Cloning Miranda

Clone #1

by Carol Matas

Miranda has it all: beauty, brains, talent, perfect health. Then when day her vision gets a little blurry - and the doctor tells her it's the first symptom of a fatal disease. Her parents are prepared to fight for her life with everything they have: wealth, connections, determination. Miranda won't lose her life, or her sight. Instead, she'll begin to see things about her parents - about her life - that surprise her. Shock her. Scare her. Save her.

Genres: Young Adult, Science Fiction, Childrens, Fiction, School, Teen, Middle Grade

144 pages, Paperback

First published April 1, 1999

Reviews

[kirsten · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5/5

This was one of my favourite books when I was a kid. I can actually remember ordering it from the Scholastic book order (do they still do those? Or have I seriously dated myself?). I ended up loaning my copy to a friend and well...I never got it back and then any hope of getting it back was gone because we went to different schools and then sadly drifted apart. So when I found this in the children's section of a used bookstore I HAD to buy it.

For a children's book, this book is incredibly deep and deals with some very heavy issues. Issues of right and wrong. Issues of the morality of science. Questioning who we are and what makes us who/what we are. Sure, this book is predictable, the title itself is a HUGE spoiler because yes it turns out Miranda is actually a clone. I think this book would be a lot more suspenseful if it had a different title.

The narrator's voice is a bit stilted, and while her fears are realistic it's at times a bit hard to relate to her because she's too perfect (even if yes that's how she was made to be which is dealt with at the end of the book). She's kind of a boring heroine and it's her situation that is more interesting than her herself.


This was a fun quick read, and a nice walk down memory lane. I know I still have the second book somewhere I may have to dig it out, and then see if I can find the third one (which I didn't even know existed until now) somewhere.

[Filippa Gil · Rating 5 out of 5]

sååå kul att läsa igen så 10 år senare, lowkey som att läsa en lite halvdålig fanfiction men den får en femma för nostalgin:)

[Katie · Rating 4 out of 5]

An interesting book about how a girl gets sick and when her parents have to transplant her liver, she realizes that she has a clone. It's one of those books that when u look at the cover, you think cheesy horror novel, but you will actually be surprised that when you start reading it, you will like it and realize that it's not some cheesy book, but actually a very un-cheesy novel that ends up being gripping and entertaining.

[Juliette Poulin · Rating 1 out of 5]

Absolument horrible

[Cogito_ergo_sum · Rating 3 out of 5]

Cloning Miranda contains a great plot (some might say adventurous), and the character goes through a life changing emotional ordeal. The revolving themes in this book pertain to ethics in the scientific community (mostly, and from what I can remember). In terms of character development, I wouldn't say that it was a significant change(speaking from memory).

I admit, I did read the book thoroughly when I was 12, but from what I remember of how I felt about it, I really liked it. I do remember the plot vaguely, because in gr.12 I had to choose a book and write an article about it from a biological perspective on the story for Biology class. I didn't have any time to read through any of the thicker books to refresh my memory, so I chose this one for it being a quick read. Therefore, making it easier for me to skim through the story for fictitious biological facts. My point is that, aside from the research I did to analyze how realistic this story might be in reality, I only remember the general plot (from when I was skimming). Other aspects of this book, that one would analyze for a literature essay, I remember vaguely. This makes my review partially incomplete and flawed.

I would recommend this book for preteens and not older readers. I would also have rated it 4 stars if I was my 12 year self when I read this book.

[Annie ~ Queer Books Unbound · Rating 1 out of 5]

Ich denke das ist eines der wenigen Bücher von denen ich abraten würde sie zu lesen. Allein der Titel "Buch" ist für das Ding ein Witz. Gerade mal 100 Seiten kann man nicht als Buch beschreiben.
Durch das "Buch" ist hindurchgehetzt. Man bekommt keinen Einblick in die Gefühle von Miranda.. eine richtige Story ist nicht zu finden. Ich habe am Anfang auch nicht viel erwartet.. alleine dadurch, weil wir es in der Schule lesen mussten und bei 100 Seiten kann ich nicht an ein buch denken, welches mich von den Socken hauen wird.
An sich könnte man so viel aus der Story rausholen.. wenn man einfach nochmal 300 Seiten dazuschreibt um die Story auszuschmücken und eben mehr auf Miranda einzugehen.
Das war sein Geld absolut nicht wert. Und ich rate wirklich vom kauf ab!

