This Mortal Coil by Emily Suvada

This Mortal Coil (Mortal Coil, #1)

by Emily Suvada

*Shortlisted for the Waterstones Children's Book Prize 2018*

A must read for fans of The Hunger Games, Divergent and The Maze Runner.

3 billion lives at stake. 2 people who can save them. 1 secret hidden in their DNA.

A breathtaking debut series about one girl's quest for answers in a genetically and technologically advanced future.

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When a lone soldier, Cole, arrives with news of Lachlan Agatta's death, all hope seems lost for Catarina.

Her father was the world's leading geneticist, and humanity's best hope of beating a devastating virus.

Then, hidden beneath Cole's genehacked enhancements she finds a message of hope: Lachlan created a vaccine.

Only she can find and decrypt it, if she can unravel the clues he left for her. The closer she gets, the more she finds herself at risk from Cartaxus, a shadowy organization with a stranglehold on the world's genetic tech. But it's too late to turn back.

As the pieces fit together it's clear there is one final secret that Cat must unlock. A secret that will change everything.

With the pace and twists of a thriller, an emotional sucker-punch, the exquisite world-building of the best fantasy, and an imagined future that sci-fi fans will love, THIS MORTAL COIL has all the ingredients to become the next phenomenon in YA thrillers.

'With a backdrop of amazing science and technology, This Mortal Coil is a smart, page-turning thriller that gave me chills. I couldn't put this book down.' - Laini Taylor, bestselling author of Daughter of Smoke and Bone.

'I can't remember the last time I was so hooked by a book. Relentlessly paced, expertly plotted, and with a romance as tense and as captivating as her wicked twists, Emily Suvada has crafted an unputdownable story. I loved every terrifying page.' - Stephanie Garber, bestselling author of Caraval.

'This Mortal Coil redefines "unputdownable." A thrilling, exhilarating read that's crackling with intelligence. Compelling characters and and incredible twists come together perfectly - I loved this book.' - Amie Kaufman, bestselling author of Illuminae.

Reviewed by bookishzelda on

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Wow, so This Mortal Coil is packed full of Coding, DNA, hacking, suspense, apocalyptic world, twist and turns. I both couldn’t put it down and had to take a break sometimes. It was a great story and loved how easy it was to understand the Science parts of it.

So in the world of This Mortal Coil everyone is fitted with a panel in their arm that pretty much acts like how you would picture futurist VR worlds to work. You can do everything from texting/calling to changing what you look like and downloading an app to heal yourself. Despite all of this, Mother Nature still finds it’s way in and people have retreated to underground bunkers do to a breakout of a plague called Hydra.

There is lots of talk about DNA, coding and hacking systems. I never once found any of it confusing. It was actually really interesting and written in a way that I felt was easy to understand. You might not grasp every concept perfectly but you get the jist of it enough to understand what is happening. I really loved learning about the characters and what makes them all tick. In a DNA respect and through the panels in their arms.

So the plot is very fast paced and a curvy road to get to the end. There were plot twist throughout, so much so that I don’t want to talk about anything. I’m afraid I would give something away. What we do know and that is important is that Catarina plays an important role in finding the Vaccine for Hydra.

Again I loved the characters. I thought they were all super interesting, from their background to their motivations for their actions. I can’t wait to see where they go in the future. Catarina most of all, is very cool. Really, she’s brilliant and savvy yet even though she lives for code, still keeps her compassion. She is not a robot or a slave to technology.

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Reading updates

  • Started reading
  • 10 October, 2018: Finished reading
  • 10 October, 2018: Reviewed