Marilyn Kaye facts for kids

Marilyn Kaye (born July 19, 1949) is an American writer for children and young adults. She taught children's literature at St. John's University in New York. Marilyn Kaye has written over 100 novels. Her most famous book series are Replica and Gifted.

About Marilyn Kaye

Marilyn Kaye was born in 1949 in New Britain, Connecticut. She spent most of her childhood in Atlanta, Georgia. She also lived in Montgomery, Alabama and Ann Arbor, Michigan for short times. As a child, she loved to write and kept a diary.

Marilyn Kaye taught children's literature for over twenty years. She started publishing her books in 1984. She sometimes used the pen name Shannon Blair. Her Replica series became very popular around the world.

The Replica Series

The Replica series is a science fiction story for young people. It's about a teenage girl named Amy Candler. She finds out she is one of thirteen cloned girls. These clones were made with special powers.

Amy was created in a secret government project called Project Crescent. One of the scientists, who had a change of heart, kidnapped and adopted her. Throughout the series, Amy tries to live a normal life. But a mysterious group called "The Organisation" wants to use her and the other clones. They want to create a super-powered race and take over the world. Amy also tries to help the other clones. She meets many other kids with special genes or supernatural abilities.

This series is very popular and has been sold in many countries. Parts of the series have been translated into languages like Finnish, Polish, and German.

Replica Books

There are twenty-four books in the original Replica series. They were published between 1998 and 2002. A separate group of three books, called a trilogy, was also published in 2002. These books are about the same characters.

• 1. Amy, Number 7: Amy is writing about her life for school. She starts to wonder about her "father," who supposedly died before she was born. She also notices her body is suddenly stronger and she heals faster. She is shocked to learn she is one of thirteen clones. Her "mother" was part of the secret government project that created them.

• 2. Pursuing Amy: Amy tries to keep her true identity a secret from her friends. This is hard when her mother's new boyfriend works for the group trying to find her. She eventually tells Eric, her best friend's brother, about her powers. Amy also sees another clone for the first time.

• 3. Another Amy: Another clone comes to Amy's school to film a movie. This clone is upset when Amy says they are clones. Amy soon realizes this clone is very different from her – she is mean. Amy also starts dating Eric.

• 4. Perfect Girls: Amy thinks she has won a dream trip to New York. But she soon finds out it's a trick to capture her and seven other clones for tests. Amy escapes, but no one believes her story.

• 5. Secret Clique: A group of popular girls seem to get special powers. Amy starts to investigate, which confuses her best friend Tasha and boyfriend Eric.

• 6. And The Two Shall Meet: Amy meets a boy named Andy at a wilderness camp and likes him right away. When someone dies in a strange accident, Andy says he saw it happen. He convinces Amy to run away with him. But Amy gets suspicious. She discovers that Andy is another clone, made to be her perfect match.

• 7. The Best of the Best: Eric is asked to show a new student around. This student is Adrian Peele, a smart but annoying eight-year-old. Amy feels something is wrong. She is surprised to find out that Adrian runs a genetics company.

• 8. Mystery Mother: Amy has always felt loved by her mother, even though they are not related by blood. But then a woman claims to be Amy's birth mother. She says Nancy kidnapped Amy. Amy starts to wonder if she really is a clone.

• 9. The series continues with more adventures...: When a doctor comes for a blood sample, Tasha thinks something bad is happening.

• 10. Ice Cold: Amy fears her secret will be told to everyone. Her enemy, Jeanine, finds out Amy is a clone and tries to blackmail her. But Jeanine ends up in a coma, and Amy becomes the main suspect.

• 11. Lucky Thirteen: Amy meets Aly, another clone who was not chosen for the project because she had no special abilities. Aly encourages Amy to misbehave. But Aly's wish to be as perfect as Amy gets her into trouble. Amy has to stop seeing her.

• 12. In Search of Andy: On a trip to Paris, Amy is surprised to see Andy. He is her "perfect match" who disappeared last summer. She wants to find Andy, but she thinks he might be leading her into a trap.

• 13. The Substitute: Amy is in danger after her mysterious helper, Mr. Devon, dies. Amy thinks the new, strict teacher, Ms. Heartshorn, is there to kidnap her. But the truth is not what she expected.

• 14. The Beginning: A trip to Washington DC, where Project Crescent started, makes Amy nervous. Meanwhile, Amy's mother remembers how the project began. She remembers losing her brother to a genetic problem and the betrayal that puts Amy in danger now.

• 15. Transformation: Tasha and Amy's other classmates start acting like zombies. Amy thinks they are being controlled by a new TV show called Cherry Lane.

• 16. Happy Birthday, Dear Amy: The night before Amy's thirteenth birthday, she suddenly ages into her twenties. She runs away from the hospital where she is being treated. She finds herself at a very unusual homeless shelter.

• 17. Missing Pieces: Amy gets suspicious when her classmates start losing their best abilities. A runner loses his speed, and a basketball player forgets how to throw. Meanwhile, Eric is in High School and has less time for Amy. This makes her interested in a new boy, Chris.

• 18. Return of the Perfect Girls: Amy thinks she is going on a romantic cruise with her new boyfriend Chris. But she is kidnapped by The Organisation and taken to a desert island. There, she must compete with the other Amys and Andys in a competition like the TV show Survivor. Those who are voted off face danger.

• 19. Dreamcrusher: After being hit by lightning, Amy gets an unwanted ability. She can read minds and see the future.

