Prodigy

by Michael Stewart

Every parent hopes for a perfect child. Jake Chalmers, paediatrician and geneticist, knows how to make one. He creates Sophie, a daughter as lovely as she is brilliant. A prodigy. But he could never have foreseen the explosive emotional consequences when she discovers how she gained her prodigious intellect, nor ever imagined the bizarre and terrifying form in which her unconscious rage takes its revenge.From the moment of her birth, Jake is determined to do everything to develop Sophie's extraordinary mind. His wife Alex argues it is unfair to push Sophie to the limit - unfair, too, to favour her over her older brother, Danny, a Down's child. To Jake, it is irresponsible not to. And he has his reasons why it is vital, reasons he cannot declare.But what of the girl's emotional development? What happens when feelings are deliberately subordinated to intellect? As Sophie grows to full flower, genius and passion are set in fatal conflict. With the pressures building up, Sophie struggles vainly to hold on to reason. But she is no ordinary girl, and when her suppressed feelings finally find release, no one, not even Jake, could have imagined the extraordinary form they take and the terrible, tragic consequences they entail.

Genres: Horror, Fiction, Science Fiction

368 pages, Kindle Edition

First published September 28, 1991

About the author

Librarian Note: There is more than one author by this name in the Goodreads database.

Born in June, 1945.

Reviews

[Becky]

I read this book in a closet at a resort during spring break '93, when I was 10 years old. I was going through a mild (and secretive because I thought I had to hide it) John Grisham obsession, and I think my mom may have suggested this... or maybe I just took it from her after she read it. I ended up loving this book, and spent years afterwards looking for it again but never found it. Now, nearly 30 years later, I came across it and even though I'm fairly certain I'll never read this again because my reading tastes have changed over the years, but it's been driving me insane for so long trying to find it that I had to at least bookmark it here. I thought Sophie was so cool, and at times even now kind of wish I had developed her mental prowess.

This book probably wasn't "appropriate" for me at 10, in terms of adult content, but it had a fascinating premise ("designer DNA" babies), a cool kid with powers as one of the MC's, and because it was written "for adults" it didn't dumb things down to a level adults THINK speaks to kids. I'll say it a million times, I wish YA was an actual thing when I was a kid, and the people responsible today for getting those books out into the world are heroes.

[Marna · Rating 3 out of 5]

Read this at Sitka Fine Arts Camp

[Matt · Rating 3 out of 5]

6 out of 10

Decently written and engaging. Some truly interesting concepts. But ultimately not that satisfying.

[Jackie Thurston]

A great read between science fiction and a thriller