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Oxford University Press Children's Books has bought a "high-concept" thriller for teens by Australian writer Jack Heath.
Commissioning editor Clare Whitston bought world rights in Replica from Stephanie Thwaites at Curtis Brown.
Replica tells the story of teenage girl Chloe, who wakes up one day to find all her memories have been wiped, and that now there is another, unknown girl who looks and sounds exactly like her.
Whitston said: "Replica has the most incredible opening chapter and from that stunning moment onwards, the pace is relentlessly thrilling. Not only does the story have some heart-stopping plot twists, but Chloe is the most amazing character – a machine who is more than the sum of her parts."
Heath said he admired OUP for throwing its weight behind the story, saying it was "pretty unusual". He said: "It's easy to generate enthusiasm for a clone of something which is already successful but it takes real guts to try something new."