Spare and Found Parts

“Could you make a soul out of spare and found parts?” It’s been more than 100 years since an event known as the Turn, and people now live without the computers and technology that brought about destruction and sickness. Nell Crane lives with her father, Dr. Julian Crane, in the Pale, home to those born without limbs and other body parts. Julian creates wondrous mechanical limbs for those who need them, and Nell, self-conscious about her mechanical heart, is under pressure to present a creation of her own to the Youth Council. She longs to build something more impressive than the tiny bots she assembles, and out of this longing an idea is born: Nell will build a boy, someone who will see past her scar. Irish author Griffin’s lovely U.S. debut is a quietly effective cautionary tale about a world still reeling from past mistakes. The steady ticking of Nell’s heart provides a drumbeat for her aching loneliness, her grief over the death of her mother, and her quest—despite catastrophic betrayal—to understand what it means to be alive. Ages 14–up. Agent: Simon Trewin, William Morris Endeavor. (Oct.)