An edge-of-your-seat thriller from the bestselling author of, Nerve, the book behind 2016's hottest YA film, starring Emma Roberts, Dave Franco & Juliette Lewis.
A chance at the ultimate makeover means deadly consequences... Aislyn suffers from crippling shyness - that is, until she’s offered a dose of Charisma, an underground gene therapy drug guaranteed to make her shine. The effects are instant. She’s charming, vivacious, and popular. But strangely, so are some other kids she knows. The media goes into a frenzy when the disease turns contagious, and then deadly, and the doctor who gave it to them disappears. Aislyn must find a way to stop it, before it's too late.
Praise for Charisma
'...this fast-paced and edgy novel has enough thrills, romance, and family drama to please a wide audience. This Robin Cook–like thriller zips along at breakneck speed to a satisfying conclusion.' Booklist
'Ryan (Nerve) offers a cautionary tale about the perils of designer genetics and what happens when scientists' aspirations get ahead of ethics. Her take on the topic is fresh and intriguing.' Publishers Weekly
'Suspense balances with discussions of bioethics for a provocative and entertaining read. A sympathetic protagonist combines with intriguing medical possibility for a solid thriller.' Kirkus Reviews
'Charisma by Jeanne Ryan is at its best when it gets technical. Considering Ryan has a PHD and has worked with youth development programs and social workers, it’s obvious she knows what she talking about.' Hypable
'Not a far step from Ned Vizzini’s Be More Chill...The science is explained well enough for non-scientist readers to understand, and gives teens much to think about regarding medical ethics and experimentation.' School Library Journal
'The science is both sharp and accessible here, and readers will get a sense of the nuances and messiness of genetic alterations while staying in Aislyn’s world.' BCCB
Charisma is definitely something different! It takes a controversial subject, educates readers on it without feeling too preachy and creates an entertaining plot! Aislyn is super shy. She cannot speak up for herself, and after her disastrous science project presentation, she's feeling especially down. So when one of the researchers at the hospital where her brother receives treatments for cystic fibrosis tells her about an experiment gene treatment she's developed that will cure social anxiety, Aislyn jumps on it. By the next day, she's much more comfortable with people, manages to snag a date with her crush, and becomes a spokesperson for organ donation. At least until other teens who took the trial drug fall into comas.
I found Charisma absolutely fascinating! I don't know too much about the inner workings of gene therapy, but we get enough of the scientific details to understand the basics of what's going on and what possibly went wrong with the drug that Aislyn and the others received. I also really liked how there's a pro gene therapy message, but the entire story is about how it can go wrong. Even though Aislyn is seeing others die from it, she's still an advocate of the process as long as it's done ethically. It really can save lives.
The one thing that did annoy me a little but about Charisma was when the teens are being brought into the hospital and quarantined. Suddenly they're all "How dare she gives us this dangerous drug!" They were all excited to try it and happy with the results until the side effects kicked in. They knew the drug hadn't been approved and that they were part of an underground, illegal study, and yet they started acting like the doctor purposely gave them something dangerous. It just didn't make sense to me. I can understand them being upset and scared because of the possibility of coma and death, but don't act like they didn't agree to do this when they knew the situation wasn't exactly on the up and up.
In the end, I really enjoyed Charisma. It's not really a twisty, suspenseful read. But it kept me fully engaged, just because I was interested in the subject. Aislyn does do some amateur sleuthing because she wants to fix this, but there's nothing too intense that she encounters. Except this one group who wants to "get to know" her for nefarious purposes. I also loved those last pages! Don't do it, Aislyn!!!
