Dragonfly Girl by Marti Leimbach Pages: 384
Published by Katherine Tegen Books on February 23, 2021
Source: Finished Copy from Publisher
In this spellbinding thriller and YA debut from bestselling author Marti Leimbach, Kira Adams has discovered a cure for death—and it may just cost her life.
Things aren’t going well for Kira. At home, she cares for her mother and fends off debt collectors. At school, she’s awkward and shy. Plus, she may flunk out if she doesn’t stop obsessing about science, her passion and the one thing she’s good at . . . very good at.
When she wins a prestigious science contest she draws the attention of the celebrated professor Dr. Gregory Munn (as well as his handsome assistant), leading to a part-time job in a top-secret laboratory.
The job is mostly cleaning floors and equipment, but one night, while running her own experiment, she revives a lab rat that has died in her care.
One minute it is dead, the next it is not.Suddenly she’s the remarkable wunderkind, the girl who can bring back the dead. Everything is going her way. But it turns out that science can be a dangerous business, and Kira is swept up into a world of international rivalry with dark forces that threaten her life.
Dragonfly Girl is a young adult science thriller by Marti Leimbach. I loved this book. It almost had a Robin Cook vibe to it, because his books often explore the darker side of science. If you are a fan of young adult thrillers with awkwardly wonderful main characters, fantastic writing and a fast paced plot that is sure to capture your attention, then look no further than Dragonfly Girl. It is the best thriller I have read in a long time. Plus, isn’t the cover fantastic? I love the formulas woven throughout.
In Dragonfly Girl, we meet our main character Kira. Kira has a lot on her plate between her rigorous academic aspirations and caring for her sick mother. Not to mention dealing with the debt her family is in. She is in a tough position, which is why when Kira seemingly gets a break and grabs a spot in a prestigious science lab, I felt so excited for her. I was immediately drawn in to Kira as a character. I love her. I related to her reserved nature and her overloaded plate of responsibility in a way that made it impossible for me not to like her. I just wanted her and her mom to catch a break. But she finally seemed to catch one. A paper she was working on and used as entry for a previous competition, got her noticed by a local lab, and she got a research job there. While she was working in the lab, where she made an enormous discovery- she brought a dead rat back to life. This obviously brings about a whole whirlwind of unexpected consequences, some of which stem from another contestant of a previous contest she entered and won.
I was completely riveted with the plotline of Dragonfly Girl, not to mention the idea of a discovery that could bring animals and possibly people back to life was huge! It was such an interesting idea to explore. I did not expect the direction that this novel took. View Spoiler » The fast pace of the plot, combined with all of the wonderful twists and turns made this a very suspenseful read. I loved it all! Marti Leimbach is a new to me author, but she is certainly one that I will be looking to read more from. Dragonfly Girl was a well executed young adult suspense/thriller that captured my attention from page one until the end.
sherry fundin
great cover and i think i would like it too
sherry @ fundinmental