Beta by Rachel Cohn

In a world constructed to absolute perfection, imperfection is difficult to understand—and impossible to hide.

Elysia is a clone, created in a laboratory, born as a sixteen year old girl, an empty vessel with no life experience to draw from. She is a Beta, an experimental model of teenaged clone. She was replicated from another teenage girl, who had to die in order for Elysia to be created.

Elysia's purpose is to serve the inhabitants of Demesne, an island paradise for the wealthiest people on earth. Everything about Demesne is bioengineered for perfection. Even the air there induces a strange, euphoric high that only the island's workers—soulless clones like Elysia—are immune to.

At first, Elysia's new life on this island paradise is idyllic and pampered. But she soon sees that Demesne's human residents, the most privileged people in the world who should want for nothing, yearn. And, she comes to realize that beneath its flawless exterior, there is an undercurrent of discontent amongst Demesne's worker clones. She knows she is soulless and cannot feel and should not care—so why are overpowering sensations clouding Elysia's mind?

If anyone discovers that Elysia isn't the unfeeling clone she must pretend to be, she will suffer a fate too terrible to imagine. When Elysia's one chance at happiness is ripped away from her with breathtaking cruelty, emotions she's always had but never understood are unleashed. As rage, terror, and desire threaten to overwhelm her, Elysia must find the will to survive.

Goodreads Summary

What if you were told that you had no soul and were instructed to always serve your owners? Elysia emerged as a sixteen-year-old girl on Demesne, an island that was created for relaxation and perfection. Demesne is staffed by clones that exist to serve their human masters. Initially, Elysia enjoys her life as a slave, but she slowly comes to realize that there is something wrong with her. Elysia experiences sensations she should not and thinks thoughts that she should not. As time passes, Elysia begins to wonder how her human masters can be unhappy on a perfect island, and is the island really as perfect as everyone wants to believe?
Seeing the world through Elysia’s eyes is interesting, she is a blank slate with no previous experience. Elysia slowly learns about herself and the world around her. I felt so bad for her because she is living in such corruption. Cohn did a great job with this novel and I hope to read more of her work. Teen girls will love this book along with most female readers.

5 Stars

*Reviewed by Kristin*


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