The Goodness Gene

For some reason, I found that it was a lot harder for me to actually get into this book than usual. Maybe the topic of genetics (which is usually interesting to me) was off, or maybe it was boring. Or both.
Yeah. Probably both.
So. Although The Goodness Gene got off to a slow start, the overall dystopian world was very different, and I like the eerie look into our future it provides. Technology played a big part in the storyline, but it sometimes got a bit tricky figuring out what everything is and what they do, especially in the beginning. The characters of the story were well-done, for the most part, and you could really see some changes in personality by the end of the book. The plot was kind of choppy and unfeeling, though, but I think it got much better later on. If cloning, heavy duty sci-fi, and humanity is something you like, this is probably a good read for you.

As the son of the Compassionate Director, Will has always been expected to follow in his dictator father's footsteps. He has been brought up in the spotless, uber-high-tech near-fantasy world of 2305. Then, when the Director feels it's time for Will to start learning how to lead a nation, Will is sent on a "pageant" around the not-so-wealthy world around him that he hardly knew about. There, among the actually organically grown food and the obsolete technology, he meets Leora, a beautiful girl who seems to know everything about the Earth, their history, and even a secret or two she's hiding from Will.
But maybe it's better if she never tells him about, well, him.

Related links:
• Author's website
• Wikipedia article on cloning