Michael 21

by D. Ogden Huff

When Luna, a young caretaker at a cloning facility, falls for a defective clone, she must choose between completing her father’s life work or helping the boy she loves to survive. After her parents’ death in a terrorist attack, fifteen-year-old Luna escapes the pain by throwing herself into work at her father’s hospital. In an experimental nursery, she meets the clone of a young boy whose heart will stop at the age of eighteen. The only hope for the original boy is if researchers flip the right genetic switch in a clone whose growth is accelerated from birth to adult in three months. The clone, Michael, is a wild, defiant child, but her father’s partner discovers Luna is the only person to whom the Michael clones respond. After witnessing the twentieth clone die, a despondent Luna searches for a reason to continue to risk her heart. But the 21st Michael clone turns out to be more than Luna expects—more trusting, more alive, and more in love with her than the ones before. Unfortunately, their time together is running out. Luna vows to help him escape the sterile Institute to live his last day to the fullest before his heart stops. However, the person who can provide the tech she needs to escape is Jorge, the boyfriend she ran out on five years earlier, and he wants another chance to win her heart. Can Luna decide where her heart is leading her before time runs out?

400 pages, Paperback

Published August 11, 2019

Reviews

[Tinkerbell · Rating 5 out of 5]

I'm giving this 5 stars because it kept me up at night reading, and the way the story was written made me care about the characters. It had great voice, and a lot of interesting and thrilling aspects.

If I had to characterize this book, I would say the first 30% is an "idea" story, introducing the reader to a different world and posing ethical questions. Then it turns into a romantic thriller, and I just kept wanting to finish one more chapter to see what happened.

The setting is mostly in Tucson in the near future, although to me it felt like it should be farther in the future. There were some things I had to actively suspend my disbelief about. But in the end, those things that were just shy of believable (like how much technology had advanced in the few short years between now and the time period of the story) took a back seat to the riveting plot.

I'm glad I read this!

[Rylan · Rating 5 out of 5]

Such a good book! It kept me in the edge of my seat the whole time and I was unable to put it down.