The Copycat

Written by Wendy McLeod MacKnight

Narrated by Reba Buhr

“A fun and fast-paced romp.” —School Library Journal

Ali has always acted like a copycat to make friends, but when she unexpectedly inherits the ability to change her appearance at will, fitting in seems impossible! Luckily, with the help of her family, new friends, and a touch of magic, Ali might just survive middle school after all.

Ali and her parents have moved at least once a year for as long as Ali can remember. She’s attended six different schools, lived in dozens of apartments, and never really felt at home anywhere.

But Ali’s parents say living in Saint John, New Brunswick, will be different. They’ve moved in with Ali’s great-grandmother?a lively ninety-nine-year-old with a quirky old house and room for all of them. Ali wants to believe it will be their last move, but everything seems too perfect to be true.

To Ali’s surprise, things are different this time, but not in the way she’d hoped. She's inherited the Sloane family power?the ability to change her appearance into any living thing. Ali is a Copycat. Literally. And being the new kid at school is hard enough without worrying about turning into your teacher. Luckily, Ali’s new friends are eager to help. But as Ali soon learns, being a Copycat is no substitute for being yourself.

The Copycat is a magical middle grade read for fans of Diana Wynne Jones, by the author of The Frame-Up.

• Language: English
• Publisher: HarperCollins
• Release date: Mar 10, 2020
• ISBN: 9780062994004

Wendy McLeod MacKnight

Wendy Mcleod MacKnight lives in Fredericton, New Brunswick, Canada, and wrote her debut novel at age nine. During her first career, she worked for the government of New Brunswick as the deputy minister of education, among other positions. She has been known to wander art galleries and have spirited conversations with the paintings—mostly in her head, though sometimes not. She hopes that readers will be inspired to create their own masterpieces and visit their own local art galleries. And even better, she hopes they’ll come to Fredericton, visit the Beaverbrook Art Gallery, and meet Mona and the rest of the characters in her book.

Reviews for The Copycat

[enid007 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

I've said this before because it's true I am not a book reviewer or critic, hell I am not great at writing this stuff but listen when I tell you this book had me biting my nails and yelling at it like wtf! I am not even exaggerating. This is the kind of thrillers I love, the psychological craziness of it and suspense of it drives me so deep into it. I admit there are some points I'm like okay come on now this is so predictable but the why and the execution to where it goes absolutely brilliant. I love it and I don't care who disagrees. Definitely a book I will keep on my shelves and reread over and over again.

[skgregory · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Sarah finds a fake Facebook account online in her name, with pictures of her children on it. It is only the beginning of the mystery as she is targeted by a stalker determined to drive her mad. this was an interesting read and it kept me guessing.

[deborahjade · Rating: 2 out of 5 stars]

An ok read. I worked out who was behind it pretty early on. Very psychological with the victim being quite predictable.

[boudicca123 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Keep a close eye on your Facebook account, something Sarah should have done, because it was too late by the time she discovered the second profile with identical pictures and details. Ben, lawyer and Sarah, dr, plus three children are living the dream until sinister things start happening. Despite realising who it was from the start I still loved this story. Sarah’s bewilderment as she tries to convince people “it wasn’t me” and trying to work out who it was and Ben struggling to believe her with so much evidence to the contrary was gripping. The lengths some people will go to get what they want is remarkable! A follow up would work well with this book.

[maggie1961-1 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

How do you know if you are going crazy? Do you know? Sarah has a stalker. And not just any old stalker. This one knows her every move, even made a Facebook Account in her name, complete with family photos. When an old friend tells her about a second Facebook account in her name, Sarah isn’t initially alarmed. Sure it’s disturbing, but probably is one of her friends playing a joke. But this is no joke. It seems Sarah’s daily activities are showing up on the fraudulent account. A few days later, it disappears from Facebook. But it’s not over. Strange things are happening and little by little, her husband Ben thinks it’s all done by her as a cry for help; that she is deeply disturbed and having a mental breakdown. Sarah soon starts to question her own sanity. Did she do these things? Is she is a different state of mind and is doing things without being aware? She’s positive none of it was her, or was it?As the reader I felt Sarah’s frustration and indignation while Ben tries to convince her that she’s losing her mind. It seems no matter what she did, he couldn’t understand. I wanted to like Ben, I could understand that he went with what made sense and everything was pointing in a certain direction. But sometimes he was such an ass. I can’t imagine the sense of invasion Sarah felt; that every move she made was watched and her husband not being supportive would be shattering. After reading the first chapter, and then into the book, it seems like there is no correlation. I knew that the events in the first chapter were important, but I didn’t know why and anxiously waited for that part to make sense. I definitely did not have it figured out and was surprised at the twist. I loved this book. Solid 4 1/2 for me. It’s one of those “just after this chapter I will go to sleep” but you don’t. I was up until very late reading, it was so engrossing, I didn’t want to put it down. Normally I never read the same author back to back, but after this gem, I think “after Anna” will be my next selection. Copycat was my first of Alex lake’s but definitely not my last.

[bibliobeck · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

A creepy start had me hooked from the start. Sarah Havenant is happy with life - lovely British husband, 3 gorgeous children and a successful career as a doctor. Then she receives a friend request on Facebook from an old school friend who is moving back to the area. The only thing is, her friend has asked which account Sarah is using - the one Sarah knows about or the 'other' account for Sarah. Reeling from the information, Sarah finds the second account and there for all to see are pictures of her children, her husband, herself, At first Sarah turns to her husband and her best friend for support, but as parcels start arriving at the house ordered from Sarah's account and letters in Sarah's handwriting, it becomes harder to believe that Sarah doesn't have something to do with this herself. Her husband urges her to seek help, to have counselling and Sarah starts to doubt her own sanity. A gripping read that may make you think again about the information you share on social media.