Missing Pieces

Replica #17

by Marilyn Kaye

Something weird is happening to talented students at Parkside Middle School. It's as if someone -- or something -- is stealing what makes each of them special. And it starts with the jocks. The star quarterback "loses his arm." The top sprinter becomes slow as molasses. The basketball team's high scorer can't shoot into the hoop. Amy watches all this in bewilderment. Then, as others at school suffer a loss of their talents, Amy decides it's time for action. But she doesn't have a clue what she's up against. . . .

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

153 pages, Paperback

First published April 10, 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

[Jamie · Rating 3 out of 5]

Barely 3 stars and only because I like the series overall. This was the worst of it yet. Blah. Boring. I am curious about a new character. I hate the division between her and Eric though. Tasha felt off for some reason too. I felt this was a rather pointless volume. There is an attempt at a story but it was pretty lame, in my opinion. I like the focus to be more on Amy and the clones, the organization, etc. Not this pointlessness.

[Lila · Rating 3 out of 5]

I honestly won't bother mentioning more and more unrealistic plots in this series. It's like the author is getting bolder and this is becoming more of a fiction than science fiction.

It's kind of annoying some things are repeated in every book. Obviously, whoever reads this will have read the first books as well.

[meri · Rating 3 out of 5]

for some reason i still like the series overall enough that this kind of bullshit is okay with me. not the worst in the series but the scifi stuff really does not add up here. be nice to everyone tho.

[Jonathan Pongratz · Rating 3 out of 5]

Oh man, another bummer. This book was okay, but overall I felt disappointed.

This time, Parkside Middle School is throwing a talent show! The only thing is, athletes and others showing great talent are losing their abilities. Literally. As the strange phenomenon turns into a crisis, Amy takes it upon herself to get to the bottom of this scandal, whatever the cost.

I think what worked most for me with this book was the mystery element. I liked the sports events that Amy and her friends attended and got to see what was happening and the twists and turns that came with that. It was exciting. However, that's about where things stopped being good for me.

What irked me most was ironically Mega Man. Yep, you heard me, Mega Man. The author used a backstory of Mega Man in relation to a character that just didn't work. I've been a fan almost my entire life of Mega Man, and it just didn't seem like any research was conducted on the topic. Not cool.

There were also some character developments that I didn't like. Eric's character seems to have made a 180 for seemingly no reason. While he has entered high school officially, I don't think that was enough of an explanation to justify the new personality shift. I did like that Amy and Tasha turned a new leaf and were trying to be inclusive of other students, but it didn't make up for the bits that made no sense.

Naturally, this book escalated into an action-packed adventure, but the science behind it just didn't make enough sense to me to be believable. I'm hoping that future books put a more realistic spin on scifi, because this just doesn't take you there. Oh well, on to the next one!

[Eleonora · Rating 3 out of 5]

Puuttuvat palat jatkaa kirjasarjan pörröimpien osien teemaa. Tarina on viihdyttävä ja esittelee mysteerinen Chris-hahmon, jonka olemassaoloa en edes muistanut, mutta jonka tarinan avautumista nyt odotan mielenkiinnolla.

[Lara Vehar · Rating 3 out of 5]

This one was okay- not good, not bad - just ... okay

[Aga]

I felt like this one was echoing ‘Transformation’ a little too much. This particular area of Los Angeles surely has a lot going for it, eh?

[Hilkka · Rating 1 out of 5]

Aina vaan menee absurdimmaksi!

[Anna Reta Maria]

Muistan aina replicoita lukiessani sen, kuinka palaset alkoivat loksahdella kohdalleen. Jossain vaiheessa Amy aina tajusi jotain ja silloin ne palaset loksahtelivat.