by T. Gail Pritchard, The University of Arizona
Perhaps one of the more scientific/medical controversies of the last few decades involves genetic modification, whether it is through altering an organism’s own DNA, adding new DNA, or cloning. In the following novels, the characters find themselves facing personal and societal consequences, while readers are left questioning their own assumptions about boundaries, scientific research, medical application, and how they define being human.
Adaptation (2012)
Malinda Lo
Little, Brown and Company
Adaptation and the sequel, Inheritance, is a twist on tinkering with DNA, exploring political implications of genetic modification. Teenagers Reese and David are in a car accident as they return home from an out-of-state high school debate tournament. They wake up in a government facility where they are told little about the accident, their recovery, and why they feel “different.” In this duology, award-winning writer Malinda Lo, introduces readers to transgenics—the blending of DNA from two species. Reese’s and David’s DNA has been “upgraded,” but by whom and for what purpose? The mysterious Amber reveals the truth and makes them an offer they don’t refuse.
The Adoration of Jenna Fox (2008)
Mary E. Pearson
Henry Holt and Company
“Where does it lie? In a face? A voice? A bundled string of events we call a lifetime? Is it in our DNA, bone, flesh, ancestry? How do we define our identity, and is it a once and for all definition?”(http://www.marypearson.com/the-adoration-of-jenna-fox.html) Jenna Fox awakes from a coma after a year. She cannot remember the accident causing the coma; she cannot remember her family; she cannot remember anything about herself; she can remember entire works of literature and encyclopedic facts. The world is dominated by the Federal Science Ethics Boards (FSEB) that regulates scientific medical application, particularly the use of antibiotics, cloning and “bio gel.” Each person is allotted a maximum of 100 points to be applied for transplants and brains can be no more than 49% biodigitally enhanced. The Adoration of Jenna Fox is the first of a trilogy that follows Jenna as she recovers her memory, realizes the risk her parents took in saving her life, and discovers she is literally not the same person she was before the accident. This series explores one of the many issues raised in the field of genetic modification, the “unintended personal, social, and cultural consequences” (http://www.actionbioscience.org/biotechnology/glenn.html).
Altered (2013)
Jennifer Rush
Little, Brown and Company
In this fast-paced, first-in-a-series thriller, debut novel, Rush tells the stories of 5 teenagers on the run from the Branch—a secret governmental agency experimenting with genetic modifications, for purposes we do not know. When the story opens, we meet 17 year old Anna whose father is spearheading one of the Branch’s projects, monitoring four genetically altered boys who are kept hidden in Anna’s basement. Four years earlier, Anna had discovered the hidden boys and although her father now allows her to assist him, he has not told her why the boys were altered. She knows they have been altered for strength, she knows their aging process has been slowed, she knows each one is unique, she knows each has amnesia as a result of the alterations, but she does not know what the Branch has planned for them. When the Branch shows up at the lab to take the boys, they manage to escape—taking Anna with them. What follows is the slow recovery of their memories, the unveiling of the mysterious Branch, and secrets about Anna’s past are uncovered. Rush’s series investigates the risks involved with genetic modifications from crossing ethical boundaries to who has access to this kind of scientific/medical technology to the means justifies the end.
Beta (2012)
Rachel Cohn
Hyperion
Elysia is a Beta–the first generation of teenage clones, built as an experiment until babies and children can be manufactured. Cloned from a 16 year old who had died, she was created to serve the wealthy of an exclusive bioengineered island called Demesne. As the novel opens, Elysia is purchased by a “fancy lady,” Mrs. Bratton, to be her companion. Elysia is programmed for logic, not emotion; but as the novel unfolds, she becomes self-aware. She questions the purpose of Demesne, its inhabitants, and the treatment of clones. In the second novel of the series, Emergent, Elysia takes action against the injustices and discovers her First is still alive. This series pushes readers to consider the ethics of technology, including the concept of free will, discrimination, and abuse.
The Originals (2013)
Cat Patrick
Little, Brown and Company
In this novel, Patrick writes about identical triplets who are more than meets the eye. Ella, Betsy, and Lizzie Best, thought they were triplets. Then, in the middle of the night when they were 9 years old, their “mother” awakens them and tells them to pack a bag, leaving everything behind. Their mother, the scientist who created them, reveals they are actually clones—the result of a wealthy couple’s desire for their deceased infant daughter and illegal scientific research. When she discovered the couple’s intent to keep the “best” one and have the other two destroyed, she devised a plan to safely hide the girls. As the story opens, the girls are approaching their 17th birthday, have tired of the secrets, have developed individual identities, and are determined to put a stop to their mother’s control of their lives. The Originals explores what it means to be “normal,” particularly normal teenagers. Although the characters only marginally examine whether or not this kind of research should be limited, the storyline provides readers ample opportunity to ask their own questions regarding the ethics of genetic modification research and application.
Additional Reads:
Eve & Adam (2012)
Michael Grant and Katherine Applegate
Macmillan
Tabula Rasa (2014)
Kristen Lippert-Martin
Egmont
Tankborn (2011)
Karen Sandler
Lee & Low Books
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- Themes: T. Gail Pritchard
- Descriptors: Books & Resources, WOW Currents