Piccadilly Press
It is 2218 and Zee McAdams is an empath, working in a London hospital healing
people with her mind. Empaths should avoid emotional distractions like novels –
or falling in love with their patients. This is not a problem for Zee, until
she meets David, an alien with a secret. From that moment Zee’s heart is
pierced. David knows they can’t be together, but he can’t keep away. With
everything driving them apart, Zee and David need to fight for their love.
My favourite thing about the book is Zee. Susan Waggoner’s
blog tour began with a stop at Girls Heart Books (which I heart) where she said
imagining Zee was the beginning of the book, and once she started writing Zee
took over. This didn’t surprise me. Zee’s liveliness and warmth light up the
pages. She is down to earth and doesn’t realise how attractive she is, but not
in that irritating way of some book heroines, where they trudge about going
‘God, it’s so weird, men keep looking at me…’ and you want to shake them and go
‘THEY FANCY YOU’, while maybe kicking them a bit. But Zee’s not like that –
she’s just frightened because she’s never been in love before and the mixture
of worry and excitement in the way she thinks about David when he’s not there is
completely relatable.
I also liked that even though Zee’s heart is swept up with
David, she keeps her friends. If, like The Doctor off of Doctor Who, the book
has two hearts, then Zee’s friendship with first-year flatmates Rani and
Jasmine is the second. One of the most touching moments for me was when Zee,
who has previously kept her relationship with David secret, realises she can
tell Rani anything. Rani is also a fantastic character – flirty, fun and with
an edge that warns people not to mess with her friends.
Another thing I find fascinating about stories set in future
worlds is the detail of that world. As well as keeping her friends, Zee still
keeps in mind the vitally important job she does as an empath. I enjoyed the
imagination behind what she does and watching her connect with her patients and
create visions to help them manage their pain. It also becomes clear that Zee
has the potential to do more than the usual empath and she has to decide
whether this is something she has the courage to do. 23rd-century
terrorism has taken a terrifying turn with shock bombs, which have no external
signs, but crush people’s organs from the inside.
Oh and also in 2218 photos have become 3d and a cinema
date is about 50 MILLION TIMES more awesome. (And I would like to know more about
the The Janeys, which are movie awards with the most recent winner being Punk
and Prejudice.)
*****************
I thought you might like to know about some other books I’ve
enjoyed which have elements of science in. You might not, in which case you may
leave now. And by ‘elements’ I mean features, not Boron. Except for the book
ITCH by Simon Mayo where by ‘elements’ I mean Boron.
Really I just like the word Boron because it sounds like a
boring moron. When at school I thought science was for borons, because it
seemed mostly to involve
Biology: putting bits of potato in water to see if they
changed (they didn’t)
Chemistry: lots of these
Physics: I DON’T UNDERSTAND WHAT A MOMENT IS
But now I love science (mostly because as an adult you can
take science to mean ‘dinosaurs and space and cool stuff’) and I find it
fascinating when fiction explores the details and limits of what we know about the
world – and then imagines what if
Science and … comedy
THE HITCHHIKER’S GUIDE TO THE GALAXY by Douglas Adams
The five-book trilogy (recently extended by Eoin Colfer’s
AND ANOTHER THING) tells us of Arthur (in his dressing gown), Ford and the gang
as they flee an Earth demolished to make a hyper-space bypass and travel to the
(restaurant at the) end of the universe and back, taking in a few pan-galactic
gargleblasters and a dose of deathly Vogon poetry along the way. They are
accompanied throughout by a book that I really hope someone actually writes one
day – the Guide of the title. Adams includes and pokes fun at theories about
multiverses, aliens and a translating ear fish that simultaneously proves and
disproves the existence of God. But mostly, it is very funny. And harmless.
Mostly.
Science and … adventure
ITCH by Simon Mayo
Itchingham Lofte is not your average teenage boy. Unless
your average teenage boy recently burnt his eyebrows off in an explosion caused
by some of the highly reactive elements he keeps in his room. Itch is on a
mission to collect every element in the periodic table, but being an element
hunter has its perils – especially when he discovers a new one – element 126, mysterious and, in the wrong hands, deadly. The wrong hands are after
element 126 and Itch’s hobby has turned into something far more sinister – he’s
being hunted. Simon Mayo wrote this story for his science-mad son and has
clearly undertaken meticulous research to get the elements elements of the book
right. But at the heart is a thrilling adventure story with quirky and original
characters in Itch and his tomboy cousin, Jack.
Science and … tears
NEVER LET ME GO by Kazuo Ishiguro
The story of Kathy, Ruth and Tommy as they grow up in the
strange, sad world of Hailsham boarding school is haunting and
unforgettable. It is a story of love in the absence of hope and the power of
living in the moment.
Science and … ARGHH
THE STRANGE CASE OF DR JEKYLL AND MR HYDE by Robert Louis Stevenson
Speculation about what straightlaced Dr Henry Jekyll’s
transformation into his monstrous double whose crimes are decidedly creepy (he tramples a girl??) really means give this novella a uncertain chill that is never resolved - is the transformation real, does he have split personality disorder, or does he know exactly what he's doing? The book raises questions about personality and identity, illustrating how frightening it is when these things become fractured. Penguin also seem to have picked the most scary photo in the world for their front cover.
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