• 20. Like Father, Like Son: Chris's father, who has been absent, returns and asks for a bone marrow transplant. Amy suspects that Chris and many of her other classmates are clones. She thinks they were made to be organ donors for rich people.

• 21. Virtual Amy: Andy mysteriously disappears after giving Amy a warning. Amy becomes worried about a new virtual reality computer game.

• 22. All About Andy: Andy investigates the truth about his past and his family.

• 23. War of the Clones: A newspaper prints a story about human clones creating a super-powered race. Amy and Andy start to uncover the truth about Project Crescent and The Organisation.

• 24. Amy, On Her Own: Amy's crescent birthmark fades. She and the other clones start having new physical problems. They fear their special genes are getting weaker. Amy tries to deal with the idea that she might have to live a normal life.

The Plague Trilogy: This is a short series about Amy fighting a deadly sickness that could destroy the world.

• 1. Rewind: Amy travels back in time to stop the sickness from starting.
• 2. Play: Amy travels inside a human body to fight the sickness from within.
• 3. Fast Forward: Amy is revealed to be a clone and is rejected. She travels to a world where everyone is a clone like her.

The Gifted Series

Gifted is another series by Marilyn Kaye. It's about a small group of students at Meadowbrook Middle School. Each student has a different supernatural ability, or "Gift." They all attend a special class to learn how to use their powers. Not many people outside the class know about their gifts.

Their teacher, Madame, encourages the students to work together. This is especially important because a group wants to control their abilities to make money. However, the students often don't like their powers or each other. They are often unwilling to team up.

The first book came out in February 2009. The series has six books. Each book usually focuses on a different student.

Gifted Characters

• Amanda Beeson: Amanda is a popular girl who can be unkind. She tries to avoid feeling what others feel. When she does, she uncontrollably takes over their body for a while. When she possesses someone, the person "blacks out." A "fake" Amanda with no feelings takes her place. Her classmates think she uses her power on purpose to be mean. But she usually tries to avoid it. As the series goes on, she tries to help the class, but they often ignore her. She has a crush on Ken.

• Jenna Kelley: Jenna is a telepathic girl with a Goth style. She often gets into trouble. Her father disappeared years ago. In Better Late than Never, Jenna learns he has passed away. At first, she is annoyed by her classmates. But she becomes friends with Tracey and Emily as the series continues.

• Emily Sanders: Emily is known for daydreaming. This is actually because she has almost constant visions of the future. Her ability is hard to control, and her visions are difficult to understand. They often seem meaningless until after the event happens. She feels bad for not warning her father when she saw his death in a car accident.

• Ken Preston: Ken is a popular and athletic student. He stopped playing sports after an accident killed his best friend. Ken can contact the dead with his mind. But he gets annoyed by their constant requests for help. He can't help them without revealing his ability and seeming strange.

• Tracey Devon: Tracey is a shy girl who feels ignored. Her parents pay more attention to her seven younger siblings. Her feelings of invisibility cause her to become invisible. As she gains more confidence, she gets more control over this power. Amanda possesses Tracey for a long time in Out of Sight, Out of Mind. This leads to Tracey getting a new look and a change in her life, which helps her become more confident. Tracey is friends with Jenna.

• Charles Temple: Charles is a boy in a wheelchair. He is telekinetic, meaning he can move things with his mind. But he only uses his powers for his own benefit.

• Sarah Miller: Sarah is a kind and friendly girl. She has the ability to control what others do. She is very afraid of her power and only uses it when she absolutely has to.

• Martin Cooper: Martin is a boy who is often picked on. He becomes supernaturally strong when he gets angry.

• Carter Street: Carter is a mute boy who has lost his memory. He was found wandering on Carter Street.

Gifted Books

1. Out of Sight, Out of Mind: Amanda finds herself stuck in Tracey's body. Her own body is taken over by a clone. She decides to help improve Tracey's life, ending her years of feeling invisible. Meanwhile, the Gifted class fights off a TA who tries to hypnotise Emily to predict the lottery.

2. Better Late Than Never: Jenna, who has started to become friends with Tracey, is surprised when her "father" suddenly reappears. She doesn't realize this man is pretending to be him. He wants her ability to win at poker. Meanwhile, Amanda possesses Ken and starts a friendship with a boy who has passed away.

3. Here Today, Gone Tomorrow: Emily is worried by visions that her classmates are disappearing. Soon, many of them are taken and forced to rob a bank. But the remaining classmates work together to rescue them in time.

4. Finders Keepers: Ken tries to help his friend Jack, who has passed away, look after his girlfriend. He also tries to keep his ability a secret. This happens after he attends a seance where a boy asks for help finding his dead father's winning lottery ticket. Meanwhile, Amanda possesses a woman who is trying to steal the boy's money. This helps her uncover a plan against the class.

5. Now You See Me: Tracey investigates her feeling that there is a spy in the class. This is especially true after Jenna is wrongly accused of a crime and sent away. Meanwhile, Amanda volunteers in the school office. She wants to find out if the principal is involved in the secret plan.

6. Speak No Evil: Carter is at Harmony House and talks with Dr. Paley. It is revealed that Carter has a gift: he can change his shape. Meanwhile, in the gifted class, Madame tries to get everyone to think of good ways to use their gifts. Ken and Amanda don't see the point and think about losing their gifts. Dr. Paley might have the answer.