From Stefanie Gaither’s Falls the Shadow.
Clones. Murder. Mystery. Conspiracy. Memories. Deception. The meaning of love. All of these things play a huge role in Gaither’s look at the not-so-distant future. Cate and her sister, Violet, are the main characters in this sci-fi thriller. Violet’s death was hard for Cate, but Violet’s clone was ready to her place on the same day as the funeral. If the confusion of a clone for a sister isn’t enough for Cate, the she (and the reader) soon must also deal with high school drama, first loves, anti-cloning activists, leaders of multimillion dollar companies, and murder accusations against Violet. When Violet is connected to a murder and disappears, it is up to Cate to find her sister’s clone, discover the truth behind all the mysteries, and decide if she can ever truly love Violet, the clone.
To fully enjoy this book, the reader must first step into the world of the future. Many features of Gaither’s world are almost identical to the world we live in, but the differences from the future are drastic. This story is filled with angst, confusion, and passion which all come together to help cement Cate as a very realistic character. The adult characters in the book either exhibit a disregard or an extreme prejudice towards Cate and Violet; so the responsibility of solving all the mysteries falls to the girls, mainly the conflicted Cate. The book brings in mystery, thriller, and romance elements to create a breath-taking story. Cate’s character is caught between wanting to find out the truth and walking away from it all; she is caught between giving up on Violet or giving up on what she thinks her sister should be. Gaither does an excellent job of creating a story that does well as a stand-alone book, but also lays the foundation for an interesting sequel. A definite must for readers looking for a story that hasn’t been touched much by other YA authors.
First Sentence of a New World 
I was just watching the movie The Island the other day, and after reading this post I have added this book to my list of To Read books on Goodreads. I feel like I can’t exactly classify this as a dystopian novel, after I read it I’m sure I’ll have a better sense of it. Haven’t seen a story line like this one yet, so I’m looking forward to it. As much as I love reading them, Dystopian themed novels have oversaturated YA Lit, so this seems like a breath of fresh air.
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I’m throwing it on my mile long Goodreads list as well!
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I think you’ll enjoy it! I’m glad I’m not the only one with a super long to-read list.
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