This novel is a complicated look at both faith and scientific ethics wrapped up in a deceptively simple YA teen troubles story. The writing is excellent, enough to keep me reading when the main character adopted a holier than thou attitude that wore on me a bit, mostly because I fell into the trap of connecting the Abby’s beliefs and attitudes with those of the author and so expected this novel to end in a heavy, overly simplified moral. Boy was I wrong.

The basic premise of the story is that a scientist was maintaining a secret lab in which he produced clones for medical testing and something more nefarious that would end up killing them when they turned eighteen. Even worse, the staff was abusive, both physically with brutal testing and beatings, and psychologically by creating a scenario in which the clones were sacrifices to save the rest of the world, a lie the clones had no way of testing because they are never allowed out of the facilities.

Note the premise has nothing to do with Abby. She comes into it because her father is on an obsessive search for a cure to cancer after it stole his wife and Abby’s mother too soon. He’s lost sight of the bigger picture and is willing to do anything, even get mixed up with a bad scientist who thinks he’s above the law.

There’s a lot going on, both with Abby (enough to make her interesting despite being a fanatic) and with the clone who goes by the nickname Martyr because he defends the weaker clones against the stronger in what is a bit of a Lord of the Flies situation with little effort taken to keep the clones from establishing primitive order among their own. As long as they do no permanent damage to the most viable, the scientist and staff care little for what happens in the facility. It’s up to Martyr to step in, often to his own loss.

It’s hard to talk about all I liked in this novel without giving away important pieces, so I’m keeping it general, or mentioning things that come up in the beginning. Still I’ll say this much: Abby is not a doctrine to be taught despite how much she thinks she is. Replication touches on serious questions and leaves it to you to consider the implications rather than laying down answers in a fanatical manner, answers about faith and science.

I thought at first that Abby spoke for the author, and that she acted in the place of taking an argument to its farthest reaches and using that as a reason not to explore, in this case the argument that because science can be taken to far, it should then be prevented from searching for genetic solutions, sort of like saying that because someone could die from being stuck with a pencil through the eye pencils are clearly too dangerous to exist. Even if I hadn’t recognized that Abby was just one view in an exploration that raises serious questions to consider, the inclusion of discussion questions in the back proves Williamson’s intent was to get people thinking, especially young people who will be the scientists and believers in our future, the ones making decisions about cloning, genetics, and what defines a person.

Now I don’t want you to think this is a textbook, because you could read and enjoy the novel without ever considering a greater implication. It’s a story with many levels, and well-drawn characters who are far from one-dimensional. You get the perspective of Abby who thinks she knows it all; JD, the star senior, who thinks he wants, and deserves, it all; Abby’s father who believes if he can find a cure he can somehow make up for his failure in his wife’s case, missing the fact that his lack was not in failing to prevent her death but in not appreciating and sharing her life while she was there; and Martyr, of course, whose naïve curiosity makes others question what they have accepted as true. And that’s just a sampling of characters, while the story has elements of a family story, a mystery, a thriller, and several other genres blended well into a cohesive whole.

I requested the book from NetGalley after reading a friend’s review, so I read the final galley rather than the final itself. There was one continuity error I noticed that I hope they catch for the released version, but overall, this is a book worth reading both for enjoyment and to make you consider the implications of where we’re headed, both on religious and scientific grounds. It’s not long, it’s not a hard read, but it is packed tight with story and philosophical goodness, including some things I didn’t even touch on so as not to spoil. If you decide to give this novel a try, I’d love to hear what you thought of it. (Warning that means any comments may contain spoilers, so read them with caution.)