In the vein of Scott Westerfeld’s UGLIES series and NEVER LET ME GO, THE SIMILARS is a young adult novel set in the near dystopic future, where clones are feared, treated as a threat and persecuted

THE SIMILARS
by Rebecca Kurzweil
On Submission

In what’s being called the greatest social experiment of the twenty-first century, clones of six students at prestigious and cutthroat Darkwood Academy are joining the junior class, right alongside their originals. The Similars are all anyone can talk about: Who is the madman who broke the law against cloning and created them? After more than a decade in hiding, why have they—perfect and preterhuman in every way—been brought out of the shadows all of a sudden? And what are the odds that all six clones should be of Darkwood students? Everyone else may be all-consumed by the Similars and the controversy surrounding them, but 16-year-old Darkwood junior Emmaline Chance couldn’t care less. Her best friend, Oliver, died suddenly last summer and all she wants is to see him one more time. Then, she comes face-to-heartbreaking-face with Levi—Oliver’s exact DNA copy and one of the Similars. Emma is pained by how little the aloof and infuriating Levi is like her incredible Oliver. She vows to stay far away from him and his siblings. But despite the warning signs, she is pulled further and further into the Similars’ orbit. As Emma uncovers the dark and unsettling truths about them, as well as Darkwood itself, it seems like no one and nothing can be trusted. And yet, there’s one thing Emma knows for sure: for better or worse, she’s falling for the boy with Oliver’s face.

Rebecca Kurzweil received a BA from Stanford University in English and drama and was awarded an Emmy for Best Writing in 2008 as a staff writer on the CBS daytime drama GUIDING LIGHT. She is a member of the Writers Guild of America.