Gifted
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- $11.99
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- $11.99
Publisher Description
Thriller. Love story. Social experiment.
In Orpheus Chanson's world, geniuses and prodigies are no longer born or honed through hard work. Instead, procedures to induce Acquired Savant Abilities (ASAs) are now purchased by the privileged. And Orpheus's father holds the copyright to the ASA procedure.
Zimri Robinson, a natural musical prodigy, is a "plebe"—a worker at the enormous warehouse that supplies an on-line marketplace that has supplanted all commerce. Her grueling schedule and her grandmother's illness can't keep her from making music—even if it is illegal.
Orpheus and Zimri are not supposed to meet. He is meant for greatness; she is not. But sometimes, rules are meant to be broken.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
Orpheus Chanson, son of a music mogul, lives in the sparkle of the rich and famous, and his father is pressuring him to get surgery that induces ASA (Acquired Savant Abilities). In Orpheus's circle, you're nobody if you don't have ASA, but he's conflicted, especially after his sister's botched surgery. Zimri Robinson lives with her grandmother in a PODPlex, picking and packing items ordered at the touch of a button by those who can afford them. Making music keeps life bearable for Zimri, but it's a dangerous pastime if she's discovered. When the two meet, Orpheus is enchanted by her and she seems to like him too, but things are rarely that simple. Unfortunately, Orpheus's clueless remarks about social inequality, meant to highlight his dawning realization of how the other half lives, are often heavy-handed, and the worldbuilding details are hokey ("The Kardashian SCEWL for Future CelebuTantes posted record high earnings today," reads one news report). Swain's (Hungry) story is overwhelmed by unsubtle commentary on consumerism and class, and undermined by one-dimensional characters. Ages 12 up.
