Double Helix [Library Binding]

Nancy Werlin (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: May 22, 2008

Eli Samuels, barely out of high school, is offered a job at prestigious Wyatt Transgenics by its founder, a legendary molecular biologist. The salary’s amazing, the work is interesting, and Dr. Wyatt seems to want to mentor him. It’s almost too good to be true. But Mr. Samuels is vehemently against Eli’s taking the job, and he won’t explain why. Eli knows that there’s some connection between Dr. Wyatt and his parents—something painful for his father. Something to do with his mother, now debilitated by Huntington’s disease. As Eli works at the lab and spends time with Dr. Wyatt, he begins to uncover some disconcerting information—about himself.

--This text refers to the Paperback edition.

Editorial Reviews

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. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

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 --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Library Binding: 250 pages
• Publisher: Paw Prints 2008-05-22; Reprint edition (May 22, 2008)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1435287797
• ISBN-13: 978-1435287792
• Product Dimensions: 7.2 x 5 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 8.6 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (21 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #8,973,555 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Nancy Werlin was born and raised in Peabody, Massachusetts, USA and now lives near Boston. She received her bachelor's degree in English from Yale.Since then, she has worked as a technical writer and editor for several computer software and Internet companies, while also writing fiction. She is a National Book Award finalist.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

10 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars An Excellent Book, May 25, 2004

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.

3 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars An extremely poor attempt at discussing bioethics., July 21, 2010

By 

EvoDiva - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Double Helix (Paperback)

This book was a phenomenal disappointment. I was excited the day I found it at B&N and bumped it high up on my reading list. What a letdown. I am a Biological Sciences major and I wrote my honors thesis on scientific literacy. When I found this book, I thought, "How wonderful! A teen book about science and NOT vampires!" What I got was a lecture on how scientists are evil and immoral and all genetic research is suspect.

From a literary standpoint, the main character, Eli Samuels, is emotionally shallow, self-serving, naive, angsty... the list goes on. The pacing was extremely bizarre. Some of the plot points were scientifically inaccurate (for example: new recruits are not allowed to play with lab animals, there are a LOT of hurdles you have to jump in order to work animals of any kind - the kind of detail that underscores how lazy the author was). And the "mystery" wasn't especially mysterious, or even remotely difficult to figure out.

As for the bioethics of this book, Werlin mentions discussions with people about genetic research and claims to have read a great amount of material on the subject, yet her view is so narrow-minded and heavy-handed that it's difficult to believe that she even cracked a book that disagreed with her viewpoint. There is no discussion of right and wrong, of the different positions that exist on the subject or where some of the grey areas might be. Scientists are represented as pretentious, scornful of anyone who isn't an expert, and completely lacking a moral compass.

And yet, we're supposed to believe that a young man whose only belief about his mother (who suffers from Huntington's Disease) is that she's "insane" and that she should just die and get it over with so he and his father (whom he also hates) can get on with their lives -- this young man is APPALLED to discover that embryos were considered "waste material" by the evil Dr. Wyatt. Apart from being unbelievably trite, it's appallingly hypocritical.

If you want a good story about the bioethics of human genetic manipulation, watch Gattaca. It has the added bonus of Jude Law and Ewan McGregor. And Uma Therman, if you're into that sort of thing.

3 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Werlin at her best!, April 7, 2004

By A Customer

This review is from: Double Helix (Hardcover)

This book was amazing! I absolutely loved every part of it. The summary above explains the plot, but the greatness of this novel cannot be put into words. I recommend this book to anyone who has read Nancy Werlin's books before, and anyone who wants a good read. Thumbs up!