by Houghton Mifflin Houghton Mifflin Harcourt
First published 2014
Maria opens her chemistry textbook expecting molecular formulas and periodic tables. Instead, she finds herself pulled into a world where chemical reactions become living stories. The pages describe compounds that shouldn't exist and experiments that bend reality. Each chapter draws her deeper into a mystery that connects her small Texas town to a larger scientific conspiracy. As Maria follows the textbook's strange instructions, she discovers that someone has been using chemistry education to hide dangerous knowledge. The formulas she memorizes change her understanding of matter itself. Maria must decide whether to trust the mysterious author who speaks to her through margin notes, or report the book to authorities who might not believe her story. Her choice will determine whether she becomes part of the solution or another casualty of an experiment that spans generations.
Genres: science-fiction, mystery, thriller, chemistry, academic
Vibes: suspenseful, thought-provoking
Tropes: found-family, unreliable-narrator
Setting: Texas
Period: 21st-century
576 pages · Paperback · McDougal Littell/Houghton Mifflin