis of resources. It was silent because no weapons were fired but American people started getting sick because of infected water or food and the population decreased quickly. It as a biological war.Cate's mother,Natalie, developed strange marks on her body , another side effect of this war. A corporation called Huxley started giving people the possibility of cloning their loved ones.

They claim that:

" You never know what the future holds , or how quickly things can change. but with cloning you can enjoy the peace of mind that comes with knowing that at least something you love is not as irreplaceable as it used to be"

These children clones created by Huxley are stronger than human beings and more intelligent.I don't think that a clone can ever replace a loved one, people are unique and irreplaceable.Besides , having a clone and knowing that the moment you die somebody will take your place in the world is sad and depressing but if you think of the way your parents' pain for your loss maybe somehow relieved, you may come to grips with it.

It is like a second chance for the living ones , another opportunity to try to lead a more or less normal life although I cannot imagine how they can stop themselves from comparing the lost relative to the new one. And I don't understand how they are unable to see the pain they may inflict on their own real children who know they are replaceable.This is really food for thought.

One of the parts of the book that I liked most is when Cate is given a lift by Jaxon,a classmate she has had a crush on for a very long time.

" His shoulder brushes mine , and he lingers just long enough for me to breathe in a hint of some sort of spicy-scented cologne. While he walks to the driver's side, I close my eyes and hold my breath. Absorbing the scent, that moment. Part of me wishes I could bottle this all up somehow, keep it for later -a little piece of real that I could unleash whenever I get tired of hiding behind my mask, or whenever this stone casing I'm in starts to suffocate. That's stupid ,though . You can't bottle moments..."


No, you can't bottle moments, but you can try....




If the fact that Violet was a clone didn't attract enough paparazzi , the cloned girl is missing and accused of having murdered her only friend, the one who didn't reject her after the switch.Samantha Voss, the murdered girl, happens to be ... the daughter of the vice-president of CCA (Clone Control Advocacy) . The members of this association strongly disagree with the idea of cloning people. Their reasons seemed to me a bit far-fetched at the beginning but then they started to make sense although their methods were as questionable as those of the Huxley Corporation.

To make matters worse prince charming was not so charming after all as it turns out that Jaxon's mother is the president of CCA and she's more than willing to do whatever it takes to find Violet and stop cloning, including using her own son.

However,Jaxon sometimes questions his mother's behaviour and methods.He has real feelings for Cate and puts his own life at risk in order to protect her.

Cate has no choice but to find out what really happened and with the help of Jaxon and his step brother Seth she finds out much more than she wanted to know. Seth's character is the saddest in the book in spite of his ironic sense of humour.His parents are dead and not coming back, which perhaps is one of the reasons he despises clones. Another reason is that Jaxon's mother accepted him almost as a son and that's all the family he has.

We know very little about the real personality of Violet. Her clone is almost a psychopath with the memories of the former girl inside, which are not really her own. Violent Violet is as a matter of fact ready to kill whoever stands in her way.But she also has her own memories of the time she spent as a clone with Cate , even when she knew she would never be completely accepted she was somehow part of the family and both sisters share a bond that proved to be unbreakable.


Are we the sum of our memories and experiences ? If those memories and experiences were transferred into a computer, would the computer react the way we do? I guess it would to a certain point but there is something more ,which may be sometimes good and other times evil .Something that makes us human beings, capable of the best and the worst.

The title of the book is taken from part of The Hollow Man , a poem by T.S. Elliot:

Between the idea
And the reality
Between the motion
And the act
Falls the Shadow

[Evie · Rating 3 out of 5]

2.5 / 5

Catelyn and Violet were both cloned at birth, their clones raised in a 'controlled environment'. Their parents made copies of their daughters to be on the 'safe side', to have replacements just in case something bad happened to one of them. To be able to swipe a possible tragedy under a rug and pretend it never happened. But a tragedy did happen and Catelyn's older sister got sick and died. And then the replacement took her place, picking up exactly where the other girl left off, with all her memories downloaded neatly to her cloned brain. And life went on.

But when you want to play God, you need to be prepared for the consequences. And there are bound to be many.

Bland writing style, dialogues that are not situation-appropriate, bumpy pacing and narration relying solely on telling instead of showing, Falls The Shadow left me very dissatisfied and sad about its wasted potential. Top it all off with unmemorable, flat characters and what you get is a book that threatens (and, sadly, succeeds) to put you to sleep.

Cloning, DNA manipulation and stem cell research are hot and highly intriguing topics, and they are like a shiny treasure chest of ideas for authors interested in exploring darker Science Fiction themes. There is just so much potential there, so many angles one could approach these subjects on, so much depth and food for thought. And after a really promising and exciting prologue, I really believed the author would take these subjects and shape them into a great, interesting story. But though the idea behind the story wasn't bad, the execution of it was lacking in so many areas, the book was rather painful to read. And it pains me to admit that, I actually had to force myself to keep turning pages.

