Popular Clone (review)

Despite the assurances from the adults in his life that things will eventually get better at school, twelve-year-old Fisher Bas is weary of his role as bully bait, and with his considerable I.Q. and his unfettered access to the science labs of his Nobel Prize-winning mother, he's prepared to do something about it. Using Mom's research into the Accelerated Growth Hormone (AGH), Fisher manages to create an exact duplicate of himself in just one weekend and sends his doppelgänger (dubbed Two) to endure the torments of middle school come Monday morning. Two, however, has a very non-Fisher-like quality of making trouble, and his bad-boy sensibilities not only win over Fisher's classmates but also unfortunately attract the attention of the mysterious Dr. X, one of Fisher's mother's fiercest rivals. When Two is "clone-napped" by Dr. X's henchmen, it is up to Fisher (and his flying pig) to shed the lab coat, tap into his inner hero, and save the day. Endearingly awkward and eminently likable (despite what his classmates might think), Fisher is a protagonist to root for, and his ultimate triumph over both the bullies and Dr. X offers a pleasing bit of wish fulfillment to any kid who has ever dreaded the beginning of the school week. Gadget geeks will thrill at the wildly imaginative inventions that populate the Bas household, including a talking toaster (with a British accent), a table that sets itself, and a helpful watch that provides both dating tips and breath mints. The ethical dilemmas of cloning are largely avoided to favor a more light-hearted approach, and readers will likely end up fantasizing about what they could get away with if only they too had a Two.