- Hardcover: 256 pages
- Publisher: Dial Books Young Rdrs (Mar 22 2004)
- Language: English
- ISBN-10: 0803726066
- ISBN-13: 978-0803726062
- Product Dimensions: 21.6 x 14.3 x 2.3 cm
- Shipping Weight: 408 g
- Average Customer Review: 4.8 out of 5 stars See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
- Amazon Bestsellers Rank: #1,979,852 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
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Product Details |
Product Description
From School Library Journal
Grade 8 Up--Eighteen-year-old Eli Samuels, whose once-vibrant mother is losing her long battle with the ravages of Huntington's disease, is hired at the Wyatt Transgenics Lab. Eli's father is dead set against the job because of a secret he harbors concerning the lab's owner, Dr. Quincy Wyatt, and Eli's mother. Shortly after starting work, the teen meets Kayla Matheson, a beautiful girl who eerily reminds him of a photo of his mother when she was young. Slowly, Eli uncovers one layer after another of the shocking truth about Dr. Wyatt's genetic-engineering experiments and their connection to his parents, Kayla, and himself. With the support of his longtime girlfriend and soul mate, he confronts Dr. Wyatt in a taut climax to the story. Werlin clearly and dramatically raises fundamental bioethical issues for teens to ponder. She also creates a riveting story with sharply etched characters and complex relationships that will stick with readers long after the book is closed. An essential purchase for YA collections.--Jack Forman, Mesa College Library, San Diego
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
From Booklist
*Starred Review* Gr. 9-12. With Killer's Cousin (1998), Black Mirror (2001), and now this exciting book to her credit, Werlin has proved herself to be one of the best youth thriller writers working today. Her plotting here is a little creaky, as it has been in past books, but she is a master at building suspense and creating the sort of clever manipulations that keep readers eagerly turning the pages. This time, Werlin delivers more than just a solid thriller-cum-growing-up story. She offers a thoughtful consideration of genetic engineering and takes a stand, but not at the expense of an intriguing mystery. Eli Samuels, 18, can't get close--not to his caring but preoccupied dad; not to his smart, generous girlfriend, Viv; and certainly not to his mother, who has been institutionalized for years with a devastating midlife degenerative disease, the gene for which Eli may carry. Confused, heartsick, unable to get the answers he seeks from Dad, and needing time to think about his life, Eli decides to forgo college and, despite his father's unexpectedly vehement disapproval, takes a job at Wyatt Transgenetics, where he receives a surprisingly warm welcome from world-renowned geneticist Dr. Quincy Wyatt. What's all that about? Readers will be as intrigued as Eli, who discovers more than he ever bargained for. A solidly crafted, thoughtful novel featuring a clever, obsessed kid who finds truths, small and large, about life, family, and, of course, himself. Stephanie Zvirin
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved
Inside This Book
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First Sentence
IT WAS ALMOST IMPOSSIBLE for me to sit still-but I had to. Read the first page
Front Cover | Copyright | Excerpt | Back Cover
IT WAS ALMOST IMPOSSIBLE for me to sit still-but I had to. Read the first page
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Concordance
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Front Cover | Copyright | Excerpt | Back Cover
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Customer Reviews
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Most helpful customer reviews
5.0 out of 5 stars
Courtesy of Teens Read Too,
By TeensReadToo "Eat. Drink. Read. Be Merrier." (All Over the US & Canada) - See all my reviews
This review is from: Double Helix (Paperback)
After recently reading and reviewing Nancy Werlin's THE RULES OF SURVIVAL, I went in search of some of her other books. I discovered DOUBLE HELIX, and it didn't disappoint me.Eli Samuels, salutatorian of his graduating class, has decided to postpone college for a year. His father is not pleased. But Eli is struggling to decide just exactly where he is headed in life. Complicating matters are his relationship with his girlfriend and his mother's illness, Huntington's disease. Eli and his father have been struggling with Ava's illness for many years, but the end is near. She is confined to a nursing home and not even aware of their visits. Eli's future is uncertain because Huntington's disease is hereditary. His mother may have passed him the gene which carries the disease. A simple blood test holds the answer, but Eli is not ready to know the truth. Dr. Quincy Wyatt, a famous scientific researcher, offers Eli a job at Wyatt Transgenics. It involves caring for research animals and helping in the lab. The more Eli learns about Dr. Wyatt and the work of his company, the more he begins to question what he knows about his own life. Using clever twists and turns, Nancy Werlin has created a real nail-biter that makes this book hard to put down. Reviewed by: Sally Kruger, aka "Readingjunky"
5.0 out of 5 stars
An Excellent Book,
By trent gerber (monroeville, OH USA) - See all my reviews
This review is from: Double Helix (Hardcover)
The setting is in present time. It is a science fiction book that deals with cloning and DNA manipulation. The suspense keeps the story moving throughout the book. Eli is an 18 year old who doesn't know what he wants to do with his life. By chance a famed scientist Dr. Wyatt took interest in Eli and gave him a good job. A job that his father is abosolutly agianst Eli in taking. What ever the reason Eli's father doesn't want him taking the job, it is to painful for him to speak about. Eli thinks that there is some connection between Dr. Wyatt and his family and wants some answers. This is an excellent book to read and I would suggest everybody who would like a good read to read this book. This would definatly one of the best books I've ever read.
4.0 out of 5 stars
impressive page turner,
By A Customer
This review is from: Double Helix (Hardcover)
This book, although marketed as "Young Adult," could easily take its place on the shelf alongside mysteries intended for an adult audience. A recent high school grad chooses to postpone college for a year - much to the dismay of his father - and instead takes a job in a lab which deals with cloning and genetics. Like the stereotypical male, the protagonist believes that if he can successfully compartmentalize each aspect of his life, things will be fine. Unfortunately, as his girlfriend uncovers what he has tried to keep secret - his mother's Huntington's disease - and he begins to suspect a past connection with his parents and his boss, that his father refuses to discuss, his life becomes steadily more messy. To compound matters, he begins to suspect that something is not quite kosher at the lab and with his brilliant but quixotic boss. Although the end climax and confrontation seemed tame, the events leading up to it held my interest.The book reminded me of two mysteries by Charles Atkins, in its raising of philosophical/existential/psychological issues, its vividly drawn characters (presented as human not caricatures of scientists), and its easily recognizable Boston setting. Highly recommended.
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