As of right now, I believe the most impressive feat of Farmer's writing is her uncanny ability to create depth within her characters by using subtle hints in the text. As an author, one cannot simply state what a character's personality is supposed to be like, (So not, "Matteo was determined to succeed in his schoolwork to try and renounce his status as a 'filthy clone' and prove himself," but (and this quote is from page 91) something like this: "It wasn't long before Matt added musical ability to his growing list of accomplishments. He could read ten years beyond his level, do math that left even Tam Lin bewildered - and irritated - and speak both English and Spanish fluently. He threw himself into studying everything that came before him. Matt could name the planets, the brightest stars, and all the constellations. He memorized the names of countries, their capitals, and chief exports.") but instead hint at their personality through suggestive text. For example, nearly every character hates Matt, despite his intelligence and musical ability, because they're are unable to look beyond the fact that he is a clone. Unfortunately, this seems to be a habit reminiscent of events such as the Holocaust and black slavery (the underground railroad), just to name a few. In all these cases of genocide, prejudice, and unjust treatment, the victims were perceived differently due to characteristics that either they couldn't control or they shouldn't have had to give up; hence, clones. Anyway, people don't like clones, therefore they don't like Matt, which is sad because he's… awesome.
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