I've always been fascinated by genetics. Ever since Dolly the Sheep was cloned in the 1990s, I wondered if it was possible for it to have a soul, was it a carbon copy, did it know it had a twin? Move on to when I studied biology and then psychology. My brother became a genetic scientist, and we have both always been fascinated by the possibilities. Although the human genome project has been declared complete, there is still much we donāt know about genetics, let alone what we may harness from the animals around us. Although I'm excited to find out, I'm also fearful of how these modifications may be used.
The Undying Tower brings a new flavour of sci-fi dystopian. Not only do we have an apocalyptic world-building itself from the ashes, but the world might not be as rudimentary as it first looks. In a landscape where a percentage of the population never ages, it presents interesting and unique challenges to those who do and those who do not. The blend of futuristic genetic modification, as well as dealing with mental health in the unique aspect of synesthesia, makes for a compelling and heart-felt read.
The first in a daring dystopian trilogy, The Undying Tower descends into the dark side of immortality and champions fighting for what's right, especially when the world is against you.
What if living forever was a death sentence?
Decades after the discovery that a small percentage of the population has stopped ageing, the Avalonia Zone is in crisis. From overpopulation to food shortages, the 'Undying' have been blamed for the state's problems, banished to the fringes of society, and punished for every minor infraction.
When sixteen-year-old Sadie takes the fall for an attack by a rebel group, The Alchemists, sheā¦
A compelling post-apocalyptic world is described by a teen who thinks she has all the answers. Striving to be accepted to The Academy, the book focuses on her preparation of material for her exam, which covers a history of the earth and why things need to be different. As the book progresses, we start to understand just how different things are, and the terrifying potential of humans being replaced by something else, something better, something future. Identity and how we define ourselves is one of many excellent themes of this book.
The island Republic has emerged from a ruined world. Its citizens are safe but not free. Until a man named Adam Forde rescues a girl from the sea. Fourteen-year-old Anax thinks she knows her history. She'd better. She's sat facing three Examiners and her five-hour examination has just begun. The subject is close to her heart: Adam Forde, her long-dead hero. In a series of startling twists, Anax discovers new things about Adam and her people that question everything she holds sacred. But why is the Academy allowing her to open up the enigma at its heart? Bernard Beckett hasā¦
In a world ravaged by an inexplicable plague, society lies in ruins. Amidst the desolation, a lone survivor perseveres in a secluded state park along the Delaware Coast. Over a year has passed since she lost everything, yet as the sanctuary sheās carved for herself begins to crumble, she mustā¦
This is an oldie, but a goodie. I think this was one of the first books that introduced me into the idea of genetic modification and what might be possible if we could harness DNA from the environment around us. One of the most popular powers to choose in my own book is wings, and when people fill out the questionnaire on my website, thatās what they want. This book brings together the romance of the ability to fly, the love of a found family, and the pace of a thriller with high stakes to lose. One of my favorite books of all time, one I can re-read again and again.
The Gone series is exceptional. Over seven books long but never does it lose its pace or become boring. The idea of nuclear power in combination with alien DNA to produce foreign DNA in humans where many develop subsequent powers is always one thatās fascinated me. What I like about Grantās series, is these powers arenāt always used for good. Some of them are terrifying, unique, and formidable in the wrong hands. We never know which side might win, and there are so many stakes, itās dangerous to get attached to any one character.
3
authors picked
Gone
as one of their favorite books, and they share
why you should read it.
This book is for kids age
12,
13,
14, and
15.
What is this book about?
Welcome to the FAYZ! The first book in the bestselling cult YA thriller series GONE that Stephen King calls a 'driving, torrential narrative'.
In the blink of an eye all the adults disappear in a small town in southern California and no one knows why.
Cut off from the outside world, those that are left are trapped, and there's no help on the way. Sam Temple and his friends must do all they can to survive. Chaos rules the streets. Gangs begin to form. Sides are chosen - strong or weak. Cruel or humane.
Trapped in her enormous, devout Catholic family in 1963, Annie creates a hilarious campaign of lies when the pope dies and their family friend, Cardinal Stefanucci, is unexpectedly on the shortlist to be elected the first American pope.
Driven to elevate her family to the holiest of holy rollers inā¦
This book has only just come out, and I couldnāt resist gobbling it up when I saw the similarities between it and my own The Unadjusteds. Green Rising adds the focus of environmental concerns, and what might happen in the future when people develop unique abilities that can harness nature and plants. This book combines my passions for the environment and mental health, with Jamesā fabulous style and voice. Based in a near future, some of the circumstances cut close to the bone and make me wonder what our future may hold.
Set in a near-future world on the brink of ecological catastrophe, Lauren James's novel is a gripping, witty and romantic call to arms.
Gabrielle is a climate-change activist who shoots to fame when she becomes the first teenager to display a supernatural ability to grow plants from her skin. Hester is the millionaire daughter of an oil tycoon and the face of the family business. Theo comes from a long line of fishermen, but his parents are struggling to make ends meet.
On the face of it, the three have very little in common. Yet when Hester and Theo joinā¦
Sixteen-year-old Silver Melody lives in a world where 80% of the population has modified their DNA. When the president declares all unadjusteds must take a nanite, Silver has no choice but to flee the city with her father to prevent the extinction of the unadjusteds. Battling anxiety and panic attacks seem to be Silverās worse obstacle while she is on the run, until her father is captured, and she comes face to face with a hellhound. Silver must band together with an unlikely group of friends and discover the secrets of her own genetic code.
Roman mythology stampedes into the present as the Gods of Elysium wake up after two thousand years sleeping from a spell gone wrong. Hell breaks loose on Earth as demons from Hades wreck havoc in a war against the mortals that threatens to start a war between the Gods themselves.ā¦
Liberty Bell and the Last American
by
James Stoddard,
Americans love their Constitution. In seventeen-year-old Liberty Bellās era it has become a myth. Centuries after the Great Blackout obliterates the world's digitized information, America's history is forgotten. Only confused legends remain, written in "The Americana," a book depicting a golden age where famous Americans from different eras existed together.ā¦