The first third of the story serves no purpose other than providing a back story to the conflict. We learn next to nothing about the characters and their personalities (other that that Catelyn is "an invisible wallflower" and Violet is a troublemaker and kind of rebel), we have no idea what is the core of the plot line, we witness no significant action. And worst of all, even the backstory is served in a really bad and boring fashion - in form of a long monologue. The science is missing from this Science Fiction book, the ideas thrown at us have no scientific grounding. They seem purely fictional and it's hard to take them seriously.

There isn't a whole lot of action in this book. Instead, the pages are filled mostly with dialogues between Catelyn, Jaxton and Seth. Dialogues that are very juvenile and really kind of pointless. Whatever action is thrown into the mix is too little, too uninteresting and too far between to help move the plot along. That would have been fine if the book had some substance, something to keep the reader engaged on either intellectual or emotional level, but there really isn't anything there. I didn't care one bit about any of the characters, least of all Violet (the clone), who is, for the most part, talked about and not present in person. The conflict between those pro and anti cloning movement took the backseat to silly teenage interactions. And, most of all, the moral and ethical aspects of cloning itself weren't explored at all.

Overall, while certainly readable, Falls The Shadow is rather forgettable and uninspired. It's not the worst Science Fiction I have ever read, but it isn't really a story I'll be thinking about or returning to in the future. It's merely pleasant enough to kill a few hours on a long Fall evening.

On a side note, if you're looking for a good Science Fiction novel revolving around the subject of DNA manipulation and "growing" humans in laboratories, I recommend The Expiration Day by William Campbell Powell or Lost Girl by Sangu Mandana. They are both more thought-provoking takes on the ethical and moral aspects of cloning, as well as what it means to be human.

[Kirsty-Marie Jones · Rating 5 out of 5]

Ugh, you have no idea how much I loved Falls the Shadow, it's a little embarrassing. Halfway through I was thinking a solid four, and then it just upped and upped and away it went, pretty much perfect. It reminded me a lot of Jennifer Rush's Altered series, but longer, It's not exactly the same as it, but the character vibes I got from Altered I got from Falls the Shadow. That chemistry between them, when characters just click. They bounced off one another and it's just makes the whole book just flow a lot better because of it.

Falls the Shadow pretty much had me from the get go with the opening sentence, I don't usually use quotes in reviews unless they're utterly ridiculous so I use them to rant with, but I just had to with this.

"I took some of the flowers from my sister's funeral, because I thought her replacement might like them as a welcome-to-the-family present."

Technically, that sentence is from the prologue, which is four years before the real story begins. But, I mean, come on. That sentence is so fucked up but it's normal in this world. A world where replacing someone who has died, but never really die because of the cloned DNA and a chip that connects your brain into your clones brain which logs in all of your memories and imitations and everything obvious that makes you, you, so you can live on, is normal. I'm not going to go into it all the way because 1) spoilers and 2) stuff like this makes me brain hurt, so I'll give you the basics.

When our main character Cate, and her older sister were born, their parents had them cloned so that if anything ever happened to one of them, they could just have them replaced so they wouldn't have to deal with the fact that someone they loved is dead. It takes away your process to grieve, and while their parents were perfectly happy with that, Cate isn't. Basically, we have a company that clones people. Then we have a rebel company that thinks that clones are an abomination. They're always up against one another until one of them makes a move and all hell breaks loose. For once with a plot I never tried to guess what was going to happen, I was just happy enough to go along with it and see what happens, and I loved that it let me do that.

"Because after all, people were easy enough to fool, if you knew how to do it."

While Falls the Shadow delves into the genetic side and enhancement side of science, it also shows that you can clone who that person is physically, and mentally. They can dictate how you move, what makes you tick, how you think. your clone, for all tense and purposes, is you. Except, it's not. It delves into the human side of you that science can't replicate, your personality, your morality, your growth.

You already know I loved the characters, and there is romance , that I thought in the beginning was going to be insta-love, which does kind of start out as insta-love turns into something much more with the depth you needed that's learnt along the way. The relationship that's more face and centre is between the sisters. It's a complicated one, and Cate's always conflicted between the real Violet and the clone Violet, but when it comes down to it, she's always stuck by Violet.

I love anything that makes you think about morality, and Falls the Shadow doesn't disappoint, it isn't overly in your face about it, it has undertones of it, but also different kinds of morality. Human morality, and when it comes to ethics in genetic modification.


Review originally posted on Studio Reads

[Jenny · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wow, this story had me hooked!

The basic premise: In a futuristic world, they have figured out a technology to create perfect clones. Parents can elect to have this procedure done to their children, and then the "clones" are stored in a facility, and regularly updated (their brains are like computers) with all the memories of the original. The idea being, that if a child dies, you can have them "replaced."

The MC, Catelyn's older sister, Violet dies of a disease. Their parents are rich (her dad's the mayor) and they have cloned their kids, so Violet is replaced. Catelyn is 12 at the time, and tries to go along with it, but she knows it not really her sister. Everything goes on as normal.

