This Mortal Coil

August 15, 2017
In Suvada's high-tech debut, a virus has ravaged the world and one teen holds the key to the cure.In a world where everyone is embedded with technology at birth that allows them to manipulate their DNA, Catarina Agatta's dad, Lachlan, is the best gentech coder in the world. Naturally, she has inherited his skills to become a master hacker. At the outbreak of a horrifying virus that causes its victims to combust and those nearby to cannibalize them before they do, Cartaxus, a corrupt organization, forcibly whisks Lachlan away to develop a cure. For two years, Catarina survives on her own, carefully avoiding Cartaxus' grasp. One day, a Cartaxus soldier, Cole, shows up on her doorstep with the news that her father has died but that he managed to develop a vaccine. The only catch? Cole and Catarina must work together to find, decrypt, and release it to the masses. On their dangerous adventure to save the world, Cat is forced to question everything she thought she knew about her father, Cartaxus, the virus, and even herself. Featuring a strong, tech-savvy protagonist who will stop at nothing to get the job done, the novel explores exciting yet terrifying possibilities. (Race identity in this DNA-fluid future goes mostly undefined, but her surname implies Greek heritage.) While the twists and turns keep readers on their toes, one particular curveball comes so far out of left field it threatens to derail the story. An original concept but with an ending that requires a suspension of disbelief. (Science fiction. 14-18)

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September 18, 2017
For two years, 17-year-old Catarina Agatta, a talented hacker, has survived on her own in the Black Hills: her scientist father, Lachlan, was taken by the powerful Cartaxus organization after the Hydra plague brought humanity to its knees. It’s dangerous outside: mindless, cannibalistic humans called Lurkers roam, and those infected with the virus explode at the final stage of the disease, spreading it through the air. Only eating a victim’s flesh provides temporary immunity (“This is the Hydra virus’s cruelest side: It forces the healthy to eat the sick”). When Cole Franklin, a Cartaxus soldier, brings news that Lachlan is dead and Cat must decrypt a Hydra vaccine that he developed, she agrees to help. Suvada’s scary, action-packed debut novel barely takes a breath, and its exploration of what makes us human goes well below the surface. Despite some familiar elements in the novel—such as Cat’s struggles with her father’s motives, a love triangle, and her own identity—Suvada’s vibrantly imagined technology will spark readers’ imaginations. A genuinely shocking twist sets up a planned sequel. Ages 14–up. Agent: DongWon Song, Howard Morhaim Literary.

October 1, 2017

Gr 9 Up-In the crowded field of YA dystopia, this debut stands out with an especially grotesque cause of ruin: a pandemic that makes people explode like grenades. Survivors acquire immunity by eating the flesh of the still-living infected, but only at the risk of ingesting explosive meat. Moreover, the scent of infection throws any healthy person into a manic "Wrath" that's only subdued by cannibalism. Catarina, 17, has been surviving on her own in this world, which is overrun with heavily genetically modified humans and animals. A mega-corporation, Cartaxus, rounds up survivors into underground bunkers but admits no one possessing genes outside the company's strict sanctions. At the onset of the outbreak, Cartaxus abducted Catarina's father, the world's preeminent genehacker, to force him to make a copyrightable vaccine. Two years later, Catarina discovers that he succeeded but encrypted his work to prevent it from falling under Cartaxus' control. Catarina sets out to recover the vaccine. The plot defies the typical dramatic structure (rising action, climax, falling action) and instead rushes through a series of twists and relentless conflicts, making for a story line that is exciting and surprising, albeit madcap and exhausting. Perfunctory explanations will frustrate readers who prefer a touch of plausibility, but those who are in it for the action will be able to turn a blind eye. A nicely developed love triangle propels the narrative as much as the quest for the vaccine. VERDICT Purchase where the sci-fi section is popular.-Blake Holman, St. Joseph County Public Library, IN

Copyright 2017 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

November 1, 2017
Grades 9-12 Postapocalyptic thrillers are everywhere, and mostly derivative. Suvada's debut, however, adds an intriguing element: a genius girl hacker. Catarina Agatta has been surviving on her own since her geneticist father, Lachlan, was kidnapped two years ago by Cartaxus, an organization with questionable motives and actions. Now a Cartaxus soldier named Cole shows up, telling her Lachlan is dead and Catarina is the only one who can crack an encrypted code. This will release the vaccine for the terrible Hydra plague that has been decimating what's left of the world population. Initially reluctant to cooperate with Cartaxus, Catarina must quickly find out what's really going on, and in the process of digging through Cole's past and identity to determine his trustworthiness, she discovers shocking truths about her own identity. Tech geeks will relish the myriad details of AI, romance readers will enjoy the predictable progression of Cole and Catarina's relationship, and action and gore fans will delight in the blood and guts throughout.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2017, American Library Association.)

July 1, 2018
In this future world, there exists the technology to hack genes. After skilled hacker Cat's geneticist father is kidnapped by Cartaxus Corporation, she goes into hiding until a rogue Cartaxus soldier urges her to replace her father and gene-hack a cure for the zombie-like Hydra virus before it wipes out human life. Suvada's breathless dystopian novel wisely centers on its tough but believable heroine.

(Copyright 2018 by The Horn Book, Incorporated, Boston. All rights reserved.)

September 6, 2017
Catarina has survived a genetic apocalypse, a disease that has ravaged humanity, turning some into the walking dead, doomed to explode in a toxic, highly contagious cloud. The daughter of a brilliant genetic scientist, Caterina lives in a world dictated by gene-hacking technology, but is only able to use the most basic technology herself. Her father is long gone, forcibly taken by Cartaxus, a powerful gene-tech corporation keeping survivors ‘safe’ in underground bunkers to work on a cure. But it is Cat who holds the key, and they’re coming for her … This is a powerful thriller that easily holds its own against its YA predecessors of the dystopian, post-apocalyptic survival genre, such as The Hunger Games and the ‘Gone’ series. It is clever, sharply observed and—as with the big successes of its genre—plays out a scenario that doesn’t stretch credulity, particularly given the current climate of fear and society’s ever-increasing dependence on technology. This Mortal Coil is more than just a fun, pacy thriller. It asks the reader to face their fears of the future and imagine how they would survive if confronted with such a fate. Bec Kavanagh is a Melbourne-based writer and reviewer. She is the manager of the Stella Schools Program