The Originals

I don't think I'm giving anything away here with this review, it's rather obvious what is going on from the jacket copy of the book, but just in case you want to read this story knowing nothing about what is going on as you crack the cover...stop reading now.


Everyone else: here is my two cents.

This is a simple story buried under a HUGE, explosive issue. And while I have read books of a similar topic before (think Never Let Me Go and my current obsession with Orphan Black) and I assumed that this one would weigh in on the complex moral argument of the cloning process. Not so much. It is, instead, a coming of age story about a girl who wants to live her life to be free to find out who she is and where she is going. Once I wrapped my head around that, I was okay if a little disappointed.

So what we are left with is a sweet story about a young romance and a tale of sisters who are very close. Does it really matter that they are clones? Meh. There is a overhanging idea that there is a big bad that will tear them apart and maybe slice them up with experiments (Lizzie, Bet, and Ella could just have just as easily been robots, aliens, or hidden witches when you think about it). Patrick is very good at showing us how different the girls are from one another, while still maintaining the incredible loyal bond they with each other.

Overall, it's a really good read as I am not a romance fan it did bog down a bit in some chapters for me. I did enjoy it though because of the voice, the characters, and the setting on this one as well (the Best house). I would have liked a more threatening villain, because when you think about it, a clone's biggest enemy is US (the reader who is unsure of how they feel about this topic and society as it stands right now). We are the big bad.