Malinda Lo, Adaptation

[bibliogramma]

I loved Lo's two earlier YA fantasy novels, Huntress and Ash, so I was quite naturally eager to read Adaptation, her foray into YA science fiction. Perhaps because of the "real world" setting - the US, only a little into our own future - the book was more obviously YA, and very much a coming of age story for the main character, Reese. It's also a story about finding your own identity, coming to terms with your own sexuality, and learning to question the authorities who try to define and confine your reality.

There's a grand government conspiracy involving aliens and biotechnology that Reese and her friend (and future love interest) David literally stumble into. There's also the beautiful stranger (also a future love interest) who turns out to be at the heart of the secret alien conspiracy. And there's a refreshing suggestion that there are more ways than one to resolve a love triangle. At the end, I found myself quite eager to read the second volume of the duology. I must add, however, that while I enjoyed it, I found that Lo's writing style is somewhat more suited to fantasy than to SF.