Josh worships his older brother, Max. They look alike, they talk alike, and they both have the same interests, including their favorite massively multiplayer online role-playing game, Genesis Alpha. But Josh and Max have an even deeper connection. Because Josh was born for a reason. It was Josh's stem cells, harvested when Josh was newly born, that saved his dying older brother's life.Now that same beloved older brother is arrested, accused of the brutal murder of a teenage girl. Josh is bewildered. Is Max really a monster, or is all of this a terrible mistake? And if the worst is true and Max is guilty, does that mean Josh is guilty too? After all, Max wouldn't exist without him. But this is only the beginning. Before long, Josh will come to a number of searing revelations -- revelations that have dire implications not only for Max's future, but for Josh's as well.Rune Michaels explodes onto the teen literature scene with this gripping, chilling debut -- a compelling picture of the intersection where science, family, and morality collide. Distributed by Syndetic Solutions, Inc.

Gr 7-10-Two brothers have a special relationship. Max was dying of cancer when Josh was born and it was the infant's stem cells that saved his life. It was no coincidence that Josh's cells were a perfect match since he was a "designer baby," conceived specifically to cure Max. Now, even with Max away at college, they remain close, sharing nightly adventures in an online role-playing game. Josh's world is rocked to its core when Max is arrested for the vicious murder of a local girl, and some people question whether Josh bears some responsibility for the crime since Max would have died without him. The media storm intensifies when Rachel, the dead girl's sister, disappears. In a credulity-straining twist, Josh discovers her hiding in their garden shed but doesn't tell anyone. Though the story is often exciting, it is also unbelievable in several places. How could Josh-and his two PhD-holding parents-have missed any indication of Max's evil side? Both boys were tested repeatedly over the years and yet there was never any indication of a psychological problem. The police confiscate all of the family's computers but their forensic specialists can't find the evidence that Josh locates in five minutes on a borrowed laptop. Readers looking for a novel about a sibling's criminality would be better served by Patricia McCormick's My Brother's Keeper (Hyperion, 2005), and those looking for stories about tissue donation and sibling illness could try Jody Picoult's My Sister's Keeper (Atria, 2004).-Anthony C. Doyle, Livingston High School Library, CA Copyright 2007 Reed Business Information. From: Reed Elsevier Inc. Copyright Reed Business Information