So, this one drew me in with the absolutely mind-boggling blurb. A kid with three genetic parents, two of whom are on the run, who doesn't know about her own unconventional origin story? Genetic modification is such a slippery slope and has fascinated me since I learned what in-vitro fertilization was. So I snatched this from NetGalley (thank you!) and devoured it in two days.
In the end, though, I have mixed reactions. I'll start with what I liked!
The basic concept is fascinating, and that's where the book really shines. Claire (hey it's my name) and Ethan had a child who died at age 8 from mitochondriosis (I think I messed up the name, sorry). They want to have another kid, but Claire is terrified that kid will suffer like her first kid Colton did. They agree to try IVF, but Claire goes behind Ethan's back and gets her doctor, Nash, to do this wild experiment on her. He takes her embryo, combines it with an embryo from his fellow doctor Jillian, as well as sperm from Ethan, then sticks this Frankenegg into Claire. Then she gives birth to a child who doesn't have the genetic disease that Colton did. Bingo, healthy baby, just happens to have three parents. The only problem is that this is highly illegal...and Ethan is staunchly against it. Yikes.
There's a good mix of basic scientific explanation, so the reader understands the basic concept of what's going on, without getting bogged down in the details. As somebody who came from just finishing all 800+ pages of Neil Stephenson's "Seveneves," I was ready for a break from hardcore sci-fi. The concept of how the genetic mods worked in this story was really neat. Basically, the damaged part of the embryo is the outside - the shell, to oversimplify.
The different perspectives worked really nicely. I think Claire's were the best, especially when they were in the past, chronicling how she got Dr. Nash to do the egg-switch thing. The ones from Abby, her daughter, were pretty childish which worked well because Abby is a fifth-grader. So that seemed accurate. I wasn't really a fan of Jillian's POV, and this is where we get into what I didn't like so much.
Jillian didn't feel as fleshed-out as the other characters. I think she deserved a LOT more sympathy than what she got. She genuinely just wants to focus on her research. She's on the verge of a breakthrough, and she wants to see it through. This research will then help thousands of moms like Claire. What's wrong with that? In the fourth part of the book, she turns into the villain. I agree that the things she does in that section aren't acceptable. But they also felt out-of-character. I mean, Jillian has every right to be angry. She took the fall for something she wasn't solely responsible for. (That's not a spoiler; it's in the blurb.) I would've liked to see more sympathy for her. It's like, just because Jillian isn't doing it because she desperately wants a child, it's made out to be a bad thing. Whereas Claire, who's doing it because she wants a healthy kid, is the good guy. It's okay to focus on your research instead!
I wasn't a fan of the fourth part of the book. And this is ultimately what gets the book a 3-star rating instead of a 4- or 5-star from me. Honestly, everything wrapped up too neatly. This part is going to have SPOILERS. [ The plot twist about Jillian using Nash's sperm is genius, and I was excited that I called it early on. However, having Abby turn out to be Nash and Claire's genetic child is just really convenient. It sends the message that your kid has to be your genetic kid in order to be your real kid. And Colton's look-alike, Charlie, is Ethan and Claire's genetic child...who doesn't end up getting raised by Claire and Nash. I would've liked to see a less cleanly-cut division of genes. What does it mean to raise a kid that DOESN'T have any of your genes? For Nash, how does it feel to raise a kid who comes from three parents...none of whom are him? Of course Abby is happy that the dad who raised her is also her genetic dad, and I'm happy for her that it turned out that way. But it missed the opportunity to explore questions of what it really means to be somebody's dad/daughter. Since that was pretty much the main theme of this book, I was disappointed that everything worked out so neatly in this regard. (hide spoiler)]
Complaints aside, this was a really fun book to read and it kept me hooked. It's a great thriller and raises some interesting questions, even if I was ultimately disappointed with how some of them were handled. I would recommend it to anybody interested in the blurb!