[lia · Rating 3 out of 5]

It’s kinda weird,because the story don’t make sense, but yeah I like it.

[Chance Hansen · Rating 3 out of 5]

And the worst parent award goes to Miranda's parents.
I think this book is a solid three star book. I didn't think it was mind blowing but I didn't think it was just fine ether. It's a solid story.
COVER
I thought the cover was a little unusual having a face cutout like that on the book until just now. I JUST realized that the background is a continuation of the face just as a negative image and that is just really cool! The back has the same image but completely done in negative. I personally like the added touch.
Story
I just love how bad her parents are at lying and when the doctor drugged Miranda I couldn't stop laughing.* (I'm not sadistic it's just what he said had me going.)
*Doctor comes in "Your having a bad dream!" He exclaims then drugs her. (I read that and I was like "Yeah sure. Like even Miranda will buy that!" I have to admit I was really impressed with how far they took it though.) This book could have gone way down into the rabbit hole of creepiness and it could have easily gone there but it didn't. I really like it for that.
I declared right at Chapter 2 on, this might be the book where the main character just might actually die at the end. (I didn't know and forgot they actually made two other Clone books.)
This book

[Nina · Rating 4 out of 5]

I did actually really like this mid grade book, it was a super gripping and quick read and you good a quite good insight into the characters. Unfortunately the title reveals a lot already and you get to guess the ending very easily. The conversations didn’t feel that natural but stiff. Since the book is really short it also felt a little rushed but I still prefer short books and think it was solid.
All in all I think it‘s a great book for it‘s audience and I did enjoy every chapter. I especially liked the friendship of Miranda and Emma.

[Josefin · Rating 5 out of 5]

WOW! Det kanske var en barnbok men jag blev helt golvad. Eller jag HADE blivit om inte boktiteln spoilar allt. Man ska sitta som på nålar för att lista ut vad Miranda kommer fram till i slutet av boken. Det ska inte vara TITELN! Suck. Men den får en femma ändå för den var så himla bra. Jag fyller inte i att det är spoilers här. För det är titeln, inte jag, som står för spoilern. Det är en tunn bok och man förstår genast att det kommer vara en lång resa mot vad titeln egentligen innebär.

[Sonja Kgr · Rating 5 out of 5]

It's a work of genius and I loved reading it!!! The inner conflict, all those lies, the topic of cloning and how good it is to have a friend is just so overwhelmingly good in this book, I finished it in no time!!

[Fanny Sonnenschein · Rating 3 out of 5]

Cela m'a fait penser sous quelques aspects à la série stranger things et au livre plus récemment lu, Klara and the Sun . Malheureusement le titre dévoile la plupart de l'intrigue...c'est dommage car en soi c'est un petit roman sympathique. Utilisable en classe de seconde ou première.

[ExlibrisAlex]

So this is what my brother has to read for English class in German 10th grade... Not sure what to think.

[holly · Rating 1 out of 5]

Read a shorter version in school and after two chapters you knew what the end was going to be like

[Lucie · Rating 2 out of 5]

The Story is weird and doesn't make any sense

[Melyssa Beaulieu · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book was actually insane but I think about it once a week

[Sarah Burns · Rating 3 out of 5]

I read these books about 20 years ago and loved them! Reliving the nostalgia of some of my childhood favourites through ebooks is so much fun. A good, quick read with an interesting storyline!