4 years later, and Violet's best friend, Samantha Voss is found dead in the woods and Violet's the prime suspect. The clones have their critics in society, and this proves that the cloning process isn't perfect. Catelyn gets in the middle of a conspiracy with a government agency, and has to find her sister before they do and terminate Violet.

The story was quick moving, I couldn't put it down. What I really appreciated was that it didn't get too in depth with the technology and world building, it was easy to understand. This world was much like our own, except greater tech. The characters were good, although not too well developed, except the two sisters.

The thing I liked best was their relationship, it was so well done. Because in both their heads, they recognized that this new Violet was not really Violet, but an imitation, but they had to both pretend otherwise. So lots of complexity there, plus things get pretty crazy, making them both have to make hard choices.

The next best thing was the conspiracy and all the twists that happened throughout. It wasn't really clear who was the "bad guy" until the end, and even then, it was really the lesser of two evils. Loved that aspect.

Overall, I LOVED this, so my type of book, 5 stars!

[Storm Arashi · Rating 5 out of 5]

It was an amazing read from start to finish, from some reviews I thought it wasn't going to be a good book at first, but I'm a sucker for science fiction and I love the concepts of cloning.... Just the idea that someone new can be created from DNA of someone else... And this story follows through on that. The main character Catelyn has to deal with the death of her sister Violet, and hasn't been allowed to grieve properly... She's still grieving for Old Violet when New Violet comes along and their bond is an amazing one... At first I didn't like Cate that much but her voice, and her strength was incredible... And Violet... Man what a badass, she pulled through as the good big sister... I'm just gonna say this.


I WANT A FREAKING SEQUEL! MAKE IT HAPPEN!

[Hayden Casey · Rating 4 out of 5]

Take the intrigue and thought provocation of 1984 and couple it with the thrill of Divergent, and you've got Falls the Shadow.

Full review to come.

[Amanda · Rating 2 out of 5]

Started out good and drastically went downhill from there...boring with an unnecessary romance. This book had a lot of potential but didn't live up to it.

[Therin Knite · Rating 2 out of 5]

-sigh- I hate it when a book with an awesome premise (and a spectacular cover) ends up being a huge letdown.

Let me count the ways this book disappointed me.

___

Firstly, the first third of the book is boring. Nothing of interest really happens -- and that is a significant chunk of the story for nothing to happen in. One third. All we get out of that third is some barely-there world-building, A LOT of info-dumped backstory, and a few minor plot points that do little to draw the reader into the story.

Secondly, the protagonist (who narrates in first person) is one of the flattest YA protagonists I have ever seen. The narration feels the need to reassert the protagonist's "wallflower" nature, where she's invisible to everyone around her, but we never actually see that aspect of her personality in play. In fact, all we see is her acting in complete defiance of her self-assessment. So apparently she doesn't know herself very well -- which isn't entirely unexpected for a teenager -- but considering she's the one narrating, I couldn't help but roll my eyes every time she mentioned being "invisible."

And to make matters worse, she had basically no personality. All I learned about her in the first third of the book was that she was supposed to be the "good, quiet kid" and that she had a crush on some boy. That's it. The rest of her narration just dumps out various backstory elements and talks on and on about her clone sister.

Third -- the plot. I struggled to find one, as mentioned. The first third of the book is basically a drawn-out precursor to the actual action of the story, apparently there for no other reason than to conveniently info-dump all the information the reader needs to (vaguely) appraise the setting. And if that wasn't bad enough, when the story finally does pick up, it does so TOO fast. All of sudden (literally all of sudden, as in the span of a few pages), there's a vast, world-changing conspiracy in the works and the protagonist is (of course) put in the awkward position of having to participate with the two battling forces involved in this conspiracy.

And instead of there being any real mystery regarding this conspiracy, all of it is spelled out in a long monologue by one character while the protagonist...sits there and does nothing. From that point on, there's a fair amount of action, but the overall plot of the story didn't impress me. I didn't find anything in it to be particularly fresh and new, and the book frequently fell back on the same YA stereotypes and tropes that have long been depressingly overused.

An interesting premise, for sure, but the execution didn't reach beyond the boundaries of fairly stereotypical YA. That plus the boring beginning plus the bland protagonist plus the info-dumping and...this was not a particularly enjoyable read.

Rating

2/5

_____

... \\ Disclosure

I received a free ebook copy of this title from the publisher via Edelweiss in exchange for an honest review.

[Kasey · Rating 4 out of 5]

*I received this book from Edelweiss in exchange for an honest review*
Falls the Shadow was an interesting book premise. I really liked the idea behind, and it was definitely more of a thriller than what I normally read. However, I thoroughly enjoyed it and thought the characters were fantastic.

