Double Helix a novel by Nancy Werlin

Nancy Werlin

Nancy Werlin is an American author of young adult novels. She received a B.A. in English from Yale College and was a National Book Award nominee for The Rules of Survival, a winner of the Edgar Award for Best Young Adult Novel for The Killer's Cousin in 1999, and an Edgar award finalist for Locked...

, is about 18-year old Eli Samuels, who works for a famous molecular biologist named Dr. Quincy Wyatt. There is a mysterious connection between Dr. Wyatt and Eli’s parents, and all Eli knows about the connection is that it has something to do with his mother, who has Huntington’s disease. Because of the connection between Dr. Wyatt and the Samuels family, Eli's father is strongly against Eli working there. The job is perfect, and the wages are great, but Eli can't help but notice that Dr. Wyatt seems to be a little too interested in Eli. Later on, as Eli continues to work in the lab, he discovers with the help of Kayla Matheson, Dr. Wyatt's supposed "niece," that he and Kayla are the product of a highly unethical eugenics

Eugenics

Eugenics is the "applied science or the bio-social movement which advocates the use of practices aimed at improving the genetic composition of a population", usually referring to human populations. The origins of the concept of eugenics began with certain interpretations of Mendelian inheritance,...

 experiment.

Characters

Character	Description
Eli Samuels	Eli is 18 years old, 6-foot-7 tall and an A student. His mother has Huntington's, which he could have, too.
Jonathan Samuels	Jonathan Samuels is Eli's father, who still loves his wife. He has a problem with Eli working at Wyatt Transgenic's, because of things that went down in the past. He is initially completely unwilling to tell Eli anything about his and his mother's relationships with Dr. Wyatt.
Dr. Quincy Wyatt	Dr. Qunicy Wyatt is a famed geneticist, who is considered to be on par with Mendel, Watson, and Crick. He offers Eli a job. He displays an unexplained interest in Eli..
Vivian Fadiman	Vivian Fadiman is Eli's girlfriend. All she wants is to be part of his life and she supports him in everything she does. It's hard for her to understand why Eli hides major parts of his life from her.
Kayla Matheson	A year older than Eli, he gets to know her via Dr. Wyatt. He is attracted to her because of her beauty and athleticism.
Ava Samuels	Ava Samuels is Eli's mother and living in a nursing home because of her Huntington's disease Huntington's disease Huntington's disease, chorea, or disorder , is a neurodegenerative genetic disorder that affects muscle coordination and leads to cognitive decline and dementia. It typically becomes noticeable in middle age. HD is the most common genetic cause of abnormal involuntary writhing movements called chorea... . She has a mysterious connection with Dr. Wyatt.

Themes

The story addresses a lot of recent scientific breakthroughs, and uses them as plot development. For instance, The Human Genome Project

Human Genome Project

The Human Genome Project is an international scientific research project with a primary goal of determining the sequence of chemical base pairs which make up DNA, and of identifying and mapping the approximately 20,000–25,000 genes of the human genome from both a physical and functional...

, which documents all the genes and DNA in the human genetic makeup, is talked about when Dr. Wyatt explains his genetic testing to Eli for the first time. Scientific American

Scientific American

Scientific American is a popular science magazine. It is notable for its long history of presenting science monthly to an educated but not necessarily scientific public, through its careful attention to the clarity of its text as well as the quality of its specially commissioned color graphics...

 recently published an article detailing the possible uses for the information gathered from the Human Genome Project. Modern advancements in gene studies currently can detect and, in some cases, even predict the presence of a genetic abnormality. In Double Helix, this ability to detect “flaws” before birth was used to genetically engineer

Genetic engineering

Genetic engineering, also called genetic modification, is the direct human manipulation of an organism's genome using modern DNA technology. It involves the introduction of foreign DNA or synthetic genes into the organism of interest...

 a “more perfect son, devoid of flaws and with a proper chance to live free of Huntington’s

Huntington's disease

Huntington's disease, chorea, or disorder , is a neurodegenerative genetic disorder that affects muscle coordination and leads to cognitive decline and dementia. It typically becomes noticeable in middle age. HD is the most common genetic cause of abnormal involuntary writhing movements called chorea...

.”

For many people, the biggest issue with genetic engineering is whether or not to seek out and act on knowledge about genetic flaws. On a website about eugenics, the author points out that:
While modern eugenics has the potential to empower the human race with immense strength…it also can destroy us. The potential for abusing modern eugenics is unbelievable…people [could] use modern eugenics to create a new wave of biological weapons .
Double Helix shows the life saving and life destroying aspects to genetic engineering. Eli’s life was saved by avoiding the Huntington’s disease gene, but his concept of life and self were destroyed when he found out he was genetically engineered to be a certain way.