Clone Drama > True Representation of Academic Research

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I'm going to preface my review by saying that I have no experience with PhD level scientific research - and after several lengthy discussions with someone who does about the fine line between making something realistic and telling an effective story, I can acknowledge several moments where the narrative decisions Gailey makes are not feasible and don't make any sense. The level of oversight needed to run a research lab, the amount of collaboration and networking and keeping up-to-date with your contemporaries: all of that was brushed over for the sake of making Evelyn an island. And it doesn't make sense and would never happen in reality.

That being said, in order to tell the story effectively, Evelyn had to be an island. So if, like me, you have absolutely no concept of what higher level academic research entails, you will be way more likely to enjoy this book. (Unfortunately for me, I had these discussions while I was reading and so when a certain decision is made near the end I wanted to throw the book at the wall because it made NO SENSE; I'm still actively having discussions about it)

But! It's also important to note that this book brings up some of my favorite sci-fi topics: what makes a person; how does "fringe science" interface with ethics, morality, and the law; emotional distance in science; and the impacts of a person's upbringing on their decisions. The Orphan Black fan in me was so excited to see the clones being compared with the originals - especially when you bring into it the fact that clones, according to science, are subjects and NOT people. To see Evelyn struggle with the scientist that says "this human who looks like me is not a person but a clone" even as she begins to understand and respect Martine and Martine's differences from Evelyn herself. Having that come up again and again was just fascinating.

The story was well-paced, always giving us a sense of forward momentum, giving enough of an overview of the passage of time that it never felt like too much was happening too quickly. Again, I was concerned about how much Evelyn was able to get away with without oversight or being questioned by the people signing her grant checks, but that's already been mentioned. I also really liked how Martine grew throughout the story, and how Evelyn's reactions to her change and adapt as we fill in more of Evelyn's own past experiences.