Deadly Design

April 1, 2015
When perfectionist, genetically modified teens start dying, surely slacker Kyle can't be next. Designed in the Genesis Innovations lab because of their parents' disease-carrying genes, Kyle, 16, and his older brother, Connor, nearly 18, are technically identical twins. Hoping to provide a relatively safe environment for both twins, Kyle's parents kept his embryo frozen for two years. Ever since, Kyle's always been in Connor's shadow-literally and figuratively. While Connor has been popular for his good looks, athleticism, and intelligence, Kyle has been the underachiever, excelling only at video games. But when Connor dies unexpectedly of a heart attack, just days before his 18th birthday, Kyle takes charge for the first time in this quick-paced thriller. He discovers that not only Connor, but other genetically superior teens, all created by the same mad scientist, have been dying at age 18. Soon Kyle's quest to understand Connor's death becomes a harrowing mission to subvert his own. As if contemplating life and death weren't hard enough, Kyle must also sort through his feelings for longtime pal Cami and the crush he's had on Connor's steady girlfriend. Kyle's present-tense narration ticks along, revealing both his thoughts and the unfolding events with workmanlike efficiency. Twists and turns keep readers guessing on all fronts. This engaging blend of science fiction and survival may well pique many interests. (Thriller. 14-18)

April 1, 2015

Gr 8 Up-Connor and Kyle McAdams's parents never knew their sons' DNA had been manipulated in vitro by a self-serving geneticist, until it was too late. When the athletic, intelligent, and popular Connor dies of heart failure on his 18th birthday, it is an inexplicable tragedy. Sixteen-year-old Kyle, who had always lived in his brother's shadow, launches a social media search for other teens conceived at the fertility clinic and unravels a horrifying experiment gone wrong, spelling doom for the other teens and for himself. It is a race against time for Kyle to find the missing Dr. Mueller, certain there will be something in the research that can halt the premature heart failures. This thriller is fast paced, as Kyle enlists his friends, including an ex-Marine computer hacker, to track down Dr. Mueller, or his alias. As Kyle mourns his brother and begins to fall in love with gal pal Cami, he blindly trusts seemingly helpful doctors and agrees to be frozen for a short time, to stave off death while the cure is being developed. Readers will become fond of the teen, who evolves from angsty to empathetic, but are in for a roller-coaster of twists and turns. Employing believable science, such as fertility genetics, with skeptical aspects of cryogenics and eugenics, the realistic tale dips its toe into science fiction and medical thriller genres. VERDICT An action-packed, page-turning thriller.-Vicki Reutter, State University of New York at Cortland

Copyright 2015 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

May 15, 2015
Grades 9-12 Genetically modified brothers Connor and Kyle are twinsalmost. Born from the same DNA, Kyle was kept behind in vitro in a lab for two years, making him always younger, always a bit behind. When Connor dies of a shocking heart attack on his eighteenth birthday, Kyle feels that everyone wishes it had been him. He also knows that he could be next. He searches out the doctor who modified his DNA, only to find that several other 18-year-old kids from the same lab have also died, and he is determined to get to the bottom of the mystery. When he finds there's more than just one doctor doing experiments, perhaps his life will be saved. But does he want it without his brother? Dockter gets the perspective of occasionally salty-tongued 16-year-old Kyle right: in the midst of all the turmoil, he still wants a girl, wants to play video games, and doesn't want to deal with his family. There's a lot here that will likely appeal to reluctant readers, and they'll be eager for more.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2015, American Library Association.)