I love it when spec fic is set in a non-fantasy, non-future setting, and that’s what happens in More Of Me. Everything is completely bizarre, but set against a completely normal backdrop. Like, it’s awful when Katniss Everdeen has to fight loads of other kids to the death, but it doesn’t seem weird as such, because the rest of the world is screwed up too. The normality of everything else made Teva’s situation seem all the more outrageous, but it never felt unbelievable.
Outwardly, Teva’s life seems normal - school, best friend, boyfriend. But she’s hiding a secret: at home life eleven other Tevas. Every year, she separates into two, leaving the old Teva behind, stuck in the house with all the others. But this year is different - Teva is determined that it’s not going to happen again.
One of the things I liked most about it was that it’s UKYA. Nothing against US fiction at all, but I’m British, so I guess I’m always going to find it easier to connect with UKYA than with than USYA. Walking to school in the drizzle. School uniforms. Hanging out at the park. A Levels.
I thought Teva was an okay character, but she was a bit self-absorbed and she needed to kick Ollie to the curb in about the first two chapters. Spoiler alert - she didn’t. I was not a fan of Ollie, but I could see why Fifteen still loved him so much. I guess the point was that Teva had matured and left Ollie behind, whereas he and Fifteen were still on the same wavelength.
The other Tevas (all numbered for ease of reference!) were a really interesting cast of characters. Fifteen needed a good slap, but I could see why she was permanently pissed off. I think I probably would have been too, in her situation. For the record, Teva’s mum needed a slap as well. Imprisoning your children and pulling guilt-trip tears isn’t cool.
There are bits where the pace of the book slows down quite a lot - I could have handled hearing less about the fashion show - but I really enjoyed the writing style and that kept me reading.
This was a really interesting, original book and I’m really glad I picked it up. Deffo recommended.
4 stars