Darkwood Academy is an elite boarding school that has always been progressive, welcoming students of all races, religions and sexual orientations. When Darkwood Academy opens its doors to six mysterious new students, not everyone is ready to welcome them with open arms. These six students are Similars, part of an illegal cloning experiment, exact DNA copies of their originals, who are also students at the Academy. Emmaline Chance, still mourning the recent death of her best friend Oliver, doesn't care about the new students or the cloning debate until she discovers that one of them, Levi, is Oliver's clone.

The Similars is the exciting first novel in this new YA sci-fi series. This novel is told from the POV of Emmaline Chance, a girl who has suffered from the loss of loved ones, including the recent death of her best friend Oliver. Struggling to cope with his death, she is suddenly faced with dealing with those unresolved emotions towards his clone Levi. Although Levi looks like Oliver Emma knows will never be Oliver and she hates him for that. When unusual things begin to happen at the school Emma must put aside her feelings and work with Levi and his siblings to figure out who is behind the events. I felt like certain plot points, like the Ten, were brought up enough to feel important but I was left feeling unsure as to if it will even tie into the other novels. I also prefer stronger female protagonists but that is just a personal preference. Overall, this was an enjoyable quick read that has potential to be better in the future novels.

I liked this more than I thought. I prejudged it because I don't normally like books set at a boarding school with rich, snobby students but the main characters weren't like that. It is an interesting concept, 6 embryos were stolen from prominent families and they were cloned. The clones are facing a similar situation with illegal immigrants as to what rights they have, what documentation they need and a hostility by some. My high school students would like this book.

I gave this book 4.25 stars. I really enjoyed this book but decided not to give it 4.5 stars because I figured the rest of the series would be even better so I’m leaving room for higher ratings.

This book cut off so suddenly it surprised me. I mean, usually when there is a cliffhanger there is a lead up to that, but for this book, I felt like we were in between huge action scenes and this one just sort of ended.

There is kind of a big plot twist that happens in this book, but it isn’t completely a surprise. If you’re paying attention to what is happening in the novel then you could probably guess what it is pretty easily.

This book isn’t anything partially new to me, but it did bring me back to everything I love about Young Adult. This reminded me of the feelings I had about 5 years ago when I couldn’t stop reading anything and everything YA. There was excitement, plot twists, coming of age problems, even love life drama. It was everything I love in a YA novel.

This story follows Emma, who has just lost her best friend and is returning to her boarding school for the first time since his death during the summer. Emma is raw and understandably shaken after what has happened. We follow her as she tries to make sense of everything that has happened and the incoming of her best friend’s clone.

Overall, I’m generally not a big fan of dystopian, but I feel like this one was in the near enough future that the problems were very parallel to what is happening in today's society. The prejudices shown against the clones are similar to what is happening to people of color and those in the LGBTQ+ communities. I think this novel is really suitable for the times.

This book is written great, and the language flows very well in my opinion. But however, the story isn't as engaging in the end as it was in the start. It lost kind of what dragged it in, but I cannot pinpoint what. I found the ending predictable and the plot-twist was something I figured out very fast, but that does not make it a bad book at all.

I was entertained by this book and thought the twists were great and some were surprising for me.
I did find myself holding my breath in the exciting parts.

I recommend this book.

The premise of the book had me wanting so much more. I wasn't a fan of the writing style or the plot twists that were choreographed ahead of time.

So I thought this was absolutely wicked awesome. I loved the idea and was totally hooked.

Spoiler



The twist about Oliver being alive I did NOT see coming. The one about Emma herself being a clone of the original Emma I guessed, but not until nearly the end in any case. Brilliant!

If there's a book two I definitely want in.

#NetGalley #TheSimilars
What a twisting and unusual novel! The Similars blends dystopian and fanstasy all with great science fiction thrown in. I was pleasantly surpised with the plot, it does have some predicable spots, but overall is pulls the reader into a page turning, quick read. I can't wait to see what the author does with the series.
Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for the E-Arc copy of this novel.

Rebecca Hanover gripped me from the very beginning. She writes like each and every character is standing right in front of you. I look forward to reading more from her.

There was so much potential for this book in regards to the plot and Hanover did NOT disappoint. While it was a YA book, the story line felt refreshing and new. With the 6 clones at the school it added a new dynamic to a potential repeat of several other books. I enjoyed Emma’s back-story and I really felt her pain at the loss of her best friend.

