{"product_id":"stronger-faster-and-more-beautiful-isbn-9780525580959","title":"Stronger, Faster, and More Beautiful","description":"\u003cb\u003e“If   you love \u003ci\u003eBlack Mirror\u003c\/i\u003e, this…will send shivers down your spine.”—\u003ci\u003eTeen   Vogue\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e \"Appealing to fans of \u003ci\u003eBlack Mirror\u003c\/i\u003e and \u003ci\u003eWestworld\u003c\/i\u003e,   it’s a thrilling read that explores an exciting and terrifying   near-future.\" —\u003ci\u003ePaste\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e \"[An] extraordinary work...groundbreaking in both form and   substance.\" —\u003ci\u003eHypable \u003c\/i\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e This “powerful, poignant, and action-packed” (\u003ci\u003eBustle\u003c\/i\u003e) novel is a   twisted look into the future, exploring the lengths we'll go to remake   ourselves into the perfect human specimen and what it means to be human at   all.\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e The future is curious.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e STRONGER\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e Today our bodies define us. We color our hair; tattoo our skin; pierce our   ears, brows, noses. We lift weights, run miles, break records. We are flesh   and blood and bone.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e FASTER\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e Tomorrow has different rules. The future is no longer about who we are--it's   about who we want to be. If you can dream it, you can be it. Science will   make us smarter, healthier, flawless in every way. Our future is boundless.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e MORE BEAUTIFUL\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e This is a story that begins tomorrow. It's a story about us. It's a story   about who comes after us. And it's a story about perfection. Because   perfection has a way of getting ugly.\u003cbr\u003e  \u003cbr\u003e \u003cb\u003eA \u003ci\u003eWALL   STREET JOURNAL\u003c\/i\u003e BEST SCIENCE FICTION BOOK OF 2018\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e \u003cb\u003eA \u003ci\u003eKIRKUS   REVIEWS\u003c\/i\u003e BEST BOOK OF 2018\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003e5 STARRED REVIEWS!\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e \"\u003cb\u003eA deep and suddenly necessary exploration of the beautiful and   terrible futures we face.\u003c\/b\u003e Every story leaves you desperate for more.   Somehow, the further from today Dayton travels, the more real it   becomes.\" --\u003cb\u003eHank Green, #1 \u003ci\u003eNew York Times\u003c\/i\u003e bestselling author   of \u003ci\u003eAn Absolutely Remarkable Thing\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e \u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\"An alternately charming and horrifying exploration of \u003cb\u003ewhat   it means to be human\u003c\/b\u003e and how far we'll go in pursuit of personal and   societal 'perfection.' \u003cb\u003eI devoured this book\u003c\/b\u003e.\" --\u003cb\u003eKiersten   White, \u003ci\u003eNew York Times \u003c\/i\u003ebestselling author of \u003ci\u003eAnd I   Darken\u003c\/i\u003e and \u003ci\u003eThe Dark Descent of Elizabeth Frankenstein\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cb\u003e\u003cb\u003eA \u003ci\u003eWall Street Journal\u003c\/i\u003e Best Book of 2018\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e \u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003e\u003cb\u003e\u003cb\u003e\u003cb\u003eA \u003ci\u003eKirkus Reviews\u003c\/i\u003e Best Book of 2018\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e \u003cb\u003e\u003cb\u003e\u003cb\u003e\u003cb\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e \u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003e\u003cb\u003e\u003cb\u003e\u003cb\u003e \u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e“\u003cb\u003ePowerful, poignant, and action-packed\u003c\/b\u003e, \u003ci\u003eStronger, Faster, and More Beautiful\u003c\/i\u003e is an exciting sci-fi adventure.”—\u003ci\u003eBustle\u003c\/i\u003e \u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e \"\u003cb\u003eAppealing to fans of \u003ci\u003eBlack Mirror\u003c\/i\u003e and \u003ci\u003eWestworld\u003c\/i\u003e, it’s a thrilling read\u003c\/b\u003e that explores an exciting and terrifying near-future.\"—\u003ci\u003ePaste\u003c\/i\u003e \u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e \"This \u003cb\u003eextraordinary\u003c\/b\u003e work explores the amazing possibilities of genetic manipulation and life extension, as well as the ethical quandaries that will arise with these advances.... \u003cb\u003eDeeply thoughtful, poignant, horrifying, and action-packed\u003c\/b\u003e.