Saturday Review: Duplikate

This book was provided by 1 ARC Tours :D

Duplikate by Cherry Cheva

Getting into Yale has been Kate Larson’s dream for years—and being overworked and under-rested is the price of admission. But when she opens her eyes after falling asleep on her keyboard one night, she comes face-to-face with, well, herself.

Meet Kate’s computer-generated twin. Kate doesn’t know why she’s here or how to put her back where she belongs, but she’s real. And she’s the last thing Kate has time to deal with right now. Unless. . .could having a double be the answer to Kate’s prayers.

Duplikate was a pretty fun and interesting read. It was light and humorous, a perfect book for summer. It truly depicts the stresses of Senior Year. Although it doesn't seem so at first, the novel is really about enjoying the present, and not getting so focused on a goal that you forget why it was your goal to begin with.

Hardworking is an understatement in describing Kate Larson. She was focused and stressed to the point of mania. I found a paradox in reading about Kate because, while I found the character flat, I truly identified with her. Kate is so focused on one goal for most of the novel that I really didn't feel like she developed a personality until the last quarter of the book. Also, though she seemed to be a very serious, focused, and conservative character, some of her thoughts and conversations don't quite fit those descriptions. However, I found her very relatable. I feel like she was dealing with the same sort of stresses I'm dealing with, trying to get into a good college, and, overall, I think Cheva really nailed the mindset of a classic overachiever.

Rina was a fun character to read about, with her preppy personality and body glitter. I couldn't help but to find her naive, excited nature endearing. I also liked that she wasn't exactly what I expected. Reading the synopsis, I thought someone exactly like Kate was going to pop up and automatically start helping out. However, Rina was quite the opposite of Kate in many ways, and Kate was truly reluctant to let her help. The only thing I disliked about Rina's character in the novel is that, at one point, she seemed to do an abrupt 180 personality-wise that didn't enhance the book.

I really liked Jake. I feel like there was this wonderful guy lurking around the whole book that we didn't get to see enough of. He's the tough-on-the-outside, gooey-on-the-inside guy that you just want to hug.

Paul was adorable and supportive, but I found him flat. I feel like he was more of an obstacle to cause struggle in the novel than an actual character.

Overall this was a light, fun read that I would recommend for a day when you're busy loafing. It carried a really great message about prioritizing and reflecting on life, while still being humorous. (The author writes for family guy!! :D)

Plot: 7/10
Readability: 8/10
Character Development: 6/10
Ending: 7/10
Writing: 7/10

Tashi <3