I liked Cate from the very beginning, she was very relatable and I liked that she was protective of her sister despite everything her sister did. Her progression over this book was great, and I loved that she really grew as a person. I liked that even though her trust in Jaxon ended up being ill-advised at first that it really pulled them together.

I also really liked Violet the clone in this story. How she was able to hang on to her humanity despite what she was programmed to do was really heart-wrenching because she had to constantly fight against herself. Violet was definitely the best character in the book even though we only saw her from Cate’s perspective. She was the one with the most to gain if she just went along with what they planned, but it was wonderful that she struggled to maintain her humanity.

The ending of the book did feel too abrupt to me, especially after being so amazing for most of the book. I’m not sure if this is set up to be a series, but it would almost work better if it did. I still have so many unanswered questions about the world they live in, and how it will work now that people have fought back. There were just alot of holes left to be filled and questions to be answered. I would give this book 3.5 out of 5 stars because of that. Overall it was a great read, but I do hope we have some kind of follow up to address the loose ends.


*This review was first posted to Moonlight Gleam Reviews http://moonlightgleam.com/2014/05/fal...*

[Dustin Fife · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book was quite a ride. I’ve read a lot of fast-paced action-packed sci-fi lately that, unfortunately, fell flat in the character development area. In said novels, when relationships or lives were in dangers, it was easy to say, “meh….so what?” But here, the author spent the time developing the relationships so they actually meant something when they were in danger. There were several moments that got me (a 30 year old manly manly man) choked up—because the relationships actually mattered to me! (Although, in full disclosure, I do admit that I’ve got a family and tend to become as tender as a filet mignon when familial relationships are involved).

What really drew me to the novel was the layering of mystery upon mystery, plot twist upon plot twist. From probably about 20% through 80%, there was a major twist about every 20 pages or so—the sort that made me laugh with delight (yeah….kinda a strange way to react to a twist). Aside from James Dashner, I don’t know of any other author who can continually sustain such layering of mystery.

And now to Cate, the main character. I was nervous at the beginning. As I said, I’m a 30-year-old manly man who (unfortunately?) cannot quite relate to the plights of teenage girls in high-school. But there was something about Cate—sassy without being angsty, witty while having depth of character. Within a few pages, I was hooked.

So…if you’re looking for unexpected plot twists, characters that pop from the page, relationships that really matter, and exceptional writing, this is it!

[Melissapalmer404 · Rating 4 out of 5]

Book #2 Read in 2015
Falls the Shadow by Stefanie Gaither (YA)

Cate has a sister who died...sort of. Violet had a clone who took her place when she passed away. But Cate feels like Violet (the clone) has never truly replaced her sister. Then Violet is accused of murdering the daughter of a high-ranking official and Cate tries to find out what really happened. She is assisted by her crush Jaxon and his friend Seth. But they are at risk for their investigation...from a variety of sources. This was an interesting read. I think it would appeal to both boy and girl readers, especially those in high school. It had elements of action, romance, humor and mystery to it.

http://melissasbookpicks.blogspot.com

[Kristi Helvig · Rating 5 out of 5]

An intense thriller that kept me guessing until the end. I couldn't turn the pages quickly enough! Please let there be a sequel.

[C.M. McCoy · Rating 5 out of 5]

Confessions of a First-Page Whore (by Colleen)
(see full First Pages feature with giveaway: http://www.cmmccoy.com/blog/giveaway-...)

I grab a book from the shelf and devour its first page. Some sentences wind up on my Post-It Note Wall of Great Line Fame and some get rewritten inside my head as I read. I love them all. I am a first-page whore, and these are my confessions: FALLS THE SHADOW edition.

Best first sentence of a book I’ve ever read. Period.

I’ve read thousands of first lines, and this one set the high-water mark. I love the opening of this book so much, I use it as the golden example of first lines at my workshops:

"I took some of the flowers from my sister’s funeral, because I thought her replacement might like them as a welcome-to-the-family present."

That one sentence tells me everything I need to know about this book:

Readership: YA. She’s welcoming a sister replacement to the family, which means she probably still lives with her parents, so it’s either MG or YA. Given the funeral, I’m guessing YA.
Genre: we’re replacing a dead person with another person. This is SciFi.
Mood: this book will be creepy. We already have a dead sister, a funeral, and some flowers the main character took from that funeral, which she’s about to give someone as a “welcoming gift.” That’s messed up. And now I know I’m going to LOVE whatever else leaked out of this weirdo author’s brain.
Character building: the main character has lost her sister. She’s got to be grieving, but even so, she’s thoughtful enough to pick up some flowers for her new sister to welcome her to the family. That’s sweet–in a Wednesday Addams sort of way.
World-building: for me, the first page of this book built this SciFi world perfectly. I feel like I get it: we live in a place, where, when someone dies: no big! You go down the Huxley and pick up a replacement, an exact copy complete with memories. What could possibly go wrong? <– cue the ominous piano chords.

Now that I know about author Stefanie Gaither’s marketing background, this makes perfect sense. She understands the gnat-fart attention span of readers like me, and she knocked this opening out of the park.

