by Katie Dale
Summary:
Rosie watched her mother die of Huntington's disease. She was her caregiver in the months that preceded it, keeping it a secret from friends. When she decides to get tested for the disease herself, because there's a 50% chance she's inherited it, she finds out that her mother was not really her mother. When Rosie decides to track down her real birth parents she finds that the truth is not always the easiest thing to find. She must decide whether the truth is worth destroying another's life, even if it has the power to save it too.
Review:
Huntington's disease is an absolutely terrible disease. For those at risk, the decision to be tested is one of the most difficult ones of their lives. It dictates everything they do, deciding life choices, whether to have children, to go to school. Rosie's story is heartbreaking, but she's a strong character who does not just whine and complain about her problems. It's a marvelous book about family and the power of moving on.
Genre: Realistic Fiction
Age Level: 9th Grade
Showing posts with label Genetics. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Genetics. Show all posts
Thursday, August 22, 2013
Tuesday, June 25, 2013
The Originals
by Cat Patrick
Summary:
Lizzie, Ella, and Betsy thought they were identical triplets. But when they discover that they are actually clones of another girl, more of their life starts to make sense. Like the fact that they divide the day into thirds, and all share one life in public as "Elizabeth." They've never questioned it, trusting their mother and her plan to keep them safe. But then the girls start to fall for boys, and not the same ones, and the careful divided life they've lived starts to break apart around them.
Review:
This is not a book that debates the merits or demerits of cloning, but instead looks at the process only as far as if affects the three girls. They are three individuals who are not different than anyone else, but they share the same genetic makeup. It is an interesting commentary on how even in someone with the same makeup different traits become more noticeable. The book is interesting and definitely believable. It has a little romance, thrill, and science fiction wrapped into a quick summer read.
Genre: Science Fiction
Age Level: 7th Grade
Summary:
Lizzie, Ella, and Betsy thought they were identical triplets. But when they discover that they are actually clones of another girl, more of their life starts to make sense. Like the fact that they divide the day into thirds, and all share one life in public as "Elizabeth." They've never questioned it, trusting their mother and her plan to keep them safe. But then the girls start to fall for boys, and not the same ones, and the careful divided life they've lived starts to break apart around them.
Review:
This is not a book that debates the merits or demerits of cloning, but instead looks at the process only as far as if affects the three girls. They are three individuals who are not different than anyone else, but they share the same genetic makeup. It is an interesting commentary on how even in someone with the same makeup different traits become more noticeable. The book is interesting and definitely believable. It has a little romance, thrill, and science fiction wrapped into a quick summer read.
Genre: Science Fiction
Age Level: 7th Grade
Friday, July 27, 2012
The Adoration of Jenna Fox
by Mary Pearson
Summary:
Jenna has survived a terrible accident, by all accounts she should have been dead. After being in a coma for over a year, she is working to regain a semi-normal life in a small beachside town across the country from where she grew up. But as she tries to put the pieces together about what happened not just to cause the car accident, but also to her and her friends afterward, she realizes that all is not what it seems. In a world where biotechnical advances have allowed people new leases on life, Jenna is left to figure out just what makes a person a person.
Review:
While the plot was fairly easy to guess, Pearson's book raises a lot of interesting questions about bioengineering and its consequences. I thought that Jenna's struggles on whether or not her parents saving her was a good or bad thing to be quite poignant. They could only save a portion of her brain, so was she even really a person? Or was she a machine masquerading as a person? She didn't want to die, but didn't want to live if she was less than real. The premise reminded me of Eva, another book where parents overstepped societal rules and norms to save their daughter from death. It's a fantastic book that sticks with you.
Genre: Futuristic Fiction
Age Level: 8-9th Grade
Summary:
Jenna has survived a terrible accident, by all accounts she should have been dead. After being in a coma for over a year, she is working to regain a semi-normal life in a small beachside town across the country from where she grew up. But as she tries to put the pieces together about what happened not just to cause the car accident, but also to her and her friends afterward, she realizes that all is not what it seems. In a world where biotechnical advances have allowed people new leases on life, Jenna is left to figure out just what makes a person a person.
Review:
While the plot was fairly easy to guess, Pearson's book raises a lot of interesting questions about bioengineering and its consequences. I thought that Jenna's struggles on whether or not her parents saving her was a good or bad thing to be quite poignant. They could only save a portion of her brain, so was she even really a person? Or was she a machine masquerading as a person? She didn't want to die, but didn't want to live if she was less than real. The premise reminded me of Eva, another book where parents overstepped societal rules and norms to save their daughter from death. It's a fantastic book that sticks with you.
Genre: Futuristic Fiction
Age Level: 8-9th Grade
Thursday, July 5, 2012
Double Helix
by Nancy Werlin
Summary:
No secret ever really stays a secret. It doesn't matter how hard you try, in the end, especially if it's a big one, it's going to come out. When Eli starts work for world renown scientist Dr. Wyatt, he is warned by his father to stay far away from him. Suspicious and confused by his father's pronouncement, given with no explanation, Eli begins to investigate further into Dr. Wyatt's experiments. But what he finds may be more personal than he could ever imagine.
Review:
Double Helix is about the dangers of genetic engineering. The book deftly brings up the very sensitive topic about the moral complexities of genetic modification. Is it right to destroy a potential life because you ultimately know it is going to die of a terrible disease or is it better to only allow the healthy to survive? Eli's mother dies of Huntington's Disease in the beginning of the novel, fueling the debate brought up in the book. It is a well written novel with engaging characters which older tweens will like. It's got a bit of conspiracy, a love story, and is overall very though provoking.
Genre: Realistic Fiction
Age Level: 9th Grade
Summary:
No secret ever really stays a secret. It doesn't matter how hard you try, in the end, especially if it's a big one, it's going to come out. When Eli starts work for world renown scientist Dr. Wyatt, he is warned by his father to stay far away from him. Suspicious and confused by his father's pronouncement, given with no explanation, Eli begins to investigate further into Dr. Wyatt's experiments. But what he finds may be more personal than he could ever imagine.
Review:
Double Helix is about the dangers of genetic engineering. The book deftly brings up the very sensitive topic about the moral complexities of genetic modification. Is it right to destroy a potential life because you ultimately know it is going to die of a terrible disease or is it better to only allow the healthy to survive? Eli's mother dies of Huntington's Disease in the beginning of the novel, fueling the debate brought up in the book. It is a well written novel with engaging characters which older tweens will like. It's got a bit of conspiracy, a love story, and is overall very though provoking.
Genre: Realistic Fiction
Age Level: 9th Grade
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