Many thanks to NetGalley and Farrar, Straus & Giroux for gifting me a digital ARC of this intriguing book by Sara Flannery Murphy - 4 stars!
In 1971, Dr Bellanger "created" the first baby born without male DNA when Girl One, Josephine, was born at a remote commune called "The Homestead." Nine girls in total were created that were perfect clones of their mothers. But when a fire hit The Homestead and Dr Bellanger and one of the Girls died, his research died with him and all members spread out to live their own lives. In 1994, Josephine is now in medical school in Chicago, trying to follow in her father's footsteps and recreate his research. Then, there is another suspicious fire that destroys Josephine's mother's home and her mother, Margaret, is now missing. With the held of a journalist, Josephine sets out on a cross-country mission to find her long-lost "sisters" and mother.
This is a well-crafted science fiction thriller with lots of interesting topics - cloning, control, sexism. I loved that it was set in interesting time periods - in the 1970s when test-tube babies were first conceived and then in the 1990s, before cellphones, which always makes these types of thrillers more interesting. I really enjoyed the "sisterhood" that developed and the relationships between the mothers and daughters. I felt it was a little slow in the first half but I was fully invested in the second half and couldn't put it down!
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