At the start of the book, Emma is grieving her best friend’s suicide. She doesn’t want to be at school and she doesn’t want to interact with anyone. In comes Levi, Oliver’s clone. Levi has the same face as Oliver and Emma is forced to see him everyday in class. She starts out hating him but all too soon she starts to fall for him. They form a different relationship than she had with Oliver and soon she starts to see how different the two really are. At first I didn’t really believe she could fall for him so easily but as the book went on their relationship continued to build.

This was an easy read. Hanover made it easy to follow the plot and I couldn’t put the book down. I read it in less than a day and wanted more. There were several plot twists that could have confused a reader but everything was explained very well.

I don’t want to spoil the ending so I will say this, I am SO GLAD there will be a sequel. I cannot wait to read more and see where our characters go. There is so much potential for the future of this series and I look forward to reading every word.

Thank you Netgalley and Sourcebooks Fire for The Similars for an honest review. All opinions are my own. This contains a lot of spoilers!

The main protagonist of The Similars is Emma Chance, who has a difficult time adjusting to her best friend’s suicide. Her school life changes when six clones are enrolled in her school. Though Emma does not have prejudice against the clones, there is one clone that stands out of the six. Levi is the clone of her best friend Ollie, and it shakes Emma’s world. It is clear that Emma is still processing the death of her friend, and having Levi at her school, does not allow her to heal mentally. She is reminded of Ollie, even though he is not alive. Though the physical similarities of Levi and Ollie are the same, their personalities are different. Emma goes through a wild school year with the Similars and the dark secrets in her school.

This world is an alternate future where clones barely have rights in the United States, and the rest of the world. This book reminds me of immigration due to the prejudice and discrimination that the Similars encounter. The subject of the book was the most unique aspect that I really liked, but as for the rest of the book, I didn’t like the execution.

I thought Emma Chance was an okay character. Emma is vulnerable, especially the scenes involving her getting emotional over Ollie.

“If I’ve learned anything these past few months since Oliver died, it’s that pills don’t take away your grief and pain on their own. They mask it, briefly. But it’s all worse when you emerge from the pharma haze and realize your best friend is still gone.”

Emma tries adjusting in her school year, and depends on medicine to get her by because the pain is raw. She loved Ollie, and as for Levi, she gives him a hard time. Levi’s presence makes it hard for Emma to move on because he is a reminder of what she lost. I have to admit, that Emma is lucky person given that she eavesdrops and uncovers so many secrets without getting caught. There were no high stakes in the book because Emma was able to get away without getting hurt. Emma’s curiosity leads her to ask many questions about the clones and her surroundings, but no one wants to reveal the truth.

As for Levi, he is a bookworm and treats Emma with some disdain. Emma mistreats and criticizes him, and he does not allow himself to be a pushover. It would have been great to know Ollie’s personality to compare the two. The romance of Emma and Levi was a slow burn, love hate relationship. Though I do want to categorize it into a insta-love relationship since Emma is drawn to Levi because of his similar appearance to Ollie. But, I was not amazed. I would have preferred no romance to be honest.

I felt that most of the clones had dull personalities. I hoped that the author does expand their personalities in the next book because it seemed like all of the similar were the same…just different names. Levi was the only one to have a personality, and I didn’t care for the other similars.

A lot of events of the book were highly predictable for me, and these are some of the reasons:

- Mean girls and cliques…
- Love triangle between Ollie, Emma, and Levi…
- Petty drama and 20-year grudge…
- The school using the clones for medical research…
- Surprise...not really Ollie is alive
- The clones were created to get revenge for this 20-year grudge…
- It was obvious who the villain was at the halfway mark…
- Emma is not she is…she in fact is a similar

This book tried being a lot of things…and left me unsatisfied. The twists and turn were too predictable. It was hard for me to read the book because I made a lot of guesses that came out being true. It was a bit frustrating to read, the world building could have been better, and I don’t want to pick up the next book.

Publishing Date: January 1st 2019

Final Rating:

I really enjoyed this book. While the plot at some points was a little predictable the story was good enough that it didn't take away from my enjoyment. There are tons of twists and the characters are very well thought out. This will appeal to lovers of YA and also those who like a good dystopian story. Can't wait to see what happens next!

