Despite the cliche portions, IE the intire cloning bit of conceptualism, it's a damn well fine book. I hated the ending, to be honest, but it hopefully shouldn't ruin it's predecessing chapters.
By the way, depite culminating all of her countless intellect and limitless skill into this novel here, Nancy Farmer's following books are shit. Namely the Sea of Trolls. Pure, unrelenting, undeniable, shit.
~Fenris Etheral