More of Me by Kathryn Evans

To be published on June 13, 2017 by Amulet Books

Source: eARC from publisher for review

Plot Summary for More of Me by Kathryn Evans

Teva goes to school, studies for her exams, and spends time with her friends. To the rest of the world, she’s a normal teenager. But when she goes home, she’s anything but normal. Due to a genetic abnormality, Teva unwillingly clones herself every year. And lately, home has become a battleground. When boys are at stake, friends are lost, and lives are snatched away, Teva has a fight on her hands—a fight with herself. As her birthday rolls around, Teva is all too aware that time is running out. She knows that the next clone will soon seize everything she holds dear. Desperate to hang on to her life, Teva decides to find out more about her past . . . and uncovers lies that could either destroy her or set her free.

Review of More of Me by Kathryn Evans

I enjoyed More of Me even more because I read it cold on my Kindle and didn't remember if it was sci-fi or psychological suspense. 

However, as the blurb indicates, Teva believes she clones herself each year. Her body sort of splits open and a brand new version of herself pops out. 

To keep all this weirdness secret, Teva's mom forbids all but the latest clone from leaving the house. Each clone is named for (and frozen in time at) the age they (and the host) were when they emerged. 

Teva is sixteen, so the clone to be most recently locked up is named Fifteen, and she plays a larger part in the book than the other clones.

The science behind this is not really explained until the end, and even then ... not so much. So I Googled. 

I got some results that fell into the tinfoil hat category, but one that said that "disjunction during meiosis of gametogenic cells" could result in a woman giving birth to a clone daughter.

Overall, More of Me is a suspenseful moving story of a girl trying to hide a strange secret that makes her different, one that she thinks will make everyone reject her ... or put her family in danger. 

She struggles to hide this secret from her best friend, and the guy that her clone Fifteen is in love with. It sounds triangle-y but it's really not that much.

Bottom line: if you're a person who likes a lot of explanatory details in your sci-fi you might have issues with this one, but I thought it had suspense and heart, which are far more important to me. 

If you are looking for books like Orphan Black, take note! 

And if you already read and loved this, try The Originals by Cat Patrick, a book from about 4 years back about three sister-clones who have to take turns living. 

Both books are about science but also about family ties and the universal need to be accepted and loved.