Vendor
	Foundry Claire Harris
Original language
English
Categories
Children’s, Teenage & Educational
Weblink
www.kate-mcgovern.com

RULES FOR 50/50 CHANCES

Kate McGovern

A heartrending but ultimately uplifting debut novel about learning to accept life’s uncertainties.

When Rose turns eighteen, she can take a test that will tell her if she carries the genetic mutation for Huntington's disease, the degenerative condition that is slowly killing her mother. With a fifty-fifty shot at inheriting her family's genetic curse, Rose has pretty much given up on anything that presumes she'll live to be a healthy adult - including ballet school and the possibility of falling in love. But seventeen-year-old Rose Levenson has a decision to make: does she want to know how she's going to die? A realistic novel that confront issues about life, death, and love.

Kate McGovern's plays have been produced Off-Broadway and her writing has appeared in the New York Times (twice in the "Modern Love" column), Slate, and Narrative Magazine. Her essay "The Secret Lives of My Parents" was included in the Random House anthology Twentysomething Essays by Twentysomething Writers.

Available products
Book Published 2015-12-01 by Farrar, Straus & Giroux Books
Book Published 2015-12-01 by Farrar, Straus & Giroux Books

Comments

Rose's story is realistic and well drawn. Rose is amazingly mature and responsible, but she can be self-centered, obsessive, and impulsive. In other words, she is a very typical teenager faced with an extraordinary circumstance. This book is a solid addition to any library.

A page-turning portrayal of living at risk for Huntington's disease, rich with the complex layers of tormented indecision that come with genetic screening. Would you want to know? A great read.

In a strong debut, McGovern investigates mortality, romance, family, race, and class. When Rose and Caleb meet at a “Walk for Rare Genes,” they appreciate not just each other’s company but also the chance to talk honestly about having a seriously ill family member. As narrator, Rose is articulate and sympathetic… McGovern skillfully engages with questions of fate, choice, and truly terrible luck.

Readers will stick with Rose through her dilemma—and her decision— rooting for her to make the choice that’s right for her.

This standout contemporary read should have wide appeal.