Beta

I had the chance to hear Rachel Cohn read from this book not long ago. She was great, funny and the book was interesting. Elysia is a Beta Clone. She is cloned from a teen who has died. She is the first of the teen models and is bought to be a companion on the island of Demesne- a place engineered for pleasure. The water, the air, the drugs, all created to give the residents a sense of peace and prosperity. Beta's are not meant to feel, or think, or have any desires of their own. If they do, they are considered Defects and are destroyed. Elysia quickly learns she may be a Defect. She can taste, think, and tell jokes. She is having visions from her First's life. She must keep all this a secret. As she hangs out with her 'brother' and his friends, she is drawn to Tahir, a boy who is recovering from a terrible accident. But he too, has a secret and they decide to run away together. They know they are about to enter the Awfuls, the time when teen Beta's go crazy and die. They decide they want to go through this together. Before their plan can be put into effect, some terrible things happen that tear them apart. Elysia must run for her life and help comes from the most unlikely source. The end is a cliffhanger of epic proportions and leaves the reader in desperate need of a sequel sooner than later. A nice triangle (or square) is set up, a murderer is on the loose, a boyfriend is missing and an insurrection is imminent. Wow, well done Ms. Cohn. I'm off to meet up with Han and Raisa in book four of the Grey Wolf Throne. I've left them sitting on my shelf far too long. Happy reading my friends !