itibaren Nijampur, Maharashtra 444806, Hindistan
Right off the bat, I'm completely obsessed with this cover. You can't really see it online, but it has these faux-water marks on it that are really pretty. Unfortunately, the cover was the best part. The premise is brilliant of course, but it's really confusing. At first, I thought it was kind of old-fashioned, but then one of the MC's little brother (who is 14...I think?) gets in a car and starts driving. I was really confused. And there's a "mainland." And America. And the two are different places. Which begs the question of "where is the island of Thisby?" But, of course, that's a question you're supposed to ask, and it has no answer. There's a brief mention of the Atlantic ocean, though. Okay, premise is good. Delivery is slightly confusing. Next plot point: Characters. There's Kate Connolly, also known as Puck for absolutely no reason. If you know me at all, you know that I'm in love with a certain Puck from a certain Iron King. So every time it switched to Puck's POV I was kind of...thrown off. Puck really annoyed me. She's a redhead, so naturally she's a spitfire. Because there's absolutely no such thing as a calm redhead. And the same is true about every firebrand needing to have a head of orange hair. Because us brunettes can't be spunky. And Puck's not just spirited. She's rude. I don't see her as a feminist, as a kick-butt type of protagonist, I see her as a nasty little girl who doesn't care who she's insulting. The other annoying character who I'm not supposed to hate: Gabe, Puck's older brother. He doesn't have any motivation until halfway through the book, and I spent most of the time hating him for being selfish. I felt this way partially because he had almost zero page time until the end, which really bothered me. On a brighter side, there's Sean Kendrick. Because you have to say his full name like that. Not just Sean. He's Sean Kendrick. Sean Kendrick is kind of awesome. He's independent, hard, and he is what he is because he worked for it, not because he got lucky. And, a bonus: he's not particularly handsome. A bigger bonus: No dark, angsty past. He's a "man of few words" but he doesn't brood the entire book. He knows what he wants and he goes after it. Sean Kendrick's friend is an American named George Holly, a racer who wears white sneakers and red flat cap. He's a pretty average character, but at the same time he's very 3D and well-rounded. He is one of the only people Sean Kendrick will have decent conversations with, and Kendrick really shines next to him. The other person Sean Kendrick will actually talk to is the aforementioned Puck. Why? Because he likes her. Why? I don't know. They have absolutely zero chemistry. I could, of course, deal with the characters if Maggie had pulled through in the writing department. But, compared to the WOLVES OF MERCY FALLS, the writing was meh. It was better-than-average, but I expected more. Was I disappointed? Yes. Majorly. Do I still recommend it? I don't know. I think so. I wanted to love it, and if I didn't have such high expectations I would have. I didn't think it was Maggie's best book yet. You know what? Yes. I recommend it. Maybe borrow your copy, I don't know. It deserves a chance.
This book was quite informative where gene therapy is concerned. It was difficult to determine where the author took liberties in terms of the medical science. I found myself researching the topic once I was done with the book. The first third or so of the book reveals different story lines for seemingly unrelated characters, which of course all cross paths in the end.