Book Discussion Guide by Dr. Joni Richards Bodart & Nancy Werlin
About the Book
Eighteen year old Eli Samuels has just graduated from high school and lucked into a job at Wyatt Transgenics—offered to him by Dr. Quincy Wyatt, the legendary molecular biologist. The salary is substantial, the work is interesting, and Dr. Wyatt seems to be paying special attention to Eli.
Is it too good to be true? Eli's girlfriend doesn't think so, but his father is vehemently against his taking the job and won't explain why. Eli knows that there's some connection between Dr. Wyatt and his parents—something too painful for his father to discuss. Something to do with his mother, who is now debilitated by Huntington's disease. As Eli works at the lab, and spends time with Dr. Wyatt, he begins to uncover some disconcerting information—about himself.
Suspenseful and eloquent, with a hair-raising conclusion, Double Helix explores identity, intimacy, and the complicated ethics of genetic engineering.
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Double Helix is not science fiction, though it is indeed fiction about science. However, the ethical and reproductive choices presented in the book will be choices that the current generation of children will face as adults.
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A School Library Journal Best Book of 2004
An ALA Booklist Editor's Choice for 2004
An ALA Best Book for Young Adults
Starred reviews in Publishers Weekly, School
Library Journal,
and Booklist
About the Author
Nancy Werlin was born in Massachusetts, where she still lives. Along with writing fiction, she has worked for many Boston-area high tech companies, an experience which informs much of her work. In writing for teenagers, she always strives to combine the emotional intensity of a coming-of-age story with the page-turning tension of a breakneck plot. Nancy's suspense thrillers have won numerous awards and accolades, including the Edgar award for best young adult mystery. Visit her web site at www.nancywerlin.com.
Book Discussion Questions
- Both Kayla and Eli are gifted athletes, extremely intelligent, and unusually attractive. Discuss some of the reasons why they might share these characteristics.
- Compare and contrast Dr. Wyatt's and Dr. Fukuyama's philosophies about genetic engineering, explaining which perspective makes more sense to you.
- After spending time with Wyatt and Kayla, Eli is unable to reconnect with Viv. Explain your perception of his state of mind at that point and why he reacted in the way that he did.
- Kayla grew up with knowledge about herself that Eli's parents kept from him. Discuss how you think having that knowledge affected her life and her relationships with Wyatt and Eli.
- Discuss how Eli's life might have been different had he grown up with the knowledge about himself and Wyatt that Kayla did.
- Viv and Eli disagree about the place that trust and openness play in a relationship. Explain both perspectives and discuss which one is more likely to enhance an intimate relationship and why.
- Compare and contrast Quincy Wyatt and Jonathan Samuels, discussing their philosophies of life, their ethics, and their relationships with Eli.
- The people in this book all believe that at one time or another their actions are moral and ethical. Choose the persons who you think were the most and least morally and ethically correct or appropriate, and explain why you chose them.
- Several people in this book go to a great deal of effort to keep secrets from each other. Discuss how lives would have been changed had some of those secrets not been kept.
- Share your philosophy about the ethics of creating human life in a laboratory environment. Will humans ever become their own creations?
- Examine the relationship between Eli and his father, and discuss how it changed at crucial turning points, for instance when Eli found the letter, when he decided to work for Wyatt Transgenics, when Jonathan met Viv, and several other situations.
- Genetic manipulation can take place in many ways, for many reasons. Discuss your own opinion about what is ethical and not ethical about this process, whether it is done with animals or humans.
- Viv, Eli, and Wyatt all discuss their concepts of what a human soul might be. Summarize and compare their ideas with your own, including why you do or do not agree with any of their ideas.
- Viv tell Eli several times to “Trust the universe. Everything happens for a reason.” Explain what that means to you and whether you see life as purposeful and directed or random. Do you see life as ordered and sequential or chaotic?
- Speculate what the future will be like for Eli, Viv, and Kayla. Based on who they are at the end of the book, what will they be like and what will they be doing in five years? Ten years? Twenty?
- Choose the idea or ideas in the book that you are most interested in, that resonate with you the most, discuss them and explain why you chose them.
- This is a book that might be used in middle or high school classrooms for class discussions. In your opinion, why would it be appropriate or inappropriate in such a setting? What parts would be interesting or involving to discuss or debate? What parts would not?
- Explain why you changed and how you are different as a result of your reading this book. If you have not changed your ideas or opinions, explain why not.
Copyright
Copyright © 2004-2006, by Dr. Joni Richards Bodart and Nancy Werlin. This discussions guide may be used and duplicated freely so long as the copyright information remains affixed.