I started reading the similars and quite enjoyed it. I tought it had a good pace, good character, good story, but as a continued reading, i found myself thinking that the writing was not that good. Even if it was not the best, I kept on reading but the story did not captivate me in the end... I finished it but i would definitly not recommend it to anyone. It sometimes felt like the story was writen by a teenager... as if it was maybe missing some experience... the idea and the storyline was good tought

INITIAL EXCITEMENT & SUMMARY
Clearly I was excited to read this one, because I decided to go for it back in early June! I was stuck in sort of a reading slump because I binge-read too many contemporaries in a row. Usually I need to mix in a few different genres throughout the month so I don’t fully burn out. I knew I needed something sci-fi or paranormal (because reading THE COMPLICATION at one point the previous month reset my burnout too). I loved the idea of clones coming to a school without a lot of explanation and learning why they were so special. It was set sort of in the near-future; everyone has fancy “phones” with digital assistants

STORYTELLING, SETTING, & CHARACTERS
There’s actually a lot to unpack with this book and truthfully I’m not smart enough to do it! There were a lot of correlations to today’s society, where people who are “different” can be ostracized for all the wrong reasons. There are growing hate movements based on leadership today and a lot of that was reflected in this book through clone rights. It was fascinating but didn’t feel like a forced theme to make a bigger picture, if that makes sense? These messages didn’t take me out of the story at all.

Hanover did a really great job of keeping me guessing and keeping me reading. I almost read it all in one sitting but I had to go to sleep when I had 20 minutes left. Literally my eyes kept closing on me, even though I wanted to finish it off! I kept coming up with theories… the best part is that some came true and some didn’t. There were so many secrets and twists that you’d think you figured it out completely when something else would come to light.

The Darkwood boarding school was an awesome setting, but I happen to love those so much. Adding in some of the creepy science fiction elements made me even more hooked. It was fun to see references to New England, since it was in Vermont and they also had Bar Harbor get involved for a minute.

From a character perspective: Emma was a little bland for me (more on that later), but the Similars were fascinating characters. I loved exploring how DNA can make people similar but personalities can be shaped by your environment. There were many reveals about the characters throughout the story, which I loved.

NEGATIVES
I can’t think of a lot of negatives in this one, aside from what I discuss in the ending part below. Emma was a decent enough main character but I didn’t love her or anything. I didn’t feel overly connected to her overall and sometimes she was being a liiiiittle thick. She asked questions where the answers seemed obvious to the reader and I was wondering how she was fifth in her class?? I think she just didn’t WANT to believe certain things when they were right in front of her.

ENDING FEELS
Okay I have a lot of complicated thoughts on the ending. When I read this back in June, there wasn’t an announced sequel anywhere and it ended on a major cliffhanger IMO. This is the kind of story that genuinely needs a second book because there are way too many loose ends. I would say that it KIND OF could end here and it would be MODERATELY okay (except not really)… so I’m waiting on that.

In general though, cliffhanger/sequel questions aside, there were some elements at the end that felt weird to me. It wasn’t bad or anything but I’m not sure – some of the events felt squished in there and done a little too quickly. There was a lot introduced in the last 10-20% of the book that caught me off guard. Again, this is regardless of there being a sequel or not.

TL;DR?
I would say the two comp titles that immediately come to mind are BRAVE NEW GIRL meets THE THOUSANDTH FLOOR. There’s futuristic technology (but not tooooo much), clones, and a lot of secrets. If you’re in the mood for a page-turner that you could read in one sitting, this one should do the trick.

I usually love stories about clones and replicas. Boarding school stories are a hit or miss. Similars started with strong potential but after that I couldn't connect with the story anymore or the characters. I was bored honestly.

Maybe I will try to reread closer to the release date.

Thank you Netgalley for giving me a copy to review. All opinions are my own.

Thank you Net Galley for the free ARC.

Young adult story about the misuse of cloning. The similars, a group of illegal clones, arrive at Darkwood Academy to become students. But is there all there is to it? Some feel they should not be allowed there.

This teen sci-fi novel surely knows how to weave a creative and drawing plot. While the utilization of the clone storyline always peaks my interest, the plot and the suspense were perhaps the most interesting parts. The novel dangles the clones in front of the readers quite a few times, but the reader is given a very limited interaction through the protagonist. The protagonist herself wasn’t entirely engaging, and the heavy emphasis placed on her lack of friends made her less relatable and believable. The two most interesting characters were perhaps her living friend and the love interest, but the readers don’t get to see very much of either because one goes missing and the other is shown through such a limited lens that it makes some of the development hard to understand. This problem is probably due to the sudden time skips within chapters, which could range from weeks to months at a time, while the novel itself felt as though it only spanned across a very short period. With this in mind, it wasn’t enough to make this novel at all boring. The mystery was weaved into the scientific elements meticulously, and while I did theorize correctly, that added to the wonder of the story, because it was such a clever way to go. If you’re looking for an easy read with a good hand of suspense, this clone drama is the way to go.

