about the book
Catelyn Benson knows her older sister Violet is not really her sister. Her real sister suffered a terrible illness and died when Cate was just twelve. Two hours after the funeral, her parents picked up a replacement. This Violet looks exactly like the real Violet, with the same smile, same mannerisms, same memories. By dinner time that day, she fitted in perfectly, even playing cards just like the real Violet. Everything is back to “normal”…except for the notoriety.
The year is 2055. The war has left the world a violent and disease-ridden place. The Violet replacement is a clone. The process of cloning is very controversial, and many groups think clones are dangerous, but Cate’s wealthy father is the city’s long-time mayor and a leader in the cloning movement. Cate’s parents decided both girls would be cloned at birth and their twins sheltered in a safe place, “just-in-case”.
Four years later, Cate and Violet have a close relationship, but all is not perfect. Cate still has to put up with snide remarks and open hostility. Though she stands up for her sister, she’s not too sure how she feels about cloning. Though the replacements are stronger and faster, something is not right with Violet. She is unpredictable and a little weird.
Then Samantha Voss, the most popular girl in school, is gruesomely murdered—and Violet disappears. Since she was the last person to see Sam alive, Violet becomes the prime suspect. Samantha’s uber-rich parents lead the anti-cloning outcry as the paparazzi swoop in and the uproar escalates. If Cate doesn’t find Violet first, someone just might terminate her sister!
Aided by her crush Jaxon and his best buddie Seth, Cate soon discovers the world is full of copies and lies. Nothing is as it seems. As she uncovers more and more about cloning, she gets too close to the CCA, a secret organization whose ulterior motives are deadly sinister. This could end very, very badly…
about the author
During her teen years, Stefanie Gaither painfully dabbled in poetry. She had notebooks full of bad poetry and the beginning pages of a few novels—none of which ever went anywhere. When she headed off to college, she wasn’t sure what she was going to do with the rest of her life. She changed her major six times before settling on English and creative writing.
While earning her bachelor’s degree, she managed a coffee shop near Charlotte, North Carolina, with her artist husband. They still live in the apartment behind the shop, which they now share with their new baby daughter and their spoiled Shih Tzu, Shakespeare. Someone else has transformed the coffee shop into a restaurant, leaving Stefanie with the old huge commercial espresso machine. Since she needs obscene amounts of coffee to fuel her writing, having the machine close by is a very good thing!
Her first book was terrible and agents rejected it. Her second book met with the same fate. Her third book received some nice comments but was ultimately rejected, too. Falls the Shadow is her fourth book. Stefanie, who had lost a family member and then gained a new stepfamily, wanted to write a book centered on family and loss. She decided to combine that theme with her love of sci-fi.
She sent her fourth manuscript out to just twenty agents, and several offered to represent her. She chose her favorite and, after a tough rewrite, an offer for publishing floated into her inbox! Now she is even busier writing more books about killer clones, spaceships, dragons, and magic-users. Her advice to newbie writers—first impressions count. Check out the cover on Falls the Shadow and the opening line of the book. The gal knows what she is talking about!
A couple of things about Stephanie: She can recite the entire Lord of the Rings first movie entirely from memory. She loves giraffes because they are so awkward and collects them in all shapes and forms—just not the real thing, of course! Her kitchen is just too crowded with that huge espresso maker!
Sources:
Author website
Author interview: One Four Kid Lit
Author interview: Query Tracker
Also by Stefanie Gaither:
Into the Abyss (Falls the Shadow, Book 2). Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers. August 2016.
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