Stefanie packs a ton of info into her sentences without hitting me over the head with it, which makes this story move fast and sets a fire in my belly. That’s suspense, baby!

The only gripe my brain had was this: when Cate sinks into her seat, the seatbelt cuts into her neck. When I sink into my seat, the seatbelt brushes over my chin and hits my giant nose. It only cuts into my neck if it’s ratcheted and I lean forward against it.

I do love Mom. She’s the perfect unaffected control freak, refusing to let herself grieve. But really, why should she? Her daughter isn’t really dead after all–she’s just…taking a day off from life until the clone’s ready. That’s all. Maybe she’ll be stuck in permanent denial. Maybe she’ll never think about her Violet’s soul and the afterlife. Maybe God doesn’t even exist in her mind. Whatever her malfunction, I’m in love with all the places my gray matter has gone, and I’m sold on this book.

Cover and Title

The cover and title gave me no indication of the creepy awesomeness within. I honestly thought this was literary fiction when I picked it up.

From a distance, the cover looks like mountains. Up close, it reminds me of those silhouette pendant necklaces–you know the ones. I didn’t even notice the screaming shadow until after I read book. Maybe it reveals something disquieting about my personality, but my eyes just didn’t see it. Shame, because that’s pretty cool. I do love the colors, though, which is what ultimately drew my eye.

The title is a bit oblique, way too cerebral for me-the-browser, but super cool now that I know a little more. It told me nothing about the genre or plot, and I opened this book expecting a main character with a schizophrenic other personality called Falls. However, the intro quote on page one shed some light. (<– see what I did there?)

Between the conception
And the creation
Between the emotion
And the response
Falls the Shadow

T.S. Eliot, “The Hollow Men”

[Tina · Rating 3 out of 5]

Here's to me thinking that I've come across a truly unique premise in this over-crowded genre - even though it had the potential for it, that potential was completely lost somewhere halfway through the story. The plot turned all too quickly into one of those typical, super convenient chain of coincidences that used a semi-successful romance as a plot device.

The opening pages of the novel were actually quite suspenseful and really piqued my curiosity. Unfortunately, that didn’t last for long. After the well-written introduction, the scenes begin to drag. A lot. Especially the action scenes suffered from that as you can imagine – e.g. in the middle of a fight, the MC just starts musing about god and the world, and that sometimes even goes of for pages, until the author eventually remembers, hey, there’s actually a fight going on, maybe we should actually tell the readers how that is going. Except, a few paragraphs later, the exact same damn thing happens. At first I didn’t even notice, but then I started wondering how even all the action-packed sequences are so boring, and well, I figured it out.

Another big issue I had with this book was that the plot suffered from way too many conveniences, that couldn’t all just be explained away as ‘luck’. The MC and her friend just seem to be always at the right place at the right time, to find all the answers they need. But what bugged me probably the most was the inconsistency in the authors writing when it came to injuries obtained in fights. So as much as I got, as a general rule the clones healed faster than normal humans. Except, the author didn’t always follow that through, only when it was convenient. So some clones apparently heal much faster than others – say, clone A takes a blow in the back and is weakened for the next ten minutes, but clone B is shot in the heart and is fit within a minute. Honestly? Also, in one scene, the MC is cut multiple time by a knife and loses so much blood that she passes out unconsciously, but after a nap she can run and fight like nothing happened – and no, this girl is not a clone. I’m most certainly not considering myself an expert in the medical field, but someone with so severe injuries would most definitely need more time to heal? Apparently, some authors just think that as soon as their novel is dubbed as sci-fi or fantasy it’s okay if lacks any logic or reason. Somehow, I find that quite offensive as a reader.

Also, it seems to me like the author couldn’t really make up her mind what kind of character traits her characters should have – and more than once her characters have a sudden change of personality. I think the most consistent figure was Seth, and the least consistent was the love interest. He turned from smart to unreasonable to resentful and finally to the all-forgiving lover boy. He was a complete mystery to me until the end. As for the MC, she was somewhat more enjoyable except for the fact that she also supports the common opinion that the boy you have a crush on for three days or so is to be put above your family. So instead of worrying about them after not having heard from them for days, she worries for him, after not having seen him for hours. Yeah, right.

There are some pros of this novel as well:
• There’s no insta love (what a relief!)
• No love triangle
• No slut shaming
• None of the typical YA tropes

So props for that. Still, overall I can’t say that this novel convinced me, and I would mainly recommend it for fans of romance heavy Sci-Fi lit. The author didn’t do a bad job, but her story also isn’t all too memorable. Give it a shot if you think you can overlook the flaws, otherwise the selection of YA Sci-Fi novels is big enough to find something else.

