Horn Book (Tue Jan 03 00:00:00 CST 2023)

Kayla, a genetically engineered non-human (or GEN), is assigned to care for an upper-class patriarch. With the help of a childhood friend and her employer's great-grandson, she discovers that her status at the bottom of Loka's caste system is not as immutable as it appears. Sci-fi fans will appreciate the detailed world building and the diverse, engaging cast of characters.

Kirkus Reviews (Tue Jan 03 00:00:00 CST 2023)

Advanced genetic engineering and upsettingly plausible caste oppression keep pages turning in this futuristic science fiction tale. The planet Loka was originally settled by humans fleeing Earth, but now part of the population is made up of Genetically Engineered Non-humans. GENs rank lowest socially, destined by the Infinite to serve trueborns. They're vulnerable at any moment to painful uploads (via facial tech-tattoo) into their brain and nerves or, worse, resetting—erasure of their consciousness so their body can be recycled. Teenage Kayla awaits her service Assignment with trepidation; she could be sent across the continent and never see her nurture-family again. Surprisingly Assigned to care for an elderly high-status trueborn (aren't Kayla's genetically enhanced super-strong arms geared for heavy lifting?), Kayla stumbles into forbidden friendship and baffling information that threatens her basic beliefs. Sandler tinkers with race issues, making high-status trueborns "the perfect color, a rich medium brown," with lower-status humans and GENs either paler or darker. None of the three third-person-limited narrators have particularly distinct voices, but that's OK: The prose is clear, though sometimes unpolished, and two underground movements—one evil, one righteous—provide plenty of charge, as does the exposure of Loka's corrupt back story. A late revelation somewhat undermines the everyone's human message, more through textual clumsiness than intention. A good option for science-fiction fans interested in genetic engineering, rebellion and class issues. (Science fiction. 13 & up)

School Library Journal (Tue Jan 03 00:00:00 CST 2023)

Gr 8 Up-Mishalla and Kayla have been best friends for as long as they can remember, but as they near their 15th birthdays, they know they may never see each other again. In their world, GEN's (short for Genetically Engineered Non-Humans) are given their work assignments at that age and are not allowed any contact with former friends or nurture parents. What the girls do not realize is just how dangerous their assignments are about to become as both of them get embroiled in a plot to uncover decades-old information regarding genetic manipulation, scientific scandal, and corruption at the highest levels of government. In her first novel for teens, Sandler has created a fascinating dystopian world in which a caste system, supported by manipulated historical records and a religion based solely on insuring the obedience of the GENs, was manufactured by their ancestors who escaped a dying Earth two centuries earlier. The author's speculative vision of the darker side of future possibilities in genetic engineering and mind control is both chilling and thought-provoking. This is a dark novel that will appeal to those who enjoyed M.T. Anderson's Feed (Candlewick, 2002), and it would make a good stepping-stone to Anthony Burgess's classic, A Clockwork Orange (W.W. Norton, 1963). Jane Henriksen Baird, Anchorage Public Library, AK