LS 5623 Double Helix

Werlin, Nancy. Double Helix. Dial Books: New York, 2004.

ISBN: 0-8037-2606-6

Eighteen year old Eli has landed a dream job for his gap-year before college at Wyatt Transgenics. He tries to keep this a secret form his dad because he feels that his dad has irrational feelings of hatred towards the founder, Dr. Quincy Wyatt. Slowly, secrets are revealed about the tangled web of his parent’s relationship with Dr. Wyatt, his mother’s fight against Huntington ’s disease, and how Eli was conceived.

The things that Dr. Wyatt does are both astounding and revolting. Hid experiments with human trangenics are gold-hearted and calculating, there is not a thought spared to what happens to the product – a human being. Maybe this is why I was so disappointed that the character of Dr, Wyatt was so much like a caricature of an evil villain. If the author had given a hint of background about why he was the way he was, I would have appreciated the character more. He was too pompous and omniscient to make me believe that any teenager like Eli would willingly (at first) voluntarily spent time with him.

There are plenty of mysteries in this book: why does Eli’s dad hate Dr. Wyatt? Why is there a hidden elevator in the Wyatt Trangenics building? Why does Eli feel a strange connection to Dr. Wyatt’s summer charge, Kayla? The readers and Eli eventually do get the answers to these questions but nothing is really resolved about the big picture regarding Dr. Wyatt and his experimentation. Readers looking for a solid conclusion will be frustrated by the lack of answers.

The February 2004, issue of Publisher’s Weekly states about Double Helix, “As the author tackles bioethical issues, the story's climax appeals to reason and love for humanity without resorting to easy answers. Brisk, intelligent and suspenseful all the way.” Recommend The Adoration of Jenna Fox by Mary Pearson and, for a lighter, more adventurous read, the Maximum Ride series by James Patterson for those interested in the transgenic angle of the story.