Replication - Jill Williamson

Replication was granted to me by Zondervan through NetGalley. If the name sounds familiar, Zondervan is a christian publishing company, and granted me The Merchant's Daughter a few months ago. That being said, I was pretty happy to get Replication, because Merchant gave me hope for Zondervan books.

Replication is about J:3:3, also called Martyr. Martyr is an identical clone, one of hundreds of the Jason model that are created and raised in the secret Jason Farm base. His life is surviving until he's 18, at which time his 'purpose is realized' and he is sacrificed to help create an antidote to the poisons in the real world. Or at least, that's what he's told. But after a new scientist appears in the Farms, Martyr is given the chance to dream of new things. All Martyr wants before he realizes his purpose is to see the sky--just once. He escapes, only to meet Abby: a religious girl who was forced to move near Jason Farms to meet the desires of her scientist father. Abby attempts to teach Martyr that death isn't his purpose, and that God has given him a purpose of his own.

This book...well, it's always weird for me to read a religion heavy book, and this was definitely religion based. Much of the book consists of Abby and Martyr discovering God together, and religion and conservative views are very strongly portrayed. As a person who subscribes to neither such system, it was weird for me to read. But for someone who is a conservative christian, I'm assuming that this would be a pretty big plus for the book.

The story itself was pretty awesome. I loved the idea of a giant series of clones, and I loved Martyr's entire motivation. I loved Abby's father's moral dilemma, loved the boy that Abby meets in her new school, and I honestly don't know what to say other than I loved the story itself.

As far as characters go, my favorite was definitely Martyr himself. Marty got his nickname because of his protective nature. In Replication, cloning isn't a perfect system at all. There are mistakes, problems, and flawed creations. Martyr was a protector of those flawed creations. The disabled clones, the clones that came out mentally retarded such as Baby, Martyr sought to protect them from clones that were crueler. He reminded me of a very gentle, happy dog in much of the story, which is kind of weird to say about a human character, but is still very true. His fascination with bright colors was adorable.

I'd recommend Replication to any christian reader seeking a book about spiritual discovery. I'd also recommend Replication to fans of The House of the Scorpion, as long as they're okay with the religious aspects of the novel, as the clone issues are very well portrayed in both stories. Finally, I'd recommend Replication to anyone who would be interested in a story about a completely blank slate being introduced to the world we live in.

So if any of those describe you, pick up Replication by Jill Williamson the next time you're book hunting.

The Merchant's Daughter - Melanie Dickerson

When it comes to books, I rarely pay attention to publishers before I read them. I know a few out of repetition and BEA booths, but otherwise I rarely take notice. In the case of The Merchant's Daughter, it's probably a good thing I don't. When I requested the book from NetGalley, I went entirely off of the synopsis, and had I known anything about the publisher, Zondervan, I likely wouldn't have touched it. Christian Fiction isn't something I'm usually a fan of, but The Merchant's Daughter surprised me.

The Merchant's Daughter is the story of Annabel, who, after her family is found guilty in court and given the choice of paying a fee that would take their home or sending someone to work as a servant for 3 years in the lord's home, flees in the night to become the servant and save her family. As the servant to the lord, Annabel is expected to do hard labor, something that she has never done due to her father's wealth when she was a child, and her mother's insistence to their town that, even after her father died, their family didn't need to help with the harvest. It's the reason why her family was in court to begin with. Annabel's only sorrow is that, with the loss of her father's wealth when he and his ships sunk, she will never be able to afford the fees to join a nunnery and gain the right to read the bible, which has been her dream for years. But she is fine with doing the work to earn her place, even if her new lord is scarred and cruel. Except that she's quickly finding, to her surprise, that he isn't as cruel as he seems.

The easiest way I can sum up The Merchant's Daughter is that it's Christian fiction for someone who doesn't like Christian fiction. In a time when most YA books tend to be gritty and real, and when most romance books tend to involve the main characters jumping into bed within the first half of the book--and in graphic detail that makes reading outside of the home mortifying--it's really nice to read a book where the story is just...nice. I know that sounds really bland, but that's the best word for it, I think.

Annabel's story reads like a retelling of Beauty and the Beast, and it's a very sweet telling at that. The lord is gruff and ugly, scarred down his face from a wolf attack and hardened against women thanks to hardships in his past. Annabel is sweet and pretty, a young girl who has never done work willing to give herself up so that her family doesn't have to lose their home. I love the characterization in this book, from the main two characters to the absolute vileness of Annabel's selfish, spoiled brothers. There were flaws, and I feel that the vile characters were somewhat flat, but at the same time I liked them that way. Part of me kind of missed books where the bad guy was the bad guy was the bad guy, rather than the bad guy whose secretly good pretending to be bad while he does some really good things, like..saving the main character's life. Frequently.

The book wasn't perfect, obviously, but then again, what book is? Personally, I really liked The Merchant's Daughter, and kudos to Melanie Dickerson. It's not a life changing book, or the next big thing, but it's simple and it's sweet and for someone who wants to read something where a duck is a duck not a shapeshifter trying to take over the world or something, it's a nice change. I'm not sure who I'd recommend this to specifically...but if the synopsis seems interesting to you, even if it's not your usual book fare, then pick up a copy of The Merchant's Daughter when it comes out December 1, 2011. You might be pleasantly surprised.