Blog Tour Stop : Deadly Design by Debra Dockter

Summary (from Goodreads) 

Title : Deadly Design
Author : Debra Dockter
Publication Date :  June 2nd 2015
Publisher : Putnam Juvenile
Goodreads - Amazon - Barnes & Noble
 
The emotional power of If I Stay meets the survival story of Maze Runner

Genetically engineered identical twins Kyle and Connor McAdams were born two years apart. Their parents figured it was safer that way, to increase their odds of survival. Connor was born first, paving an impossibly perfect path for Kyle to follow. He was the best at everything—valedictorian, star quarterback etc. Kyle never thought he’d be able to live up, so he didn’t even try.

But when Connor, 18, suddenly drops dead of a heart attack, and Kyle learns of other genetically modified kids who’ve also died on their eighteenth birthdays, he’s suddenly motivated—to save his own life. Like Connor and all the rest, Kyle was conceived at the Genesis Innovations Laboratory, where the mysterious Dr. Mueller conducted experiments on them. The clock’s ticking as Kyle searches for answers: who was Dr. Mueller really, and what did he do to cause their hearts to stop at eighteen? He must unravel the clues quickly, before, he too, becomes another perfect, blue-eyed corpse.

Personal Thoughts 

I'm fascinated by books that deal with genetic engineering. It's one sci-fi theme that I can read over and over again because it's a realistic concept. I was excited to read Deadly Design for that reason. This ended up being quite the enjoyable read and I loved the ideas that the author brought about in the book.

I initially had a hard time connecting with the main character, Kyle in Deadly Design. He was jealous of his more perfect older twin brother and constantly battled with feelings of envy because he just wasn't as smart or athletic as him. While he did grow a spine throughout the novel, fighting to find a way to stop himself from falling dead on his 18th birthday, I don't think I ever completely bonded with him, mostly because Kyle just doesn't seem like a person I would want to personally know. I did think Debra Dockter did a fantastic job at capturing his voice and all his emotions. The secondary characters were more interesting to me, especially the villainous doctors who played God. Deadly Design tackles the idea of designer babies. You may have heard of this in the news, but it will become possible in the future to create babies designed exactly according to how you want them. Want your baby to be a blue-eyed, smart, athletic and good looking individual? That will become reality in the future. The author explores the ethics of such manipulations in the book and I liked that the science itself was very sound. Perhaps what could have made Deadly Design a stronger novel would have to be a faster pace. Now, this is obviously personal taste, but I like sci fi books to be more action-packed than Deadly Design was. I did, however, think that Debra Dockter's writing was very readable. I had a hard time putting the book down even though it was more slow paced than I'm normally used to. Plus, I liked that there were some twists and turns that I didn't see coming my way.

Overall, Deadly Design was an entertaining novel that I believe a lot of YA scifi fans will devour. Kyle might not be the best character at first, but stick with him and watch him grow and go on this journey to find a cure to his situation. I'm looking forward to the author's future books.

Rating 

Cover : 4/5
Plot : 3/5
Characters : 3/5
Writing : 3/5

Author Biography

About Debra Dockter

Debra Dockter currently teaches behavioral science at Cowley College and resides in Haysville, Kansas with her husband and three children. Deadly Design is her debut novel.

Links for Debra: Website | Facebook | Twitter |Goodreads |


Thank you to Penguin Teen for the ARC of Deadly Design.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

In My Mailbox (8)

Image
In My Mailbox is a weekly meme hosted by Kristi at The Story Siren . Touch (Denazen #1) by Jus Accorda Summary (from Goodreads) When a strange boy tumbles down a river embankment and lands at her feet, seventeen-year-old adrenaline junkie Deznee Cross snatches the opportunity to piss off her father by bringing the mysterious hottie with ice blue eyes home. Except there’s something off with Kale. He wears her shoes in the shower, is overly fascinated with things like DVDs and vases, and acts like she’ll turn to dust if he touches her. It’s not until Dez’s father shows up, wielding a gun and knowing more about Kale than he should, that Dez realizes there’s more to this boy—and her father’s “law firm”—than she realized. Kale has been a prisoner of Denazen Corporation—an organization devoted to collecting “special” kids known as Sixes and using them as weapons—his entire life. And, oh yeah, his touch? It kills. The two team up with a group of rogue Sixes hellbent on taking dow
Read more

In My Mailbox (3)

Image
In My Mailbox is a weekly meme hosted by Kristi at The Story Siren . Cinder (Lunar Chronicles #1) by Marissa Meyer Summary (from Goodreads) Humans and androids crowd the raucous streets of New Beijing. A deadly plague ravages the population. From space, a ruthless lunar people watch, waiting to make their move. No one knows that Earth’s fate hinges on one girl. . . . Cinder, a gifted mechanic, is a cyborg. She’s a second-class citizen with a mysterious past, reviled by her stepmother and blamed for her stepsister’s illness. But when her life becomes intertwined with the handsome Prince Kai’s, she suddenly finds herself at the center of an intergalactic struggle, and a forbidden attraction. Caught between duty and freedom, loyalty and betrayal, she must uncover secrets about her past in order to protect her world’s future. The Alchemy Of Forever (Incarnation #1) by Avery Williams Summary (from Goodreads) Seraphina's first love made her immortal...her second might get her
Read more

In My Mailbox (10)

Image
In My Mailbox is a weekly meme hosted by Kristi at The Story Siren . Don't You Wish (Obtained From Net Galley - Big Thanks To Random House Children's Books for the ARC) by Roxanne St Claire Summary (from Goodreads) When plain and unpopular Annie Nutter gets zapped by one of her dad's whacked-out inventions, she lands in a parallel universe where her life becomes picture-perfect. Now she's Ayla Monroe, daughter of the same mother but a different father—and she's the gorgeous, rich queen bee of her high school.  In this universe, Ayla lives in glitzy Miami instead of dreary Pittsburgh and has beaucoup bucks, courtesy of her billionaire—if usually absent—father. Her friends hit the clubs, party backstage at concerts, and take risks that are exhilirating . . . and illegal. Here she's got a date to lose her V-card with the hottest guy she's ever seen. But on the insde, Ayla is still Annie. So when she's offered the chance to leave the dream life a
Read more