Review: Beta

Review by Kelli!

Beta
By: Rachel Cohn

Release Date: October 16th 2012

Publisher: Disney Hyperion
Source: ARC from BEA

Summary - In a world constructed to absolute perfection, imperfection is difficult to understand—and impossible to hide. Elysia is a clone, created in a laboratory, born as a sixteen year old girl, an empty vessel with no life experience to draw from. She is a Beta, an experimental model of teenaged clone. She was replicated from another teenage girl, who had to die in order for Elysia to be created. Elysia's purpose is to serve the inhabitants of Demesne, an island paradise for the wealthiest people on earth. Everything about Demesne is bioengineered for perfection. Even the air there induces a strange, euphoric high that only the island's workers—soulless clones like Elysia—are immune to.At first, Elysia's new life on this island paradise is idyllic and pampered. But she soon sees that Demesne's human residents, the most privileged people in the world who should want for nothing, yearn. And, she comes to realize that beneath its flawless exterior, there is an undercurrent of discontent amongst Demesne's worker clones. She knows she is soulless and cannot feel and should not care—so why are overpowering sensations clouding Elysia's mind?If anyone discovers that Elysia isn't the unfeeling clone she must pretend to be, she will suffer a fate too terrible to imagine. When Elysia's one chance at happiness is ripped away from her with breathtaking cruelty, emotions she's always had but never understood are unleashed. As rage, terror, and desire threaten to overwhelm her, Elysia must find the will to survive.

Review – Yeah, it’s a long summary. I really enjoyed this novel, and I love the cover. In the first couple pages, I was distracted by all the big words and complicated vocabulary… but I got the hang of it. I stayed on the couch all day reading because I couldn’t put it down. There was constant action and suspense, front to back. The characters were all so believable and real and modern. And, of course, there was the complicated love triangle. This one was… different, though. Confusing.

Elysia isn’t the same as the other clones, and she tries to hide that, until she realizes she isn’t the only one who is different, which leads to one of her loves. Rachel Cohn did an exceptionally good job surprising me, several times. I believed one thing throughout half the story, and then realized that it was a complete lie. And on the last page, I was stunned! The final sentence left me rethinking the entire book. I wanted the sequel immediately, which sadly wasn’t an option… Anyway, Beta comes out in October, and I definitely recommend reading it!It’s a book that stays with you.

~~Kelli~~