Rating: 4/5 stars
Fanya has returned from her trials in Chernobyl and continues training for what she believes is a minor leadership position of some sort. Radek, Lukas, and her other friends are still around, acclimating to their new jobs, but they seem to have more freedom than she does, and she is still getting the impression that important things are being kept from her. When she is told that her leadership position is MUCH more prestigious than she ever expected, she is shocked and confused. As she uses her new power to investigate the cloning that is going on in the community, she discovers many unsettling things.
I was eager to read this second installment since the last book did leave off on a bit of a cliffhanger. We are sort of thrust into action in this book. Fanya is currently extremely interested (obsessed even) with the fact that the government has been making clones and almost no one knows about it. She suspects that her friend Dobra is one, and spends a lot of time researching as much as she can about the cloning. Dobra happens to work in the cloning lab, so Fanya is soon able to gain access to most of the information she wants. The events of the past, as with most dystopian novels, are very disturbing (think eugenics that occur in sort of a soft/gentle way and are organized to make them gradual and almost unnoticeable.)
When Fanya is finally given her place in the government, she is overwhelmed. I found the events in her new living quarters really interesting in a "Princess Diaries" way. She is not eager to be "served" or treated as any sort of royalty, but it is still kind of fun to see her get her own house with a huge closet, food delivered to her, and people to do her hair and set out clothes. The shopping trip in town is kind of a refreshing change of pace from the serious events of the book.
One of the things that's really irritating to me, though, is how she has been "thrust" into this position. I get really tired of plots that rely on the main characters being kept in the dark. They are always angsty about not knowing anything, and that's completely understandable. It's unrealistic in most of these situations for someone to be told SO little. For example, there are several times in the book where she is all of a sudden asked to give a speech, and she manages to do so fairly well but begins with phrases like: "Please excuse me, I was literally told that I would be speaking five minutes ago." This comes across as really unprofessional, so I am at a loss as to why a government would keep her in the dark for her WHOLE life about almost everything and then all of a sudden be like: "Okay, you're in charge now. Have fun." I guess this is supposed to be the intriguing/compelling part of the story? It just doesn't make any sense to me. I am hoping it will be explained in the last book. It seems like something you would do to someone you WANTED to fail or someone you wanted to pin something major on. And I am also at a loss as to why they would choose a clear nonconformist to rule a heavily regulated society that is based on eugenics. That seems like a recipe for disaster on their part anyway.
I did buy my copy from Amazon, but I am wondering if I got an unedited copy somehow. It was riddled with comma splices, many other errors, and weird typos. I think this book could be terrific with some work.
This series really is very fascinating though! I read this book in essentially a day (that's rare for me.) It is pretty compelling, and I do want answers to a lot of the questions Fanya has! I want to know who she will choose to marry (I hope it's Radek!) and I do hope she can somehow set her society on a less odious/unpleasant path. She has certainly stirred things up, and I am eager to see how the story resolves. I haven't seen any indication of a publication date for the last book, but I hope it's soon!
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