A review by imalwayswrite
Off Target by Eve Smith

challenging emotional informative tense fast-paced

4.0

The world in Off-Target could start happening in a few years, where scientists are able to manipulate babies’ genes in order to rid them of genetic disorders. In Off-Target they’ve gone too far. Not only are parents making sure their babies stay healthy, some are engineered to excel at sports or schoolwork, etc. Of course not everyone can afford this.

 

Susan Rawlins has fertility issues that IVF couldn’t fix. She has a one-night stand with a colleague and becomes pregnant. Except she’s married. She’s put in touch with a doctor who can replace the biological father’s genes with Susan’s husband’s genes. No one would ever know. The child would resemble the husband. And because it would be a clinical trial, the cost for services is free. Susan wants a baby badly, so she decides to go through with it.

 

Off-Target is a fast-paced novel—I couldn’t put it down. It takes place in the UK so some of the slang may not be familiar to American readers. Obviously it delves into bioethics. It made me question my own thoughts and beliefs about genetic engineering. It’s a book that makes you think.