\"—Hypable \u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e \"\u003cb\u003eAn exhilarating new sci-fi anthology\u003c\/b\u003e... Crafted \u003cb\u003ewith a dash of \u003ci\u003eBlack Mirror\u003c\/i\u003e and a wild rush of \u003ci\u003eWestworld\u003c\/i\u003e-like imagination\u003c\/b\u003e, Dayton's visionary work of speculative fiction explores the amazing possibilities of genetic manipulation, intelligence augmentation, and life extension in all their glorious and monstrous forms, and examines the inevitable ethical paradoxes that might arise.”—\u003ci\u003eSYFY Wire\u003c\/i\u003e \u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003e★ \u003c\/b\u003e\"\u003cb\u003eImaginative and incisive\u003c\/b\u003e, this asks readers to ponder what makes us human and if we'll know when we've crossed the line, becoming something else.\"—\u003ci\u003e\u003ci\u003eKirkus Reviews, \u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/i\u003eStarred review \u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003e★ \u003c\/b\u003e\"Six stories meld perfectly together into…this \u003cb\u003especulative, thought provoking\u003c\/b\u003e \u003cb\u003enovel\u003c\/b\u003e [that] will take readers on \u003cb\u003ea frightening, remarkable journey\u003c\/b\u003e through humanity’s past, present, and possible future.\"—\u003ci\u003eBooklist, \u003c\/i\u003eStarred review \u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003e★ \u003c\/b\u003e\"Part cautionary tale and part ode to the inventive human spirit, Dayton’s \u003cb\u003ebrilliant collection of stories\u003c\/b\u003e is \u003cb\u003ebest described as a scientific \u003ci\u003eTwilight Zone\u003c\/i\u003e.\u003c\/b\u003e\"—\u003ci\u003ePublishers Weekly, \u003c\/i\u003eStarred review \u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003e★ \u003c\/b\u003e\"\u003cb\u003eCompelling and terrifying\u003c\/b\u003e, this volume is\u003cb\u003e science fiction at its finest.\u003c\/b\u003e\"—\u003ci\u003eSLJ, \u003c\/i\u003eStarred review \u003cbr\u003e \u003cb\u003e\u003cbr\u003e★ \u003c\/b\u003e\"Dayton’s\u003cb\u003e upsettingly brilliant sci-fi \u003c\/b\u003ewhat-ifs...take the human body uncomfortably into the future. From Southern California to Colorado reservations to Estonia to space platinum mines and back again, the thread of adolescent anxieties, rebellions, and meet-cutes holds things together exceptionally well even as bodies start to fall apart.\"—\u003ci\u003eBulletin\u003c\/i\u003e,\u003ci\u003e \u003c\/i\u003eStarred review \u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e “\u003cb\u003eA work of unforgettable vision and imagination.\u003c\/b\u003e This book is everything I love about science fiction.” —\u003cb\u003eJay Kristoff\u003c\/b\u003e, \u003ci\u003eNew York Times\u003c\/i\u003e bestselling coauthor of the Illuminae Files \u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e “\u003cb\u003eHaunting, challenging and provocative\u003c\/b\u003e—this is \u003cb\u003ean extraordinary book.\u003c\/b\u003e I can’t stop thinking about it.” —\u003cb\u003eAmie Kaufman\u003c\/b\u003e,\u003ci\u003e New York Times\u003c\/i\u003e bestselling coauthor of the Illuminae Files \u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e “\u003ci\u003eStronger, Faster, and More Beautiful\u003c\/i\u003e is \u003cb\u003ea remarkable book, visionary and very hard to put down. \u003c\/b\u003eThe characters live in \u003cb\u003ecompelling, personal stories that have relevance to the future of the human race itself.\u003c\/b\u003e” — \u003cb\u003eKevin J. Anderson\u003c\/b\u003e, \u003ci\u003eNew York Times\u003c\/i\u003e bestselling author of \u003ci\u003eThe Dark Between the Stars\u003c\/i\u003e   \u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e “An \u003cb\u003ealternately charming and horrifying \u003c\/b\u003eexploration of what it means to be human and how far we’ll go in pursuit of personal and societal ‘perfection.’ \u003cb\u003eDayton’s newest is imagination at its best and most terrifying. \u003c\/b\u003eI devoured this book.” —\u003cb\u003eKiersten White\u003c\/b\u003e, \u003ci\u003eNew York Times\u003c\/i\u003e bestselling author of \u003ci\u003eThe Dark Descent of Elizabeth Frankenstein\u003c\/i\u003e \u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e “\u003cb\u003eA deep and suddenly necessary exploration of the beautiful and terrible futures we face.