Review: Falls the Shadow by Stefanie Gaither

Falls the Shadow by Stefanie Gaither
Publisher: Simon & Schuster BFYR
Release Date: September 16th, 2014
Purchase: Amazon

When Cate Benson was twelve, her sister died.

Two hours after the funeral, they picked up Violet’s replacement, and it was like nothing had ever happened. Because Cate’s parents are among those who decided to grant their children a sort of immortality—by cloning them at birth. So this new Violet has the same smile. The same laugh. That same perfect face. Thanks to advancements in mind-uploading technology, she even has all the same memories as the girl she replaced.

She also might have murdered the most popular girl in school.

Or at least, that’s what the paparazzi and crazy anti-cloning protesters want everyone to think: that clones are violent, unpredictable monsters. Cate is used to hearing all that, though. She’s used to standing up for her sister too, and she’s determined to prove her innocence now—at whatever the cost. But the deeper she digs for the truth, the further Cate's carefully-constructed life begins to unravel, unveiling a world filled with copies and lies, where nothing and no one—not even her sister— is completely what they seem.

In a pulse pounding 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?

My Thoughts:
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. 

3 snowflakes