Status
Available
Call number
Genres
Publication
Little, Brown Books for Young Readers (2013), Edition: 1, 311 pages
Description
Seventeen-year-olds Lizzie, Ella, and Betsy Best are clones, raised as identical triplets by their surrogate mother but living as her one daughter, Elizabeth, until their separate abilities and a romantic relationship force a change.
User reviews
LibraryThing member DebbieMcCauley
An illegal cloning experiment resulted in Lizzie, Ella, and Betsey who used to live at triplets. Under threat of discovery they now pretend to be one person, Elizabeth Best. Their day is rostered by their surrogate scientist mother into thirds, which each having their own time to attend school and
A new concept that makes a quick and entertaining read.
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other activities. This works okay until Lizzie and Ella fall for different guys at school and live becomes mega-complicated. Why can't they live as individuals enjoying their own likes and dislikes, and even friends? Why does this terrify their mother so much and just what is she hiding from them? A new concept that makes a quick and entertaining read.
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LibraryThing member AyleeArgh
In short: The Originals by Cat Patrick failed to live up to its potential for me, but at the very least was a nice filler book between heavier reads.
The Originals was not the book I had been expecting to read. Lizzie, Ella, and Betsey are the result of an illegal cloning experiment and thus must
So putting aside the fact that The Originals wasn't the high-stakes story I was looking for, it was at least an easy read. It was a nice filler story between heavier reads. I'm not usually a fan of these high school drama books because I find them cliched and childish, but at least I was kept somewhat entertained by the teen drama in The Originals. Near the end of the book, the plot line involving the danger of being clones finally comes into play, though it wasn't nearly as thrilling and high impact as I was hoping. The book's climax is only a minor hill before trailing off somewhat unimpressively.
As for the characterization, I was worried that I was going to have a hard time telling the three girls apart, especially because their names - Lizzie, Ella, and Betsey - are all variations of the name Elizabeth. Thankfully, I had no trouble distinguishing them and they all had fairly distinct personalities, if pretty one-dimensional ones. There was a pretty sweet romance here between the novel's protagonist, Lizzie, and a certain Clark Kent lookalike and that was nice.
Overall, The Originals wasn't a bad story, but it wasn't really for me. This was my first Cat Patrick read. I had been wanting to try out one of her books because they all seem to have pretty original premises and that is no exception for The Originals, but I can't help but feel like it failed to reach its potential. Still, I don't regret reading it as it was at the very least a nice filler book between heavier reads.
The Originals was not the book I had been expecting to read. Lizzie, Ella, and Betsey are the result of an illegal cloning experiment and thus must
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pretend to be one person, each girl taking their turn to live a third of the life of Elizabeth Best. If their secret ever got out, their family would be in danger. So you might expect a thriller with lots if secrets and intrigue, right? Well, not so much. Instead we get a contemporary story with lots of high school drama. And that? Is not the book for me.So putting aside the fact that The Originals wasn't the high-stakes story I was looking for, it was at least an easy read. It was a nice filler story between heavier reads. I'm not usually a fan of these high school drama books because I find them cliched and childish, but at least I was kept somewhat entertained by the teen drama in The Originals. Near the end of the book, the plot line involving the danger of being clones finally comes into play, though it wasn't nearly as thrilling and high impact as I was hoping. The book's climax is only a minor hill before trailing off somewhat unimpressively.
As for the characterization, I was worried that I was going to have a hard time telling the three girls apart, especially because their names - Lizzie, Ella, and Betsey - are all variations of the name Elizabeth. Thankfully, I had no trouble distinguishing them and they all had fairly distinct personalities, if pretty one-dimensional ones. There was a pretty sweet romance here between the novel's protagonist, Lizzie, and a certain Clark Kent lookalike and that was nice.
Overall, The Originals wasn't a bad story, but it wasn't really for me. This was my first Cat Patrick read. I had been wanting to try out one of her books because they all seem to have pretty original premises and that is no exception for The Originals, but I can't help but feel like it failed to reach its potential. Still, I don't regret reading it as it was at the very least a nice filler book between heavier reads.
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LibraryThing member BookSpot
Some families have secrets, some more shocking than others. Lizzie, Betsy and Ella's secret most likely more shocking than any secret your family's been keeping.
After years of being raised as identical triplets, their mother not only moved them cross country but told them the truth: they were
In hiding from the governmental agency that wants to expose them for what they are, the Best girls are undercover as a single girl. To the outside world, the Best family is a single mother and her only daughter, Elizabeth Best. The girls each take a section of the day, a third. One covers part of school the second the rest and the third evening time. No one knows there are three girls.
It may not be ideal, but it's what the girls know. What keeps them safe.
