More of Me

This debut novel is both unusual and ambitious, tackling a number of contemporary issues in unexpected ways. Teva appears to be an ordinary 16-year-old girl, with a great talent for Art, Ollie, an irresistible boyfriend and Maddy, a best friend on whom she can utterly rely. However, she also has an enormous and unpalatable secret – once a year she divides and the old Teva is, necessarily, cast aside to make way for the new and must watch the latest version take over her life, friends and ambitions while she remains a prisoner in her own home – unable to leave, unable to pursue an independence in any way. This has now happened eleven times and Teva is determined that she is not going to be the twelfth stay-at-home clone with nothing but a shell of an existence.

The futuristic overtones of this story are the least believable part, as the reason for this deathly cycle is a long-absent father who manipulated the genes of the first child by adding an aphid gene then incubating the child inside its mother’s womb. As the aphid element of the child’s DNA matures it bursts out of the host body, leaving it intact but unable to rejoin the outside world, since the presence of a double could not be explained. The subject matter is of contemporary relevance, however, and the ingenuity of the story lies in the way it uses such a strangely gripping structure to explore issues of interest to young adults: sibling jealousy; personal freedom; a fear of being viewed as different; a desire not to be exploited.

Teva’s intense internal dialogue is beautifully handled and vividly conveys to the reader the increasing sense of alienation, desperation and panic which she feels as the time for her destructive transformation draws closer. Evans neatly avoids the trap of the happy ending – although there are solutions and resolutions, there is no sense that these are simply easy fixes.