By Kathryn Clark (author)
"Calico gave up her life to save her sister in a cryogenically restored future- but at what cost?"
Paperback In Stock £8.99 £8.09
View All Editions (1)
This is an extraordinary debut - a dystopian thriller which will really get readers thinking about some big issues. Not just a climate changed future, but about medical ethics and what a life is worth.
Written in short punchy chapters, in a mix of prose and poetry, it is a fast paced and gripping read that is narrated by two sisters, Calico and Asha. The story opens with Calico, painfully regaining consciousness and we soon realise that she has been cryogenically preserved after death and is now restored to life. But it is not at as she had been led to expect by Lucas, the medic who talked her into the procedure as a way to save her sister Asha, who had a terminal illness.
Climate disaster has impacted the planet and resulted in a loss of technology. This strikes the reader as entirely credible. This is not the bright and shiny white future we see in sci fi and Calico is now trapped in a sinister run-down research facility with no sign of her sister. There are other, often reluctant, cryogenic test subjects and they join together to try and unravel the truth about this dangerous new world and discover what has happened to their loved ones.
Meanwhile Asha’s poetic commentary focuses on what comes after death - which has not so far brought her the relief from suffering that she had hoped to achieve by ending her own life and we begin to see the full complicated picture of their sibling relationship, both trying to do their best for the other but not truly listening. Calico certainly does learn important lessons from this experience: being treated as research fodder, not as a person, taught her about the importance of agency, consent and choice and acknowledging that humans learn by making mistakes leaves no place for guilt. She has to come to terms with the loss of her sister, but with the hope that her new found-family gives her for their future and for the world.
Definitely thought provoking, this novel will at least ensure you always read the small print of any contract put before you! Fans of really intelligent dystopian fictions such as those from Lauren James will relish this!
How much is one life worth and what would you sacrifice to save it? For Calico, the answer is simple. Nothing is more important than preserving her sister's life. No cost is too great. Until it is . . .
Read the full description
Saving Asha. That's my religion. That's my science . . . Without Asha, there is no me.
Asha is dead. Years of medical treatment were not enough to heal her. The only way 17-year-old Calico can save her younger sister now is by joining her in death - at least until modern medicine can bring them both back to healthy life. Cryogenics is the answer: Scientific. Legal. Safe. Or so Dr Fates would have her believe. He plans to preserve the sisters' bodies until his biotechnology research finds a cure for Asha.
But when Calico is brought back to life, she's in a post climate catastrophe, low-tech future trapped in a research facility. She's at risk of being sold off to a sinister enforced breeding programme. And worst of all - Asha is missing.
Calico must find a way to save her sister, herself, and the new friends she's made among the other test subjects. But first she has to unravel the secrets the facility is hiding and reveal the lies she has been part of.
In this striking debut, Kathryn Clark raises poignant questions about the ethics of medical science, humans playing god, the consequences of our choices, and the place of consent in healthcare.
Kathryn is a graduate of the Bath Spa MA Writing for Young People. Things I Learned While I was Dead came second in the Faber Imagined Futures Prize. Her work has been long/shortlisted in awards including Times/Chicken House, Mslexia Children's Novel, Bath Children's Novel, and Searchlight Novel Opening. She was runner up in the Book Pipeline Novel Contest, and winner of the Arvon Novel Opening Competition. Kathryn works as a freelance writing mentor. She lives in Gloucestershire with her family and two dogs.
A Song I Wrote For Charlotte
The Golden Boy's Guide to Bipolar
How much is one life worth and what would you sacrifice to save it? For Calico, the answer is simple.
The LoveReading4Kids Editorial Team have read and reviewed Things I Learned While I Was Dead and determined it is suitable for children aged 15-18 years old
Things I Learned While I Was Dead features in the following genres: Featured Books for Young Adults, Debuts of the Month, Recommendations, Stories about Family and Friends, Romance / Relationship Stories, Science Fiction, Children’s / Teenage fiction: Romance and love stories, Children’s / Teenage fiction: General, modern and contemporary fiction, Children's and Young Adult Fiction, Children’s, Teenage and Educational
Paperback. £8.09, down from the £8.99 cover price. In Stock.
Things I Learned While I Was Dead was written by Kathryn Clark and published by Faber & Faber
Things I Learned While I Was Dead has 390 pages
£8.09, reduced from £8.99. In Stock.
©PTC International Ltd T/A LoveReading is registered in England. Company number: 10193437. VAT number: 270 4538 09. Registered address: 157 Shooters Hill, London, SE18 3HP. Terms & Conditions | Privacy Policy | Disclaimer
The National Year of Reading starts here. Join thousands of families and schools supporting reading for pleasure across the UK.