Charisma

Gr 8 Up—Aislyn is cripplingly shy: she's very smart and could have won the state science fair with her research on gene therapies, if only she'd been able to bring herself to talk to the judges about it. She'd love to talk to people and advocate for gene therapies as a treatment for various illnesses, like her brother's cystic fibrosis, but she freezes up and can't get words out. So when a researcher offers her a chance to overcome her social anxieties with an experimental gene therapy, Aislyn jumps at the chance. Her new gregarious self isn't afraid to talk to the boy she's been crushing on, or go to parties, or be a normal teenager. But some other teens have been given the treatment, too, and have collapsed. Then the symptoms start appearing in people who haven't had the therapy. Charisma may not be the answer Aislyn was hoping for. Not a far step from Ned Vizzini's Be More Chill (Hyperion, 2004), this novel features more current, realistic medical technology. The science is explained well enough for non-scientist readers to understand, and gives teens much to think about regarding medical ethics and experimentation. Aislyn's relationship with her boyfriend is chaste by necessity (so she doesn't spread the virus), but there are some mild suggestions of more mature desires. An adequate choice for medium to larger collections.—Brandy Danner, Perkins School for the Blind, Watertown, MA