*Review of ARC

[Crystal · Rating 3 out of 5]

Falls the Shadow gives us an in depth look at what happens when families start investing in clones. These clones are stored in a lab where daily information and memories are downloaded into their CPUs or "brains" so that if an accident happens and the human dies then the clone can pick up right where the human left off without messing a beat. Imagine having someone waiting in the wings to take your place *shudders* yeah I thought it was creepy too.

I have to say this whole idea scares me and intrigues me at the same time. I mean to really have someone or something rather just waiting for you to die so it can take over is just creepy. Cate knows this isn't right but there is nothing left to do after her older sister Violet dies. When her parents pick up the new Violet things for her family just get worse instead of better. Did I mention that Cate's dad is the Mayor? Yeah that really puts her whole family in the spotlight especially since so many people are against cloning. There are many who stand against this idea of cloning and they make sure their voices are heard. The CCA was founded because they go against everything Huxley (the creators of the clones) are trying to do. They know something isn't right, but they just don't know how bad things really are.

The story really takes off when Violet flees and Cate starts really questioning if clones are a good idea. She learns a lot of things that I don't want to spoil but if you've seen movies before you know that sometimes good clones don't always stay that way.

I did enjoy this story but I am left with a bunch of questions. For instance what happens to the clones who aren't used? Why do these clones seem to be super powerful? Why didn't Cate's parents try and make things better for her? Those are just a few, but I really do have so many more. I liked the idea behind all this but the plotholes needed a bit tightening to make me totally believe. I especially want to know what happens to the clones that aren't needed. Are they disposed of? All that money spent I can't see them destroying them. I really really want to know!

Cate has to find her sister after a tragedy strikes another classmate. What Cate learns though is that nothing is as it seems and her world is about to flipped and I mean the my sister tried to kill me flipped. Cate was a unique character. She really couldn't trust anybody and the one time she lets someone in they betray her. I really felt bad for her. I did appreciate that she stood up for herself though and she did what needed to be done most of the time. The only thing that truly bothered me about her was her inner monologues. They got to be repetitive and I got really tired of reading about how she liked Jaxon. Yes I know he was the romantic interest but I don't know for me all these thoughts just took away from the story. I would have preferred to have the romance take a back seat and learn more about the story and or history involved with the clones.

Okay and what was up with Seth having so many guns and weapons?? I don't buy that a 16 year old would have access to so much artillery. That part really needed to be explained and honestly I could have done without it.

Overall though I did enjoy this story and if there is a sequel planned I would read it seeing as how the romance fixed itself and the story should take center stage. The author has very unique ideas and really has created an interesting world.

[Ri · Rating 4 out of 5]

This review was originally posted on my blog, Hiver et Cafe

I received an e-ARC from the publisher via Edelweiss. This fact does not affect my opinion on this book in any shape or form. This review is my honest opinion and I was not compensated in any shape or form for this review.



The first time I ever heard of FALLS THE SHADOW, was actually from my Writer's Craft teacher, my senior year. She was teaching us about query letters and she showed us an example of Stefanie Gaither's query letter and it definitely grabbed our attention with the premise for this novel. I had already started blogging at that time and since my laptop was open, I instantly added it to my Goodreads TBR pile.

Surprisingly, I've only ever read about a handful of books on clones, and this one does it so fantastically. I don't know what I was expecting, but FALLS THE SHADOW definitely gave me more than I expected.

Catelyn is the kind of character that I find the most interesting. She's the mayor's daughter and so she's constantly in the public eye. Her mother has taught her to ignore the others and to depend only on herself. To appear impenetrable and like a statue to the public. She puts on a facade for others and she likes to blend into the background. The only time that she doesn't mind being in the spotlight is when she's on stage. She's a drama kid and she can sing too. She's also a bit of a whiz with computers. I like that it adds complexity for her to be a drama kid&Computer whiz, but I feel like it's a little too convenient for her to be a computer whiz.

I certainly didn't expect that out of Jaxon. I thought he was simply going to be her sidekick on her journey to find her sister. I like that he's more than I expected. I feel like the book would have been just as good without the awkward romance/sexual tension between Jaxon and Catelyn.

I enjoyed Violet's character too especially since she's a clone. She has a little bit of that "unsung hero" quality to her despite her dangerous tendencies.She was definitely my favorite character among the cast, other than Jaxon's sidekick/brother. Jaxon's brother is snarky and hilarious.

I don't think there's any plans for a sequel to this right now. I was surprised that this book is a standalone, because books like these tend to be drawn out into a trilogy. I can appreciate the effort it took to condense the world and story into a standalone without sacrificing any of the back story or complexity of the world.

There were some really beautiful lines in this book and I think I would have found more had I been analyzing it ore deeply. I just find it harder to concentrate with e-books than real books. I guess I'll just have to re-read it when I purchase it. I definitely want a copy for myself and see what more I can squeeze out of it.

FALLS THE SHADOW is a fun ride with a main character that you can root for. I love clone stories and I'll definitely be looking forward to seeing what Stefanie Gaither puts out next.

