Your One and Only
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- $7.99
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- $7.99
Publisher Description
A human boy lives in a world full of clones and the girl who falls in love with him in this dystopian YA novel debut.
Jack is a walking fossil. The only human among a sea of clones. It’s been hundreds of years since humanity died off in the slow plague, leaving the clones behind to carry on human existence. Over time they’ve perfected their genes, moving further away from the imperfections of humanity. But if they really are perfect, why did they create Jack?
While Jack longs for acceptance, Althea-310 struggles with the feeling that she’s different from her sisters. Her fascination with Jack doesn’t help. As Althea and Jack’s connection grows stronger, so does the threat to their lives. What will happen if they do the unthinkable and fall in love?
“Like the works of Ursula K. LeGuin, inside this lyrically written, suspenseful tale is a deeply humane thematic core.”—Kirkus Reviews, starred Review
“We fell for Jack and Althea’s romance, which is made to order for fans of The Giver, Delirium and Warm Bodies, because woven into this fast-paced and romantic sci-fi is a thoughtful look at what it really means to be human.”—Justine Magazine
“A thought-provoking tale that explores conformity, individuality, and what it means to be human...With imaginative, vivid world building, this should appeal to fans of Lauren Oliver’s Replica.”—Booklist
“Readers will feel fully immersed in this new reality. A great choice for lovers of postapocalyptic story lines.”—School Library Journal
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
Finlay's fine debut novel is a dystopian story about a future society gone terribly wrong due to irresponsible cloning. Long after the death of the human race from the Slow Plague, a series of nine models of clones are all that is left resembling humanity save Jack, the only human boy alive in the world. But the generation of clones who raised Jack failed to integrate him with clones his own age. After a life of painful isolation, Jack finds there are dangerous fissures in the clones' culture some cracks he has caused but others that arise from generations of genetic manipulation. Finlay introduces a second protagonist in Althea, a clone who develops an affinity for Jack that she doesn't understand and which threatens the collective harmony of her community. In this consistently well-structured world, Finlay weighs the cost of conformity verses rebellion, and the narrative's gracefully restrained style amplifies the story's profound underlying emotions. Ages 14-up.)
