For a teen read, I enjoyed this. It was an easy read that stuck to a storyline that didnt turn around and jump around. I am looking forward to reading the next one of this series to see what happens next. ( )

If you're wondering, the first two pages of this novel include a direct statement that the male love interest is "objectively" "hot" -- just in case you wondered what type of writing style this book has or how cliched it might be. Just if you're wondering.

There's good YA out there. This isn't it. ( )

Literary Merit: Good
Characterization: Good
Reading Level: high school
Recommend: Yes

This was a good book. The characters are believable, even though the things that are going on in the book are not things that happen everyday. I liked the characters and was interested in finding out what happened to them. ( )

Decent YA novel. The protagonist's self-righteous centrism annoyed me, even though it was well-depicted and realistic. Interesting ideas about world-building with the chimeras and the depopulated, climate change afflicted world. ( )

This book has a really interesting premise: How does society react when easy access to genetic engineering tools spawns a subculture of people who've spliced animal DNA into their own? And it's mostly successful at exploring that premise.

It's labelled as Young Adult, and there is some of the typical YA angst over emerging crushes and changing relationships with childhood friends. But it mostly feels authentic, and the characters' childhoods are nicely woven into the setting. Occasionally the plot feels a little simple, but never so much that it's predictable.

The protagonist experiences a lot of character growth over the course of the story!

Some of the societal stuff around chimeras feels a little like a metaphor for the LGBTQ community. I would have liked to have seen some actual LGBTQ characters in the story. (There are a pair of same-gender characters that I think might be a couple? But it's never made explicit.)

In addition to the splicing stuff, the setting is heavily affected by global warming and the choices governments make to deal with it. This part seemed thoughtful and well-developed. ( )