[nick (the infinite limits of love) · Rating 3 out of 5]

Rating : 2.5/5

Falls the Shadow was one of those books that initially started out with a cool and unique concept, only to get watered down and to turn into a same old story line that has repeatedly been used in the YA sci-fi genre. In the end, I was left feeling confused to how I felt about the book. By no means did I hate the story, but I also didn't particularly love it. If I had to choose just one word to describe the book, it would be unmemorable.

I was impressed by the idea of a book with clones. Cate's parents cloned her and her sister so if ever something happened to either of them, they would have their replacement. When you think about it, it was a really messed up situation and I would probably resent my parents if they did that. When Cate's sister Violet passes away, her family brings home her replacement, and things are good for a while until a girl is murdered and Violet was the last person to see her. Falls the Shadow was exciting from the get-go, but there was something missing from the book to make it shine out from the other books in the genre. By the end of the book, I felt very much underwhelmed by it mostly because it turned into this story about this girl being chased around by two corporations who wanted to use her. At one point, I was honestly just flipping the pages to be done with the book. There were no twists and turns to make me gasp out loud. There were no moments where the book made me hide under my covers in fear. It was all very lack-luster for me.

Cate as a protagonist was decent, but once again, she never really stood out to me. I read this book a few weeks ago and I honestly can't remember anything about her. She just blended for me with all those typical YA heroines who are secretly badass. One thing I do remember though was that Cate was a difficult character to emotionally connect with. Her love interest, Jax, while sweet, was pretty flat for me and I disliked how he basically manipulated her in the beginning. It just ruined my perspective of their relationship. Anyways, Falls the Shadow wasn't very romance-centric, so in the end, it didn't matter to me. My biggest problem with Falls the Shadow though was my unanswered questions. As far as I can tell, this is a stand-alone, and I'm a bit surprised by that because the world-building was very basic and not well-developed. It had foundations, but nothing too solid. I only had a vague understanding of everything. Then there were important questions relating to the CCA, the corporation behind Cate and Violet, Cate's parents that were never answered by the end. Most of all though, my head can't seem to grasp what the purpose of the plot even was.

My review does make it sound like I pretty much hated Falls the Shadow. but I promise you I didn't. It was an entertaining read, one that I would recommend to readers who are looking for more of a mindless read, but should you race to your local bookshop on release date? I don't think it's worth it.

[Lynn · Rating 3 out of 5]

Characters
Catelyn
Catelyn was a very bland character. In a way that was intentional. Her mother taught her to not show her feelings and avoid the tabloids to save the family's image. It still would have been nice to see more of who she is. As it is, Catelyn has little personality outside of her family.

What we are shown is a very naive girl. She is the kind of person to know something will lead to trouble and still do it and keep doing it, completely ignoring her gut feeling. The first time it happened, Jaxon offered to take her home after she gets suspended. The last thing she wanted to do was upset her parents when they're already stressed so I could understand it when she accepted. The next day he takes her out again so she can buy some time before she tells her parents. Again, understandable. The stakes were low and it wasn't a life threatening situation or anything, but everything after that was utterly stupid. Particularly defending her sister's clone, Violet, who may or may not be a murderer.
"She tried to kill you," Jaxon repeats in a perfectly monotone voice.
"If she wanted to kill me, she would have." I realize how insane it sounds -to still be making excuses for her right now- but for some reason I can't make myself take it back.

"Catelyn? I swear if she tried to hurt you again-"
"She didn't," I say quickly. Why am I still protecting her? Am I really that stupid?

We are never shown any reason for why Catelyn is so determined to protect Violet. Up until somewhere in the middle of the book Catelyn displays resentment to Violet. Resentment for the way she disregards her family’s philosophy of a private life.
Most of the time, I try to convince myself that if the first Violet had lived, she would have turned out to be the same wild, tabloid-fueling girl that this one had become. That the spotlight would have stayed on our family all the same.
But other times I wonder.

She defends Violet but we're never shown any moments between them that would justify this. If anything, we're shown why she wouldn't trust her.

And for the millionth time since this Violet came to live with me, I find myself willing her to shut up. To just stop provoking everyone within a ten-foot radius of her.

Catelyn’s trust for Violet makes no sense until the later parts of the book where we are shown moments of the girls learning to trust each other and experience something close to an actual sibling relationship. Really, Catelyn’s blind trust in Violet is only there to keep the plot moving. Had she any reason, Catelyn would have ended everything after the first incident when (view spoiler)

Violet
For the first part of the book we do not see much of Violet; we only hear about her from other characters. She is not very well liked, by anyone really. Her own sister has a love/hate relationship with her, and she is Violet’s closest confidant. But after a few seemingly out of character scenes with her sister, she easily becomes the best thing about this book. We are shown what is going through the mind of someone who was created purely to be a replacement. We see the resentment and sadness she feels at not being what they want.
"Because you know I'm not your sister," she says. "I've seen the way you avert your eyes when people talk about me. I've seen the way your lip curls in disgust when they tell you we look so much alike."