Content warning: scenes where Claire undergoes IVF, which were pretty freaky to somebody squeamish about medical things! Graphic childbirth (which is probably an oxymoron because that's just how childbirth is, right?). Fair amount of sex. And astonishingly graphic violent bit near the end that [ had me clutching my own ear in commiseration...
In the end, though, I have mixed reactions. I'll start with what I liked!
The basic concept is fascinating, and that's where the book really shines. Claire (hey it's my name) and Ethan had a child who died at age 8 from mitochondriosis (I think I messed up the name, sorry). They want to have another kid, but Claire is terrified that kid will suffer like her first kid Colton did. They agree to try IVF, but Claire goes behind Ethan's back and gets her doctor, Nash, to do this wild experiment on her. He takes her embryo, combines it with an embryo from his fellow doctor Jillian, as well as sperm from Ethan, then sticks this Frankenegg into Claire. Then she gives birth to a child who doesn't have the genetic disease that Colton did. Bingo, healthy baby, just happens to have three parents. The only problem is that this is highly illegal...and Ethan is staunchly against it. Yikes.
There's a good mix of basic scientific explanation, so the reader understands the basic concept of what's going on, without getting bogged down in the details. As somebody who came from just finishing all 800+ pages of Neil Stephenson's "Seveneves," I was ready for a break from hardcore sci-fi. The concept of how the genetic mods worked in this story was really neat. Basically, the damaged part of the embryo is the outside - the shell, to oversimplify.
The different perspectives worked really nicely. I think Claire's were the best, especially when they were in the past, chronicling how she got Dr. Nash to do the egg-switch thing. The ones from Abby, her daughter, were pretty childish which worked well because Abby is a fifth-grader. So that seemed accurate. I wasn't really a fan of Jillian's POV, and this is where we get into what I didn't like so much.
Jillian didn't feel as fleshed-out as the other characters. I think she deserved a LOT more sympathy than what she got. She genuinely just wants to focus on her research. She's on the verge of a breakthrough, and she wants to see it through. This research will then help thousands of moms like Claire. What's wrong with that? In the fourth part of the book, she turns into the villain. I agree that the things she does in that section aren't acceptable. But they also felt out-of-character. I mean, Jillian has every right to be angry. She took the fall for something she wasn't solely responsible for. (That's not a spoiler; it's in the blurb.) I would've liked to see more sympathy for her. It's like, just because Jillian isn't doing it because she desperately wants a child, it's made out to be a bad thing. Whereas Claire, who's doing it because she wants a healthy kid, is the good guy. It's okay to focus on your research instead!
I wasn't a fan of the fourth part of the book. And this is ultimately what gets the book a 3-star rating instead of a 4- or 5-star from me. Honestly, everything wrapped up too neatly. This part is going to have SPOILERS. [ The plot twist about Jillian using Nash's sperm is genius, and I was excited that I called it early on. However, having Abby turn out to be Nash and Claire's genetic child is just really convenient. It sends the message that your kid has to be your genetic kid in order to be your real kid. And Colton's look-alike, Charlie, is Ethan and Claire's genetic child...who doesn't end up getting raised by Claire and Nash. I would've liked to see a less cleanly-cut division of genes. What does it mean to raise a kid that DOESN'T have any of your genes? For Nash, how does it feel to raise a kid who comes from three parents...none of whom are him? Of course Abby is happy that the dad who raised her is also her genetic dad, and I'm happy for her that it turned out that way. But it missed the opportunity to explore questions of what it really means to be somebody's dad/daughter. Since that was pretty much the main theme of this book, I was disappointed that everything worked out so neatly in this regard. (hide spoiler)]
Complaints aside, this was a really fun book to read and it kept me hooked. It's a great thriller and raises some interesting questions, even if I was ultimately disappointed with how some of them were handled. I would recommend it to anybody interested in the blurb!
Content warning: scenes where Claire undergoes IVF, which were pretty freaky to somebody squeamish about medical things! Graphic childbirth (which is probably an oxymoron because that's just how childbirth is, right?). Fair amount of sex. And astonishingly graphic violent bit near the end that [ had me clutching my own ear in commiseration...