Origin

July 16, 2012
Set in a secret scientific compound in the depths of the Amazon, this well-written first novel concerns 17-year-old Pia, who, as the result of advanced genetic engineering, is invulnerable and immortal. The scientists who created her are fanatics, morally compromised by their work; they’ve raised her to be what they see as the ideal scientist—rational, objective, and heartless—repeatedly telling her, “You are immortal, Pia, and you are perfect.” Her sole purpose, they say, is to eventually create more immortals. Pia, who has never been outside the compound and knows nothing about the world beyond, is content with this role until, sneaking through a hole in the fence one night, she meets Eio, an indigenous boy her age, who shows her that there is significantly more to life than she knows. Khoury’s scientists are mostly one-dimensional monsters, and their scientific protocols (keeping knowledge of geography and culture from Pia) make little sense. Her descriptions of the rainforest and the native people contrast beautifully with the laboratory setting, however, and Pia is a fascinating protagonist. Ages 12–up. Agent: Lucy Carson, the Friedrich Agency.

August 1, 2012
A surprising first novel set deep in the Amazonian rainforest. Inside the electric fence surrounding the secret compound known as Little Cam, scientists have labored for years to create one immortal person. Pia, now 16, has lightning-fast reflexes, inexhaustible stamina, and a body impervious to sickness or injury. She is the perfect creation of the current lead scientist, whom she calls Uncle Paolo, but she is also his pawn, and her still-human soul has begun to chafe at the restrictions and isolation that surround her. When a storm causes a break in the fence, Pia ventures into the jungle, meeting and becoming intrigued by Eio, a boy her age belonging to a nearby tribe, the Ai'oans. Eio speaks English and knows more about Little Cam than Pia does about the outside world. Then a female scientist comes to Little Cam and bolsters Pia's growing sense of rebellion. Gradually she uncovers the secrets and tragedies that led to her immortality. Khoury's debut captures the lush rhythms of the rainforest. Her characters, dialogue and pacing are clean and accomplished, and the plot moves at breakneck speed. As the book progresses toward its emotionally satisfying but logically puzzling ending, cracks start to show in the science of her dystopian world, but by then readers will hardly notice--and will certainly easily forgive. A teen thriller/romance without werewolves, wizards or vampires--utterly refreshing. (Science fiction. 13 & up)

COPYRIGHT(2012) Kirkus Reviews, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.

October 1, 2012

Gr 7 Up-Genetically bred to be immortal, Pia has never been outside Little Cam, the research compound where she was born. Hidden beneath the jungle cover of an Amazon rainforest and surrounded by electric fencing and security monitors, she spends her days studying and being groomed to become the leader of a new race of immortals, including taking a battery of "Wickham tests" designed to make her callous to human weaknesses. As her 17th birthday approaches, questions about the outside world are squelched by lead scientist Uncle Paolo and his staff. The arrival of free-spirited Dr. Harriet Fields and her gift of a world map compels Pia to seize an opportunity to squeeze through broken fencing to explore her environs. In the jungle she meets Eio, an English-speaking 18-year-old Ai'oan village boy conceived from a liaison between one of the scientists and his mother. Tension mounts as Pia jeopardizes security for outings with Eio and the villagers and becomes emboldened to investigate sinister truths about a long-ago accident at Little Cam. Details about the magical leaves of the native Kapok tree and their role in developing five generations of immortals ties the setting to the plot and serves to explain Pia's physical anomalies. Pia frequently waffles between loyalty to her Little Cam family and Eio's warnings about their motives, believably reflecting the naivete of a sheltered teen. Readers will be thrilled with the page-turning adventure/survival scenes in a descriptive and imaginative setting, and will root for Pia and Eio to the end.-Vicki Reutter, Cazenovia High School, NY

Copyright 2012 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

August 1, 2012
Grades 7-10 Seventeen-year-old Pia is perfectliterally. She is the culmination of generations of genetic engineering in an isolated Amazonian science compound designed to produce a perfect, immortal human. Pia's perspective and motivations drastically change when she sneaks out of the compound and meets a mixed-race teen from an indigenous tribe. As the Ai'oan people bring Pia into their community, she falls in love with Eio, questions just what perfect means, and risks her eternal future as well as the survival of the Ai'oan tribe. This first novel is a gripping read marred only by a troubling concept of the noble savage that permeates the book. The Ai'oa are a peaceful, simple people, in touch with their natural surroundings, informed by an innate wisdom, and incapable of protecting themselves from the dangers of the modern world. In all other respects, though, this is an engaging read with a clever blend of elements. It is an adventure story with romantic overtones, has a lush exotic setting framed by science, turns the eternal-love concept on its head, and rotates around a compelling moral quandary. HIGH-DEMAND BACKSTORY: The publisher is betting big on this debut novel, with a 250,000 first printing and enough publicity to find a home for every last one of those copies.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2012, American Library Association.)

January 1, 2013
Genetically engineered Pia is "perfect": she's fast, has impenetrable skin, and she's immortal. But she has never left the confines of her Amazon jungle compound. Escaping one day, she meets and falls in love with villager Eio and soon uncovers the alarming origins of her perfection. Khoury presents a fully realized protagonist in a disturbing world where science and humanity clash.

(Copyright 2013 by The Horn Book, Incorporated, Boston. All rights reserved.)