[RM · Rating 3 out of 5]

Read this as a kid, and enjoyed it enough that I still remember reading it all these years later. It was an interesting premise, with some fun mysteries & twists

[giz ♠️ · Rating 2 out of 5]

2.5, not a must read

[Anne · Rating 3 out of 5]

When privileged and wealthy teenager, Miranda, is suddenly stricken with a life threatening but poorly explained disease, her parents are on the case right away assuring her that it will all be taken care of and that she has no need to worry. This is when Miranda makes some shocking discoveries about herself and how she came to be. Suddenly, Miranda is part of a brave new universe when she finds out that she is actually the clone of her parents' first child, and that they have also created another "child" to provide spare parts to Miranda should she ever become ill. From this point, the tension mounts when Miranda has to decide the meaning of her own truth and to find answers to much deeper ethical questions of nature vs nurture. Matas then takes the reader into an arch evil scientist mystery involving a trio of clones and the dangers they encounter. This is where the book really falls down. "Who Am I?" is a reworking together of three previous SF works by Matas, and truthfully the "new" plot lacks credence and sure footed narrative. It borders on the preposterous at times, because of so many twists and turns and the reader figuring out who is impersonating who. and why.

[PurplyCookie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Miranda has it all: beauty, brains, talent, perfect health. Then one day her vision gets a little blurry--and the doctor tells her it's the first symptom of a fatal genetic disease.

Her parents are prepared to fight for her life with everything they have: wealth, connections, determination. But how far would they actually go to keep their perfect daughter?

Miranda didn't lose her life or her sight, instead she'll begin to see things about her parents--in fact, about her entire life--that will shock her to the core. A great mix of sci-fi fantasy aimed at teens. My only complaint was the shortness of it; it would've been able to develop into a stronger novel given the deepening of the characters' personalities.


Book Details:

Title Cloning Miranda
Author Carol Matas
Reviewed By Purplycookie

[Matthew Lloyd · Rating 4 out of 5]

I'm clearly well out of the target demographic for Cloning Miranda, so the fact that I enjoyed it quite a lot might not actually be that much of an indication. While it starts a little slowly, as the plot is revealed it becomes an engaging narrative about what it means to be human. Miranda and her best friend, Emma, are great characters, and their discussions and investigations are delightful. The book has a sense of humour which doesn't quite come across until the last third or so, but it is rather funny in a true and intentional way.

[Insomnia · Rating 2 out of 5]

2.5 stars

Because this wasn't too long (86 pages) it wasn't too unpleasant to read. But still the solution feels a little ridiculous. Why would someone let anyone perform surgery on him to look like 10 years ago just to look less suspicious if he's having a ten year old child at the age of 55?

I like the message that your fate is not destined and you can choose yourself what you do (but the character 'Emma' said, she adapted the speech from a Stark Trek episode).
It was an o.k.-read.

[Samina Sultana · Rating 4 out of 5]

A thrilling book with long kept secrets. Miranda is a normal girl who becomes ill and eventually finds out she may not be human but a clone of her parents' creation and she isn't the first, or the last.
This book was a great read. I definitely recommend it. There is mystery and the plot kept me guessing the truth for a bit.

[Shruthi · Rating 2 out of 5]

Well that was something. I literally just finished it and I was able to complete it in less than half an hour...
So predictable. Maybe it's the use of a spoilery title but I already knew what was happening a few pages into the book. It also felt way too rushed and was quite frankly boring.

2.5/5- would not recommend

[Itja · Rating 4 out of 5]

Entah mengapa saya sangat suka novel ini. Dalam terjemahan Bahasa Indonesia novel ini berjudul "MIRANDA Jangan Ambil Nyawaku". Ceritanya nggak jauh beda dengan film "The Island" yang bercerita tentang cloning manusia.

[Jessie · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really liked this one. I read through it very quickly.

[Dinand · Rating 3 out of 5]

ingin tahu..

[Rachel]

Reads quite juvenile. Her narration is stilted and too formal. The way she referred to her parents was odd

[Brit · Rating 5 out of 5]

I read this book several times when I was growing up. A really great sci-fi for young girls.