\u003c\/b\u003e Every story leaves you desperate for more. Somehow, the further from today Dayton travels, the more real it becomes.” —\u003cb\u003eHank Green\u003c\/b\u003e, #1 \u003ci\u003eNew York Times \u003c\/i\u003ebestselling author of \u003ci\u003eAn Absolutely Remarkable Thing\u003c\/i\u003e \u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e “Great science fiction inspires humanity and paints our future possibilities. In \u003ci\u003eStronger, Faster, and More Beautiful, \u003c\/i\u003eArwen Elys \u003cb\u003eDayton explores the next era of humanity with astonishing heart\u003c\/b\u003e, a future filled with longer lifetimes, the human-technology interface, a life free from our current physical constraints.” —Peter H. Diamandis, MD, founder of XPRIZE and Singularity University and author of the \u003ci\u003eNew York Times\u003c\/i\u003e bestsellers \u003ci\u003eAbundance\u003c\/i\u003e and \u003ci\u003eBold\u003c\/i\u003e   \u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e “Bioengineering has dramatically improved the productivity and efficiency of global agriculture, while giving rise to extraordinary debate about its consequence. We are now entering a new age, where technologies allow us to bioengineer \u003ci\u003eourselves\u003c\/i\u003e. \u003ci\u003eStronger, Faster, and More Beautiful\u003c\/i\u003e—\u003cb\u003efast-paced, tightly plotted, and engaging from the first page\u003c\/b\u003e—puts a human face on the prosperity or catastrophe that is waiting just around the corner.” —\u003cb\u003eDavid Friedberg\u003c\/b\u003e, founder of Climate Corporation\u003cb\u003eArwen Elys Dayton\u003c\/b\u003e is the author of \u003ci\u003eStronger, Faster, and More Beautiful\u003c\/i\u003e as well as the Seeker series--\u003ci\u003eSeeker, Traveler, Disruptor,\u003c\/i\u003e and the e-novella \u003ci\u003eThe Young Dread\u003c\/i\u003e--and the science fiction thriller \u003ci\u003eResurrection.\u003c\/i\u003e She spends months doing research for her stories. Her explorations have taken her around the world to places like the Great Pyramid of Giza, Hong Kong and its islands, the Baltic Sea, and many ruined castles in Scotland. Arwen lives with her husband and their three children on the West Coast of the United States. You can visit her at arwenelysdayton.com and follow @arwenelysdayton on Twitter.\u003cp\u003eHuman!\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eStop!\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e. . . is what I’m thinking. As if I’ve already become something else, a different species, and I’m tired of hearing all of his worn-out, human-person logic.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eThe man is reminding me that Julia’s heart will be combined with my own heart, so it’s not like I’m “taking” hers. It’s a synthesis. The new heart will fuse both in a way that’s better than either of the originals. A super-heart, I guess you could call it.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eHe is reminding me of this, and every time I say “But--” he cuts me off by continuing his explanation, only more loudly. Now he’s almost yelling, though he’s just as cheerful as he always is.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eDid I mention that he’s my father? And he’s only repeating what my doctor has explained so many times. Although, let’s be honest, my doctor explains the same things very differently. She discusses recovery rates and reasonable percentages and acceptable outcomes. She tells me about other patients, though of course, my case and Julia’s case--the case of Evan and Julia Weary, semi-identical twins--is unique, so we are, as she likes to say, “medical pioneers.” I’ve come to think of us as the season-finale episode of a show about strange medical cases. Tune in for the outrageous conclusion!\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eI’m in my hospital room, but I’m sitting in a chair in the corner, because it’s dangerous to stay in the hospital bed, which can be wheeled away for CAT scans or blood draws or surgery, or whatever, so easily. You have the illusion of control if you’re sitting in a chair.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eJulia is in the adjoining room. She’s on the bed, of course. And though I can hear our mother in there with her, she’s only saying a few quiet words to my sister, and my sister is not saying anything in reply.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e“This is fortune smiling on us, Evan,” my father says, using what has become one of his favorite phrases. He looms over me, because I’m sitting down while he’s standing and also because he’s six foot five. “Years from now, you’re going to look back on these weeks and wonder why you ever hesitated. Julia would want her heart and yours to be joined.”\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eWhenever he senses me becoming skeptical about what we’re going to do, my father finds a new angle to convince me. This is the new angle for today: Julia’s fondest wish is for our twin hearts to become one.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e“But I’m the only one who will get to use the heart,” I tell him. “It’s not like we’re turning into one person and sharing it. I get the heart. She gets nothing.”