Late in the next century, the human race is on the verge of extinction. A mysterious virus has resulted in no births in almost a generation. Despite the impending doom, three urban teenagers try to live their lives with hope. Mia strives to preserve humanity’s compassion through her art and her volunteer work with Mrs. C and the other “oldies.” Tech-savvy Xian spends her time tinkering with the robots she’s sure will inherit the Earth. Jesse, the son of geneticists, is convinced the future lies with cloning, but society is reeling from the grotesque failures of previous attempts. When the friends stumble upon the 60-year-old mystery of a missing girl, it leads them back to Mrs. C, who, it turns out, is the world’s only successful clone — and the key to saving our species.
- ISBN: 9781554512843
- Author: Smyth, Fiona
- Published: 2011 , Annick Press, Limited
- Themes: extinction, Hope, Mystery, Survival
- Descriptors: Americas, Canada, Graphic Novel, Intermediate (ages 9-14)
- No. of pages: 256
In this graphic novel, Xian, Mia and Jesse discover a deserted underground lab that may hold the key to unlocking the secret to preserve the human race. But can they uncover the mysteries surrounding the lab and piece together the clues in time? Smyth expertly weaves text and illustrations together to create an engaging mystery for readers to solve. She shares just enough clues throughout the novel to keep readers guessing to the very end. Personally, graphic novels are a challenge for me because I tend to focus on the text more so than the illustrations. I also struggle with knowing with the directionality of the storyline especially when the illustrations are not presented in linear graphic frames! My solution is to read, read, read more graphic novels! I’m sure the target audience for this novel (9-14 yr olds) will have no problem navigating this novel. They seem to be “graphic natives” when it comes to this story format!