Ringer

Reviewed by: Elizabeth Andersen - Westbrook High Schoo, Westbrook, Southern Maine Library District

Review Date: May 8, 2018

Review

The story continues for Lyra and Gemma. Haven Institute has been destroyed, but they both continue to seek answers about their own beginnings and their own humanity. This second book in Lauren Oliver’s Replica series is another fast-paced adventure told in two mirroring stories; Lyra tells one half and if the book is flipped over, Gemma’s story is the other half. Readers can alternate chapters or read each story individually. Oliver tackles the big questions surrounding medical research. She asks readers to ponder how many have to be saved for casualties to be worth it? Can you clone humans or is our humanity defined by more than just our cells? This story challenges readers to answer these questions while gaining the perspectives of each narrator. Enough answers are revealed to satisfy readers and move the series forward. This series would make for an interesting book club read since Oliver provides so much to explore in terms of biomedical ethics and readers will likely have a favorite in either Lyra or Gemma. Again, Oliver has written a solid choice for middle and high school collections.

Overall Book Score: very good