Author: Heather Hildenbrand
Genre: Science Fiction, Young Adult
Published on: July 29, 2014 by Alloy Entertainment (Kindle edition)
Everyone is exactly like me. There is no one like me.
Ven wrestles with these contradicting truths every day. A clone of wealthy eighteen-year-old Raven Rogen, Ven knows everything about the girl she was created to serve: the clothes she wears, the boys she loves, the friends she loves to hate. Yet she’s never met the Authentic Raven face-to-face. Imitations like Ven only get to leave the lab when they’re needed—to replace a dead Authentic, donate an organ, or complete a specific mission. And Raven has never needed Ven . . . until now.
When there is an attack on Raven’s life, Ven is thrust into the real world, posing as Raven to draw out the people who tried to harm her. But as Ven dives deeper into Raven’s world, she begins to question everything she was ever told. She exists for Raven, but is she prepared to sacrifice herself for a girl she’s never met?
Fans of Cinder, The Selection and Sara Shepard’s Lying Game series will love Imitation, a thrilling, action-packed novel sure to keep readers guessing until the very last page.
When I came across Imitation in the Kindle store, the premise intrigued me right away. It was the kind of idea I wish I’d had if I were a sci-fi writer. In the book’s world, Imitations are clones made to fulfill various roles for their Authentics. This can include donating organs or even replacing a dead Authentic. The book's protagonist is Ven, the Imitation of rich young socialite Raven Rogen. She lives with other Imitations in a building called Twig City. They only ever leave when their Authentics need them. Ven "woke up" five years ago, but she's physically eighteen—the same age as Raven.
Ven has spent her life training to be Raven's double in every way. She watches videos to learn Raven's mannerisms and personality, and to know her friends. Imitation begins after Raven suffers an attack. Titus, her father, hides her away and brings Ven out. The two meet shortly after. Ven recognizes Titus, but not from her training videos. He turns out to be the creator of the Imitations. As the book progresses, you learn Titus is a secretive, powerful man. Although he had Ven study Raven's family, he seems to have thought Ven didn't need to know about him or his affairs. This is why Ven knows so little about him at first.
Although Ven is supposed to be a perfect copy of Raven, she’s not the obedient, emotionless robot you’d think. It so happens that Ven has her own personality. As much as she trains to be Raven, Ven has different likes, desires, and views. She often reminds the reader of this. Ven also proves that she’s not as shallow and elitist as Raven Rogen. Some reviews point out that Ven is highly critical about Raven and friends because they’re “slutty”. Ven does judge them, but nowhere near as over-the-top as the reviews make it sound. And most of all, Ven doesn't share Titus’s belief that poor people ought to be kicked out of the city. So much for the loyal Raven Rogen replacement he wanted.
It’s not long before Ven decides she wants freedom. Part of her role is to pose as bait to draw out Raven’s attackers. Ven believes they could kill her. This pushes her to think of ways to escape. It won’t be an easy feat, as Ven has the same protection detail Raven had. One of them seems to be Raven’s head of security. His name’s Linc Crawford. He treats Ven with suspicion at first. Ven finds him intriguing. And though she doesn’t know it yet, Ven feels attracted to Linc. They start opening up to each other. Ven and Linc don’t fall in love overnight, but it felt a bit fast. Linc hardly knows anything about Ven when he starts falling for her. He doesn’t even know about Imitations. They're not general knowledge yet.
Over the course of a few weeks, Ven discovers there’s more to Raven’s attacks than it seemed. It’s not about money or any kind of profit. Although it's not hard to deduce why Raven was targeted, I won't spoil it. A few of the reveals did surprise me, though. Titus ends up being cleverer than I gave him credit for at first. So, should you read Imitation or give it a pass? I would say go for it, especially if you’re a fan of dystopian fiction. The idea of clones made to take the place of their originals was fresh to me. I think only hard-to-please sci-fi fans would find Imitation unoriginal. This book was as good as I expected. I would read it again.
My rating: ★★★★
4 stars - Definitely enjoyed it!
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