Until Lizzie meets Sean Kelly, someone who seems to notice that she's different, without actually knowing that she is. The more time she spends around Sean, the more Lizzie begins to realize she isn't just a third of Elizabeth Best, that she's her own person. And to want her own life. But is it possible?
With The Originals my love affair with Cat Patrick and her writing is still in full swing. Forgotten, her debut, continues to be one of my favorite books with London Lane and Luke being two of my favorite characters, favorite relationship. Then Revived is all kinds of magnificent, too and I'm in love with it.
So, see The Originals had a lot to live up to . . . the awesomesauce thing? It totally did.
I feel strange repeating things from my reviews of Forgotten and Revived but it bares repeating so here you go: the premise of this novel is kind of brilliant and so unique. I've read books about clones (Mila 2.0 most recently) and sisters and lots of coming-of-age novels, but this book smooshed them all together. In a fantastic way. With a bit of possible, secret governmental danger thrown-in.
What really makes Patrick's books so great, however, (and this is a repeat assertion from the other two reviews, I fear, as well) are the characters she creates. The characters and their relationships. The Originals characters feel very real. There's the sisterly relationship the girls have that, at times, feels like a regular relationship between three teenage sisters. Yet, there's the added layer of how they're living their lives and all that puts on them, individually as well as how they interact.
Then there's Lizzie and Sean. Really, I love that Cat Patrick writes some of my favorite YA romance and yet her novels aren't exactly YA romance. The romantic leads aren't just interacting with other characters on the periphery, with their scenes being the main story; their relationship is part of the whole story. We still get a very full relationship from them but as they interact, progress and, hopefully, grow a relationship in the midst of the full plot of the narrative, with all of the other characters a part of things, the result is more real and true feeling
This is a fantastic read and I'll be counting down the days until the author's next release.
After years of being raised as identical triplets, their mother not only moved them cross country but told them the truth: they were
Show More
genetic identicals: clones.In hiding from the governmental agency that wants to expose them for what they are, the Best girls are undercover as a single girl. To the outside world, the Best family is a single mother and her only daughter, Elizabeth Best. The girls each take a section of the day, a third. One covers part of school the second the rest and the third evening time. No one knows there are three girls.
It may not be ideal, but it's what the girls know. What keeps them safe.
Until Lizzie meets Sean Kelly, someone who seems to notice that she's different, without actually knowing that she is. The more time she spends around Sean, the more Lizzie begins to realize she isn't just a third of Elizabeth Best, that she's her own person. And to want her own life. But is it possible?
With The Originals my love affair with Cat Patrick and her writing is still in full swing. Forgotten, her debut, continues to be one of my favorite books with London Lane and Luke being two of my favorite characters, favorite relationship. Then Revived is all kinds of magnificent, too and I'm in love with it.
So, see The Originals had a lot to live up to . . . the awesomesauce thing? It totally did.
I feel strange repeating things from my reviews of Forgotten and Revived but it bares repeating so here you go: the premise of this novel is kind of brilliant and so unique. I've read books about clones (Mila 2.0 most recently) and sisters and lots of coming-of-age novels, but this book smooshed them all together. In a fantastic way. With a bit of possible, secret governmental danger thrown-in.
What really makes Patrick's books so great, however, (and this is a repeat assertion from the other two reviews, I fear, as well) are the characters she creates. The characters and their relationships. The Originals characters feel very real. There's the sisterly relationship the girls have that, at times, feels like a regular relationship between three teenage sisters. Yet, there's the added layer of how they're living their lives and all that puts on them, individually as well as how they interact.
Then there's Lizzie and Sean. Really, I love that Cat Patrick writes some of my favorite YA romance and yet her novels aren't exactly YA romance. The romantic leads aren't just interacting with other characters on the periphery, with their scenes being the main story; their relationship is part of the whole story. We still get a very full relationship from them but as they interact, progress and, hopefully, grow a relationship in the midst of the full plot of the narrative, with all of the other characters a part of things, the result is more real and true feeling
This is a fantastic read and I'll be counting down the days until the author's next release.
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LibraryThing member HeatherLINC
Cat Patrick is improving each time she writes a new book, and always manages to create an interesting, controversial premise. This book focuses on family, identity and illegal human cloning. LIzzie and her two 'sisters' each live only a third of a life, pretending to be one person and are
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controlled by their paranoid, scientist mother. The three girls are all strong, engaging characters with their own individual personalities, but I particularly liked Lizzie's voice, even though she became rather soppy around Sean, the male, love interest. However, I did like how Sean reacted when he was told the truth about the three girls. Even though I found the ending a bit unbelievable and slightly lacking, overall, this was an easy, enjoyable read. Show Less
Awards
South Dakota Teen Choice Book Awards (Nominee — 2015)
Language
Original publication date
2013-04-01