Jessica Chiarella

I received an advance copy in exchange for an honest review.

In my normal course of fiction reading, I almost never read sci-fi. But this was no ordinary sci-fi novel. I wouldn't really even categorize it as sci-fi. It was very cerebral and incredibly thought-provoking. I really enjoyed it.

"And Again" focuses on four characters - Connie, David, Hannah, and Linda - who were selected for the SUBlife pilot program, in which their terminally ill bodies are replaced with genetically perfect ones. show more Each chapter in the book is told from the viewpoint of one of the characters. It was really eye-opening to see that what started out as a fairly straightforward scientific experiment turns out to be just as complicated as the human mind.

The book really makes you think: Is your body just a functional part of you, completely separate from your mind? So what happens if you replace your body? Are you still the same person because you still have the same mind?

Well-written, with very good character development and set at a comfortable pace, "And Again" is an impressive debut novel. show less

I listened to this one on audio and the four separate narrators really helped to distinguish the characters in my mind. Connie, David, Hannah, and Linda have been selected for the SUBlife pilot program, in which each person's memories now reside in a newly-minted, cloned replica of themselves. They are physically unblemished and perfect, without freckles, wrinkles, scars or unwanted weight. But what about mentally? Are they still the person they once were? How closely is who we are tied to show more our physical body? Yes, you could say this is science fiction, but more importantly it is morally exciting. It made me laugh and cry and frown. Not very many books can claim that. A very intriguing debut novel, thought-provoking with clever twists and turns--I couldn't put it down! Recommended. show less

I recieved an ARC via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

Four people with serious health problems are given the opportunity to transfer their brain cells to a perfect clone of their body. There are no freckles, no scars, no horrible pains from their previous body. For one year they must allow doctors to study their bodies and control their medical decisions. They must also meet with one another in a support group, where they find their physical identities have left them, their bodies show more are not used to their old skills, their relationships feel unnatural. Given this chance to live life again, it isn't as perfect a chance as they once thought.

Oh my goodness! This book! I wasn't sure what to expect, but this bit of genius was not it. The four characters, Hannah, David, Linda, and Connie, have left behind their previously dying bodies in exchange for new, limber bodies. While their brains have moved with them, they feel disconnected from this body they are now in. What they think will be a chance to live their life once again becomes a chance to just re-live. Their previous habits haven't died, though their bodily skills have. While Hannah cannot pick up a paint brush like she once could, David finds himself still cheating on his wife and desiring cigarettes. I mostly appreciated the lives of Linda and Connie, how different their lives became after the exchange. I wanted so badly to hold onto Linda as she fought with wanting the simplicity of her old life, one one for no and two for yes. I wanted Connie to break the cycle, to see that beauty wasn't all that should have defined her life. I so loved how Jessica Chiarella tackled the subject of cloning and giving four people new chances at life without a handbook. The questions, the stumbles, and the adjustment to the body and life were written so well. It made me think a lot; how do you go from being ill for so long, relying on those around you, planning your own death, to having life handed back to you, in a perfect form?

"...and tell her see, see, look at me, and how much I have seen, and I still am no wiser than you, little girl."

While I didn't agree with several of the characters, I ended up falling in love and rooting for them. I really appreciated the pace of the book until a little over halfway through, it sped up and I felt like I lost the characters. Their lives became simple, instead of the complex way it had started. I do like that they are lost a lot, only to find a new path, a new way to live, and new thoughts once they evaluated their life from this new perspective.

While the genre is science fiction, I feel this is more a character study, a look at a person's own self worth. There are four characters and their lives do cross paths, but you read from their alternating POV's and take a look into their lives individually. There is very little talk about cloning, outside of FDA approval, but a lot of discussion on personal perspective. There are a slew of emotions found in this book and you will find yourself feeling alongside the character. I found And Again, and all the questions it poses, so fascinating and very well written. I would definitely recommend this book to just about anyone. show less

Four terminally ill patients are chosen by lottery (more or less) to participate in a secret medical research project: They are cloned and surgery is done to transfer their memories and personality to their new bodies. They are given new bodies and sent back to pick up the pieces of their former lives. The four patients are very different from each other: A tattooed and wildly talented painter who was stricken with an aggressive form of lung cancer; a Chinese-American woman who has spent the show more past eight years in a waking coma, paralyzed from the nose down and unable to speak; a beautiful soap-opera actress who picked up a drug-resistant strain of AIDS from injecting heroin; and a slimy Republican politician with an inoperable brain tumor. They have nothing in common but the mode of their saving, and they each deal with the stresses of being "born again" in different ways. Author Chiarella does a great job making us understand and empathize with each character, and even though she shifts the viewpoint among the four of them it is never confusing or hard to follow. I found it impossible not to try to imagine how I would react to being in their shoes, and it wasn't an entirely comfortable thing to do. I'm glad I read it, and I expect I'll be thinking about it for a while. show less