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A review by serru
Beta by Rachel Cohn
2.0
All throughout reading this, I couldn't help but think how much more awesome this book would have been had it been written by [a:Margaret Atwood|3472|Margaret Atwood|https://d.gr-assets.com/authors/1282859073p2/3472.jpg] or [a:Karin Lowachee|107732|Karin Lowachee|https://d.gr-assets.com/authors/1282963779p2/107732.jpg] or [a:Suzanne Collins|153394|Suzanne Collins|https://d.gr-assets.com/authors/1394819770p2/153394.jpg]. Rachel Cohn just doesn't have the writing chops to pull off well-developed, well-executed, and thought-provoking science fiction. Or maybe I am expecting too much of YA. The premise is interesting but I got the feeling this story was so clearly produced to ride on the success of The Hunger Games and other dystopian YA novels.
Beta is about a clone who begins to exhibit human emotions. Clones are supposed to be unfeeling, completely stripped of their soul-- but the author fails to clearly define what this means or what a human soul actually is. There's very little emotional depth, even when the clone main character begins to feel. The second half of the book devolves into darker themes-- scandals, rape, murder-- none of which were handled with any sort of sensitivity or depth. Overall, I thought this was a very superficial book.
Beta is about a clone who begins to exhibit human emotions. Clones are supposed to be unfeeling, completely stripped of their soul-- but the author fails to clearly define what this means or what a human soul actually is. There's very little emotional depth, even when the clone main character begins to feel. The second half of the book devolves into darker themes-- scandals, rape, murder-- none of which were handled with any sort of sensitivity or depth. Overall, I thought this was a very superficial book.