DupliKate [Hardcover]

Cherry Cheva (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: September 29, 2009

To Do List:

• Ace SATs
  
• Ace finals
  
• Ace AP physics project
  
• Avoid murdering lab partner
  
• Submit Yale application
  
• Resolve possibly evil twin situation

Due date: December 15th
Countdown: 11 days

By the time Kate Larson accidentally fell asleep at three a.m., she'd already done more work in one night than the average high school senior does in a week. Getting into Yale has been her dream for years—and being generally overworked and totally under-rested is the price of admission. But when she opens her eyes the next day, she comes face-to-face with, well, her face—which is attached to her body, which is standing across the room. Wait, what?

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? After all, two Kates can do more work than one. Or will keeping her twin a secret turn her dream future into a living nightmare?

Editorial Reviews

From School Library Journal

Grade 8 Up—Katerina Larson is an overachieving high school senior whose only goal is to get into Yale, where her boyfriend is all but guaranteed a slot. So begins this light and funny novel. Cheva creates a believable character in Kate, who is trying hard to do what she thinks is right. When her double magically appears, zapped from a Simslike computer game, she actually can be two places at once. As Kate crams for tests and writes papers, she sends her double, Rina, out to hang with her friends and boyfriend. On top of dealing with her stressed-out, overscheduled life and her wild and carefree twin, Jake, her buddy from middle school, is now her physics partner, leaving her more confused than ever. Though this is lightweight territory, there is a strong message here about being true to yourself and balancing fun and work in your life. Teens faced with that ever-popular science-fiction reading assignment but who can't stand sci-fi will embrace this title. Cheva seamlessly combines contemporary realistic fiction with a twist and ends the tale with both Kate and Rina headed in the right direction. A quirky title with an appealing cover that features the real Kate and her digital doppelganger, this is sure to fly off the shelves.—Shari Fesko, Southfield Public Library, MI END

From Booklist

Kate Larson thought the SimuLife computer game was boring, so she quit playing and never looked back until the day Rina, her avatar, comes to life and demands equal time in the real world. Kate, busy juggling friends, a boyfriend, and the admissions packet for Yale, feels an extra pair of hands wouldn’t be such a bad thing, unless they get caught. Little does she realize that Rina has a mind—and definite plans—all her own. This fanciful scenario becomes eminently believable thanks to Cheva’s controlled pacing, recognizable characters, and manipulation of our ongoing cultural fear of machines taking over our lives. Moreover, she has a nimble touch when it comes to building suspense, and teens with overfull lives will embrace the idea of a digital alter ego picking up the slack, all the while watching for the betrayal they know is coming. Add a touch of romance and some witty ideas for a college admissions essay, and even readers who aren’t already computer geeks will find themselves looking at simulation games in a whole new light. Grades 7-10. --Cindy Welch

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Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 14 and up
  
• Hardcover: 256 pages
• Publisher: HarperTeen (September 29, 2009)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0061288543
• ISBN-13: 978-0061288548
• Product Dimensions: 8.3 x 5.8 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 12.6 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (18 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,911,794 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars fun AND funny!, October 25, 2009

By 

cKbear - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: DupliKate (Hardcover)

i've been eagerly awaiting duplikate's release since reading she's so money, cherry cheva's first book. it did not disappoint! as with she's so money, duplikate has a feel-good plot that leaves you smiling at the end. witty, with just the right touch of sarcasm, duplikate is fun to read and captures the complicated trials and tribulations of high school life.

snatch this up before amazon runs out of stock!

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Be careful how you treat your Sim..., November 27, 2009

By 

Deborah "Books, Movies and Chinese Food" (Fairfax, VA) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (TOP 500 REVIEWER)   

This review is from: DupliKate (Hardcover)

Reading this book made me realize several things. One, high school students have far too much pressure on them to get things done in order to get into a good college. This book brought back memories of my high school days when I was frantically trying to accomplish many tasks simultaneously to make my college portfolio stand out. Like Kate, I had to study for SATs, write college essays, do outstanding in my college classes, and only choose extracurricular activities that would make my application look worthy enough for the school I was applying too. Without having a clone, it's almost impossible to get everything done without stressing yourself or having a nervous breakdown. It's something that can be expected from adults in the workplace or even college students, but for teens to have to go through this, I think it's expecting too much. Yes, there is a time to learn how to handle responsibility and know how the real world is, but teens are too young to give up enjoying life to be stressed out physically and emotionally like this.

The second was, I need to go back to my Sims game and make sure my game self has plenty of stuff in their room to keep them happy! Rina has been living in a room with barely anything for the past 4 years because Kate got tired with the computer game and didn't think to stock her house! I found this hilarious because there have been many times I've played the Sims and depending on my mood, I've either maxed out my Sim's house to give them the comfiest pad possible or I've been bored and had them living in a bare bones house. I could not imagine with it would be like if one of them came to life like Rina did in this story. The little thing about how Rina devoured every book, just like a Sim were hilarious.

The storyline was extremely well done as we see Kate having to balance her life between her studies, her relationships and then now with Rina. I loved how Rina just got shoved back into the closet at the end of the day or when she had to hide. Something else that was also a really nice touch was having an Asian American character NOT be the stereotypical perfect student who always gets good grades. The only thing I would have changed would be more interaction with Rina and Kate. As it stands, I felt it was a little abrupt at the ending, and thought it would have been more interesting to see how the two would have interacted after everything they had been through died down. It seemed at first that there would be a possibility that Rina was trying to take over Kate's life and then send back Kate to the computer world but that storyline never really took shape.

Other than this, I really enjoyed this story. Even though there's the fantasy aspect to it, I think it's something a lot of teens will relate to, both the scholars and the gamers. I found the book hilariously funny and that's also due to the fact that the author is a writer for Family Guy, one of my favorite shows. I'll be looking to reading more books from her and in the meantime, off to make sure my Sims are happy!

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars a trip to the spa for the brain, December 19, 2009

By 

C. Ree "ree" (california) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: DupliKate (Hardcover)

a good read that leaves you feeling smiley and ahh at the end, refreshed and ready to go. get it, save it for a lazy sunday or when you're in a funk. the humor is smart, and you cant go wrong with all the high school drama! love it!