This Mortal Coil

Shortlisted for the Waterstones Children's Book Prize 2018 One of the most exciting YA novels of 2017 a breathtaking debut series about one girl's quest for answers in a genetically and technologically advanced future. 3 billion lives at stake. 2 people who can save them. 1 secret hidden in their DNA. There's no gene for RUN LIKE HELL. It's sunset, and the sky is aflame, not with clouds or dust but with the iridescent feathers of a million genehacked passenger pigeons. They soar across the sky like a live impressionist painting in brilliant, swirling arcs of tangerine and gold. Their strange cries sound like pebbles tossed against a window, and they move in perfect unison, blocking out the sun. 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. Born in Australia, Emily Suvada now lives in Portland in the USA where, when she’s not writing, she likes to hike, cycle and conduct chemistry experiments in the kitchen. This Mortal Coil, her first novel, is inspired by her interest in genetic engineering, AI and what it means to be human.