Publication Date: February 2010
Pages: 192
Series: ?
Book Acquisition: bought used ARC
My Rating: 3 / 5 Stars
(from Goodreads)
The Cyborg Wars are over and Earth has peacefully prospered for more than one hundred years. Yet sometimes history must repeat itself until humanity learns from its mistakes. In the year 2170, despite technological and political advances, cyborgs and clones are treated no better than slaves, and an underground abolitionist movement is fighting for freedom. Thirteen-year-old Leanna's entire life is thrown into chaos when The World Federation of Nations discovers her mom is part of the radical Liberty Bell Movement.
After her mother's arrest for treason, Leanna must escape as she is chased by a ruthless bounty hunter. Soon Leanna finds herself living among the Firsts, and nothing will ever be the same again. But what does The World Federation want with the daughter of a traitor? So much is uncertain. Danger hides everywhere. Fear takes over. With help from unlikely sources, Leanna learns the origin of The Liberty Bell Movement and how its members may have answers about her past-and her new reality.
As family secrets are revealed, Leanna must face startling truths about self-identity and freedom. Through time travel, advanced technologies, and artificial intelligence, this exhilarating adventure asks what it means to be human and explores the sacrifices an entire society will make to find out.
My Review:
I was a little disappointed in this one. The premise sounded really good - I love futuristic tales but I had a hard time getting over the voice and tone of the book. It felt more like it fit into the middle grade 8-10 year old range then young adult 12+. Might not seem like a big different but the characters to me, had a very 'young' feel to them.
Written in the style of a diary or journal, each chapter was pretty short - sometimes too short for me. I never really warmed up to Leanna and I felt that her mother, although a very important person in the story, was underdeveloped.
What I did love about The Clone Codes, and what really made the book for me was the message it portrayed. Even though it's the year 2170, we, as humans, still have a lot to learn about humanity. Slavery, in any form is wrong and the fact that there were people fighting for the rights of clones and cyborgs in Leanna's world sent a very powerful message.
The ending was a little unfinished so I'm wondering if this is the first of a series. If it is, I will be picking up the second book because, even though the characters weren't my favorites, I do want to know how Leanna's story turns out.
This one didn't really remind me of any other book I've read and while I wouldn't strongly recommend it as a good dystopian read, I would recommend it to younger readers who are interested in human rights issues.
Linkage Love:
Scholastic
Goodreads
Tidbits:
*The McKissacks are Newbery Honor winner Patricia, her husband Fredrick and their son John. Together, Patricia and Fredrick have written numerous award winning books. The Clone Codes is John's first.
Oh bummer. I was so excited when I saw the title.
ReplyDeleteI was kind of excited for this too--the cover is really awesome though :D
ReplyDeleteohh, I love the cover. To bad I'm going to pass this one.
ReplyDelete