Wednesday, January 20, 2016

Origin, Vitro, Kalahari, and the Corpus World (by Jessica Khoury)

Today I would really love to talk about a world I've adored for the past few years but nobody has ever heard of. The Corpus world, created by Jessica Khoury.
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I've been following this author for quite some time, mainly because of a writing advice blog she used to be particularly active on during the beginning of my high school years. I was reading when she announced she would be published, and since then she has published three books with another on the way this February. The books she has published so far all take place in our world but revolve around a science corporation known as Corpus that funds sci-fi worthy but particularly inhumane experiments throughout the world. Each book is about a different experiment, and I'm here to explain their beauty and glory to you.

Origin
Origin follows the story of Pia, a girl living in a lab known as Little Cam hidden in the Amazon rain forest. She is the center of an experiment that has been going on for decades, an experiment to develop immortality. Pia is the first immortal they have created. With keen senses, an inability to get sick, and skin that cannot be pierced, Pia is the pinnacle of human creation.
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But of course, all Pia's known to be true is thrown into question when one day she finds a hole in the fence surrounding Little Cam, and she meets a native boy named Eio.
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Guys, the romance in this book. Just....prime. But that isn't all there is to the book. The story is full of thrill, rides and by the end it makes you think.

Vitro
Vitro follows Sophie, a girl whose mother works for Corpus on Skin Island, who is suddenly in need of desperate help with no apparent reason why. We soon lear the island is the location of experiments in cloning, and Sophie learns of the existence of someone her mother has been keeping secret. This book features more mystery than Origin but still has a world of adventures to be had. Since the main character isn't directly involved in the experiments, there's a lot more to be discovered and questioned.
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And of course, it wouldn't be a Jessica Khoury book without the romance. Just as prime. Just as sweet. Sophie becomes reconnected with a sarcastic pilot she knew as a child, Jim Julien. The chemistry between them sparks.
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It's beauty, it's grace, it's Miss-Corpus-State. (My puns are hilarious.)

Kalahari
So, I have yet to read this one, mainly because I didn't hear about it until recently, which is a great shame. But I've heard stellar reviews, and I can give a general background. It follows Sarah, daughter of zoologists in the African Kalahari desert. She leads a group of teens through that desert after a safari exploration goes wrong. But they soon encounter the dangers of Corpus when they are attacked by a lion with a metallic sheen to it, the product of a disease from another Corpus experiment gone wrong.
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I wish I could review it more in depth, but knowing Jessica Khoury, I have faith in her writing abilities. 
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Jessica Khoury is a talented author who knows what she's doing, and I'm surprised not many people know about her and her books. I would like to change that. If you're looking for anything new to read, definitely check these out!

1 comment:

  1. I started following Jessica Khoury when her first book was published too. The concepts intrigued me. (Though, I didn't get to reading any of them until last year! (So many books, so little time, am I right?) I've read all of them, and I think I enjoyed Kalahari the most. (The African setting was gorgeous & I really liked the main character the best. I felt I related to her the most. Plus... metallic animals.) They were all decent books with great thrills, pretty romances, and interesting concepts.

    (So there, SOMEbody has heard of them. :D)

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