**4.5 stars**

I know this novel comes out in almost a year from now, but I need a sequel like right now.

A mixture of science fiction wrapped up in a teenager's world at boarding school. This novel was so unique and interesting that I had to finish it in one sitting.

Emma is entering her junior year at Darkwood, a school for exceptional students. After the death of her best friend, Oliver, things are proving to be tricky for her, especially with the inclusion of six new students this year. The Similars are six clones of Darkwood students. What Emma doesn't expect is to see the clone of her dead best friend Oliver. Levi, the clone, is almost completely identical and Emma wants nothing to do with him. Except, the clones are there for reasons other than studying and Emma seems to be more and more drawn to the Similars.

There were some surprise twists that I didn't see coming, which I absolutely loved, and some that I did see, which were still really brilliant despite me being able to figure them out..

The pacing was a little fast at times, particularly at the end of the novel, so I have to admit, i wish it was a little more developed there.

Emma's character also was a little too convenient. She would walk across conversations that she *just happened to be there for and it also just happens to reveal a huge element of the novel* I think there might have been another way to reveal plot, possibly at a slower pace to the novel, but it wouldn't be as "in your face" as the way it was in the book. Emma felt very stoic at times and I felt like we didn't get a lot of emotion from her, the only time we really see emotion is when she talks about missing Oliver, but when she and Levi start falling for each other, there's almost nothing. I was waiting for a lot more to happen, more development between Levi and Emma, but it didn't happen.

Despite the problems that I mention above, I can tell that the story behind the novel is really unique and I cannot wait to see if there is a sequel for this (which I'm really hoping there is!!)
This is definitely going to be one of the top 2019 novels and I cannot wait to see what else Hanover comes up with in the future.
I received this ARC in exchange for an honest review. Thank you to SourceBooks Fire and Netgalley for letting me read this novel!

One of my favourite reads of the year so far. I was so intrigued by the synopsis and thankfully the book more than lived up to it.
Six clones attend a prestigious school along with the students they are clones of, I actually thought this would get confusing as the names were pretty similar but the writing was so strong it never became an issue. The main character Emmeline is still grieving for her best friend Oliver who has recently died so she is full of shock to see there is a clone of him at the school called Levi. She reacts very angrily to seeing him and I was really interested to see how she would end up feeling about him.
She eventually investigates the background of the cloning and the book has a really great plot twist I didn't see coming at all. It could be a standalone but I really think there is room for a sequel.

A sci fi take on the key if not more disturbing elements of the US 2016 election holds center stage in a novel that questions what it means to be human.

“The Similars” takes place in a future where technology advancement is happening rapidly yet the the appearance of six clones grinds everything to a halt as the world struggles to come to terms with what this new development means for humankind and the future of genetics. Emmaline is just as curious about these new clones and finds herself more involved when one of them happens to be the double of her recently deceased friend and when the tides of civility turn erupting into chaos she must work to uncover the truth behind these creations and do what she can to make sure she doesn’t lose herself in the process.

Anyone who reads a lot can tell you that they learn to catch the little moments that set the course for where the novel is going to go making some of the big twists pretty predictable but this book took it to the extreme to that everything you assume is going to happen happens making the book as a whole rather dull. The main character is also super lucky to just happen to round corners when top secret conversations are going on giving us quick expositions with little actual effort.

Now on to the bigger background question of the novel being that of are the clones worthy of basic human rights and this discussion follows a very similar course to the 2016 election and all that occurred after taking actual moments like California’s defiance of immigration laws, the profiling of clones, border control and the ugly infamous slogan edited just enough to fit the narrative but still a flashing sign in case we didn’t notice it was meant to be symbolism.

Overall this book is pretty boring because there is so little to it that you can guess after the first three chapters where you’re headed and the rest is very in your face with what it’s trying to be in relation to current events which isn’t bad as an idea because there’s a lot to work with there it’s just that I don’t see this series really diving deep into that narrative and the ugliness of hate which is a real shame.

**special thanks to the publishers and netgalley for providing an arc in exchange for a fair and honest review!**

I really enjoyed The Similar. There are many twists and turns with a sci-fi storyline that I could see happening in the future. Emmaline is a fierce and outspoken young woman I think many girls can come to admire. The plot twist is spot on everything I was anxiously worrying about throughout the book. I can't wait for the sequel!