Reviewed by Jaglvr for TeensReadToo.com
Kate Larson is busy enough for at least two people. She's on the fast track to get into Yale, but she has to work twice as hard as her boyfriend, Paul, to guarantee her entry. Paul is a legacy and the top of their high school class, so he's a shoe-in. But according to Kate's research, Yale has only ever admitted two people from her high school in any one year. There are other students with just as decent grades as Kate, and she HAS to get in. She and Paul have been planning on the two of them going to Yale together.
It's the last few weeks before winter break and finals and projects are piling up. And Kate can never say no, so she's taken on the added responsibility of reviewing senior essays for one of her teachers. She hasn't even been able to make a dent in her own Yale application essay, and she has to review fellow students'!
So, when Kate wakes up one morning to find an identical replica of her, she almost screams. But this one is wearing lip gloss, pink, and, could that possibly be, glitter?! Kate figures she has to be dreaming, until she remembers the night before and her attempt to delete the SimuLife icon on her computer. It kept asking for the disk, which of course Kate couldn't find, and the end result was a real life Rina in her room.
With Kate stressed out with all her end-of-term work, she decides to deal with Rina later. She creates a comfy space for Rina in her walk-in closet, and sets her up with the complete works of Harry Potter. It doesn't take long for Rina to get bored, and convince Kate to let her help her with her busy schedule. It starts simply enough: Rina attending a school board meeting in Kate's place. It blossoms into allowing Rina pose as Kate with Kate's friends. Finally, Rina stands in for some time with Paul. But when Kate catches Rina making out with Paul, she knows it's gone too far and has to come up with a final solution.
I'm always hesitant to read the follow-up work of a young author when their first book was fantastic. But as with SHE'S SO MONEY, DUPLIKATE was great. Kate, like Maya, is expected to succeed. But unlike Maya, Kate's expectations are all self-imposed. Though the story may be somewhat predictable in what will happen, the way Ms. Cheva gets there is well worth the ride.
Told with wit and spunk, Kate tries to stay honorable in the face of Rina's persistence. For anyone who always wished there were two of them, read DUPLLIKATE - and be careful what you wish for.
Kate Larson is busy enough for at least two people. She's on the fast track to get into Yale, but she has to work twice as hard as her boyfriend, Paul, to guarantee her entry. Paul is a legacy and the top of their high school class, so he's a shoe-in. But according to Kate's research, Yale has only ever admitted two people from her high school in any one year. There are other students with just as decent grades as Kate, and she HAS to get in. She and Paul have been planning on the two of them going to Yale together.
It's the last few weeks before winter break and finals and projects are piling up. And Kate can never say no, so she's taken on the added responsibility of reviewing senior essays for one of her teachers. She hasn't even been able to make a dent in her own Yale application essay, and she has to review fellow students'!
So, when Kate wakes up one morning to find an identical replica of her, she almost screams. But this one is wearing lip gloss, pink, and, could that possibly be, glitter?! Kate figures she has to be dreaming, until she remembers the night before and her attempt to delete the SimuLife icon on her computer. It kept asking for the disk, which of course Kate couldn't find, and the end result was a real life Rina in her room.
With Kate stressed out with all her end-of-term work, she decides to deal with Rina later. She creates a comfy space for Rina in her walk-in closet, and sets her up with the complete works of Harry Potter. It doesn't take long for Rina to get bored, and convince Kate to let her help her with her busy schedule. It starts simply enough: Rina attending a school board meeting in Kate's place. It blossoms into allowing Rina pose as Kate with Kate's friends. Finally, Rina stands in for some time with Paul. But when Kate catches Rina making out with Paul, she knows it's gone too far and has to come up with a final solution.
I'm always hesitant to read the follow-up work of a young author when their first book was fantastic. But as with SHE'S SO MONEY, DUPLIKATE was great. Kate, like Maya, is expected to succeed. But unlike Maya, Kate's expectations are all self-imposed. Though the story may be somewhat predictable in what will happen, the way Ms. Cheva gets there is well worth the ride.
Told with wit and spunk, Kate tries to stay honorable in the face of Rina's persistence. For anyone who always wished there were two of them, read DUPLLIKATE - and be careful what you wish for.
My Thoughts: I didn't know what to expect starting this. I didn't know it I would like it or not. I mean, come on, face it, you don't see too many books with this plot! I liked it a lot more than Cherry's previous book, She's So Money. We are introduced to Kate who is an achievement-a-holic. She feels like she has to do everything perfect to get into the same college as her boyfriend, an IVY league school. She has a popular smart boyfriend named Paul. She never has any free time therefore she never even gets to spend much time with Paul. She falls asleep one night on her keyboard and wakes up to find a computer generated person who looks exactly like her named Rina. Oh my, its the girl from a game she played long ago! Kate starts splitting her work with Rina so she can get more done. She is teamed up with a boy named Jake for a school project. Back in the day, her and Jake used to be good friends but once she got with Paul, Jake just wasn't cool enough anymore. Kate learns she may not want everything she has been trying to do and her life needs to change. I loved the way Kate and Jake's relationship changed and I really enjoyed Rina's company. This book was a cute sassy fun read. It kept me interested and I wanted to know what happened next. Read the book to find out more about Kate and Rina. Read the book to find out if Kate gets accepted into college. And where does Rina go from there????
Overall: Loved it. Cute, fun, smart, delightful.
Overall: Loved it. Cute, fun, smart, delightful.