\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eHe raises his voice another notch as he says, “Would you rather put hers in the ground? Alone and cold? To rot?” Even he can hear the hysteria that has snuck into his argument. He lowers the volume to something like normal conversational level and adds, “You know she wouldn’t want that. She does get something. She gets you, alive.”\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e“I’m the one who gets that!”\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e“She gets it too, Evan.”\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eI hope that’s true.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e“You sound out of breath,” my father says. “How about we keep our voices calm?”\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eThis is an infuriating suggestion since he’s the one who’s not calm, but his observation is accurate; I’m having trouble catching my breath. I concentrate on forcing air in and out of my chest.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eI notice that we’re only talking about Julia’s heart, even though she’ll give me so much more--her liver, part of her large intestine, her kidneys, even her pancreas. It’s too depressing to keep mentioning all the pieces of both of us that aren’t working right, so my parents and I have begun using the heart as a stand-in for everything.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eI look up at him wearily. “Dad, why do we keep talking about it, anyway? You already decided.”\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e“You decided too, Evan.”\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eI sigh, and though I try to sound as angry as possible, he’s right. I did decide.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eWhen the nurses show up to do tests, my father leaves. He doesn’t like to stick around for the nitty-gritty, which used to annoy me but now is a relief. If my father is present, he considers it an obligation to insert as many positive comments as possible into whatever uncomfortable hospital procedure is happening. It’s not ideal to have to make appreciative noises about the weather and baseball scores when a male nurse is putting a catheter into your penis, for example.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eWith my father gone, I hardly have to say anything.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eNurse: “Does that hurt?”\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eMe: “A little.”\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eNurse: “Is this better?”\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eMe: “A little.”\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eNurse: “Can you roll over onto your back now?”\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eI don’t even have to answer that. I just have to do it.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eLater, I’m left alone in my hospital room. This is the last day. It will happen in the morning. Julia and I have just barely made it to our fifteenth birthday. And now comes . . . whatever is next.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eI am not immune to daydreams. I imagine slipping on my clothes, walking out of the hospital, and asking my mother to bring me somewhere peaceful to die. My favorite fantasy locations are on a beach overlooking Lake Michigan, or on the moon base, while staring up at the small blue face of Earth. Yes, I know there isn’t any moon base, but I’m not sneaking out of the hospital either.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eThe daydreams are tempting, but here’s the truth of it: death sucks more than life, almost no matter what. There. I’ve admitted it. I want to live. Blech. It feels wrong.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eI get off my hospital bed and go into the connecting room, Julia’s. My heart races as soon as I’m on my feet, but if I move slowly, I can keep it from getting out of hand. Julia’s room is kept nice and quiet and mostly dark, though it’s still daytime, so cloudy light comes in through the slatted blinds over the window. Her ventilator hisses and clicks. Her bed is surrounded by IV stands that are providing her food, her water, her drugs. Dripping, dripping, dripping away.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e“Hey,” I say, out of breath when I reach the edge of her bed.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eHey, she says. Not out loud, of course. But I know she says it.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Delacorte Press","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":46301880189157,"sku":"NP9780525580959","price":18.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/1842\/7735\/files\/9780525580959_0e387bf4-4166-4be4-a18e-83f4b74f00fd.jpg?v=1742925364","url":"https:\/\/k12savings.com\/products\/stronger-faster-and-more-beautiful-isbn-9780525580959","provider":"K12savings","version":"1.0","type":"link"}