Rules for 50/50 Chances
A Novel
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3.7 • 3 Ratings
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- $11.99
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- $11.99
Publisher Description
Seventeen-year-old Rose Levenson has a decision to make: Does she want to know how she's going to die? Because when Rose turns eighteen, she can take the test that tells her if she carries the genetic mutation for Huntington's disease, the degenerative condition that is slowly killing her mother.
With a fifty-fifty shot at inheriting her family's genetic curse, Rose is skeptical about pursuing anything that presumes she'll live to be a healthy adult-including her dream career in ballet and the possibility of falling in love. But when she meets a boy from a similarly flawed genetic pool and gets an audition for a dance scholarship across the country, Rose begins to question her carefully laid rules.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
In a strong debut, McGovern investigates mortality, romance, family, race, and class. When Rose and Caleb meet at a "Walk for Rare Genes," they appreciate not just each other's company but also the chance to talk honestly about having a seriously ill family member. After Caleb points out how annoying "Sick Loved Ones" can be, Rose breaks another taboo by mentioning death. Caleb, who has family with sickle-cell disease, and Rose, with a 50/50 chance of inheriting Huntington's, hit it off, but nothing is simple. Rose is deciding between attending college and pursuing ballet, but is either possible, given her mother's deterioration? And what if Rose carries the Huntington's gene? There's a test for that, but no test to decide which is worse knowing or not knowing. Additionally, Caleb is black, and Rose is white, which makes her realize how much she's never had to think about. As narrator, Rose is articulate and sympathetic, and though Caleb and his family are a bit too perfect, McGovern skillfully engages with questions of fate, choice, and truly terrible luck. Ages 12 up.