We learn through Cate that Violet sometimes escapes and visits the original Violet’s grave.
I've always assumed that it was that persistence of life that drives her to this place; the persistence of the old Violet's memories that are never far from her mind. Because it's not like she doesn't know she's a replacement. Our parents may blindly insist that she's the same as the one who came before, but they can't change the hateful things that other people say to her. Or to me.

This is the kind of detail that makes me feel sympathy for Violet. She didn’t ask to be a replacement, she just is, and she has to live with the hatred in the community she didn’t ask for. She has all of Violet’s memories, but not necesarilly the same personality, and we get to see how this hurts her.
”You said I was all wrong,” she continues, her voice missing some of its usual indifference. “What did you mean by that?”

With every appearance, Violet’s relationship with Catelyn develops and I can actually start to see why Catelyn would trust her at all. The book does explain why she (view spoiler) and Violet does make up for it by sacrificing everything to keep her safe.
"This is your last chance," [the woman] says. “All you have to do to make this stop is tell us where, exactly, your sister is -and why we haven’t been able to get a clear mind upload from her for hours now.”
The terror in Violet’s eyes fades, and that crazy, defiant gleam comes back to them. “If I knew where my sister was, you would be the last person I would tell,” she says.
Then she spits at the woman’s feet.
All at once there’s a flash of light, the smell of burning flesh, and the terrible screech of my sister’s pain.

Violet became her own person throughout the story and brought up the question about what it means to be someone.

Literally every other character
This was a book about family, siblings specifically, and what it is to be human. I think this was done decently (the beginning was weak, toward the end it was great). Catelyn and Violet were the focus of the story and everything else took a backseat.

There was a romantic subplot with Jaxon, but it didn’t overshadow the relationship between Catelyn and Violet. It felt forced on Catelyn’s end, but I could see why Jaxon liked her. He could see parts of his life reflected in Catelyn and had someone who understood what he was going through.

Seth was sexist and irritating for parts of the book. He became more tolerable at the end, but a tragic past does not equate to depth and a good character.

All the other characters were not very developed and almost negligible in my mind. Sure, they played important roles to the plot, but a lot of the book is the characterization.

Plot
There were no major plot holes that stood out to me. The story was very solid, actually, but it wasn’t the most suspenseful. I get the feeling we are supposed to be shocked when we find out what's really going on with the clones. But it's impossible to be shocked when everything was spilled in the first several chapters. It's very anti-climactic to know from the very beginning only to have the character actually believe it later on.

[ One big problem I did have was how Violet’s character was treated at the end. As my favorite character and the one with the most development, it was so frustrating to see her lose everything. It was such a cop out and destroyed the character that I cared about.

Overall, it was a good book, but it would have been much better if the characters had more personality from the beginning.

[Heather Wood · Rating 5 out of 5]

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!

[Chenise · Rating 4 out of 5]

Cloning is always a concept in scifi that I'm happy to read about. It's intriguing and a real possibility to happen sometime in the (perhaps near?) future.

Falls the Shadow was a slower read, but not in the sense that it was boring or lulled too much. In fact, I never felt that it dragged along and I was quite captivated by the story. The stakes were high and there was a sense of urgency, but it wasn't in a super flashy way. It felt more like an indie film compared to a summer blockbuster, if that makes any sense.

The premise caught my attention as it'd be something I could see A LOT of people wanting. Who wouldn't want to replace someone they love that they tragically lost? Especially if it was a young or unexpected death? There most certainly would also be the debates and backlash Cate witnesses in the book because are you really getting your loved one back?

The story resolved itself somewhat but I felt left with more questions than answers. I was surprised that it was listed as a standalone because the ending definitely left room for more books. I haven't been able to find anything by the author saying there will be a sequel, so I guess we'll have to wait and see. I'd certainly be open for more of this story!

Overall, I had a good time with Falls the Shadow. A slow-burning but a nevertheless entertaining read.

[Jonathon · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 stars
It was actually better than I thought it would be. Straightforward and centered on the
relationship between Cate and her sister's clone, Violet. It gets a little chaotic in places and the plot is mostly centered around looking for answers to constantly recurring questions.
Cate was actually a nice character who had a lot of depth and really seemed to flow when making decisions. She is the quintessential shy girl but with a sharp edge and unsure what to think of her sister. By the end of the book she is a changed person and it's nice to think that Violet might get a 'third' chance at life with her sister to help her learn. Any way, Jaxon was a terrible mess of a character who was there solely to fill the role of Cate's crush. YA romance is so full of girls who just fall for the perfect guy right off the bat. Why? Note, that they do fight and have conflicting views at certain points, but come on. No one is that perfect.
The plot took some twists and turns that I was not expecting. It starts out rather bland but builds up in moral issues and family ties to make you actually care about Violet. At least I did. The action is almost nonexistent in terms of actual things blowing up, it's more the aftermath of those situations.