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Broken Symmetry
by Dan Rix
Eleven months after the father of sixteen-year-old Blaire Adams vanished without a trace, he's found wandering outside The Scripps Research Institute vomiting blood and speaking gibberish, his sole possession a worn leather diary filled with an unrecognizable language. He has a message for her.
As he dies in her arms, he claims he never vanished. She vanished.
In a nearby military quarantine zone, scientists are being called in from around the world to sequence a previously unknown strain of DNA. Scientists…and soldiers.
When her father’s autopsy reveals a rare chromosomal disorder—a disorder, it turns out, she inherited—Blaire begins to suspect her father’s last words weren’t induced by amnesia. Like her dad, she has an additional set of instructions in her genes—instructions for what, doctors can’t say. Only one thing is certain: it’s what killed him…and it will kill her too.
But now she’s haunted by prophetic nightmares of the Yellowjacket—a young murderer, eyes the black of charcoal, who lures his victims to suicide without ever paying them a visit. The only clue she has to his handiwork is a lingering feeling of déjà vu. That, and the nagging suspicion that all she knows is a mirage. She is certain of two things—though it may mean confiding in the wrong side of good and evil, he has the answers she needs.
And he is recruiting her.
* * *
Age Group/Genre: Young Adult, Sci-fi, Dystopia
Purchase: Amazon
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My Favorite Quotes from Broken Symmetry
Most
of the time, authors are told to “kill your darlings,” a common piece of
writing advice given because if an author is too attached to a specific line,
the reasoning goes, chances are it will stick out like a sore thumb. That may
be true. Nevertheless, here are a few of my “darlings” from Broken
Symmetry that I’m glad I haven’t killed :)
Joe
Paretti might have said no, but as I had learned again and again throughout my
sixteen years, no was actually code for try harder.
I
think this line really sums up an admirable quality of Blaire’s character. She
goes to hell and back in the story, so I wanted a character that was pretty
much incapable of giving up. A lot of her bravery comes from lessons her dad
taught her, from having to find her own way after his disappearance, and from
her own resolve.
“Damian,
I swear I dreamt about you—before we even met. It was your car and your jacket.
I swear.” As I said it though, I had the distinct impression I was
confiding in the wrong side of good and evil.
From
the beginning, it’s not clear whether Damian and the whole business of crossing
over—walking through mirrors—is morally right or not. They kill people inside
reflections, then come out and break the mirror, and it’s as if it’s never
happened. I loved this line about good and evil and thought it really captured
that moral uncertainty.
“Every
time you crossover, you go to a place that isn’t real. You will
begin to question what is real . . . and you
will lose yourself. Do you understand me?”
I
nodded.
“This
is the source,” he said, gesturing around us. “This is real. This
is our home . . . this is where we belong.” He pointed to the
mirror. “That’s areflection. It’s not real. It exists only when you
break symmetry—and only until you destroy the mirror. Do you understand?”
Pretty
much every line out of Damian’s mouth became one of my favorites. Either he’s
being a punk, sexy as hell, or crazy intense. This is one of the crazy intense
lines. I pictured him describing the dangers of crossing over to Blaire kind of
the same way Will Smith talks about fear in the movie After Earth.
Watch the preview if you haven’t seen it—it’s epic.
The
glass under my thumb gave way. It was like a thin sheet of
ice . . . melting under the warmth of my finger. I squealed and
yanked my hand back.
This
is the first description of what Blaire feels when she first “breaks symmetry”
and sticks her hand into a mirror. It’s probably just as likely that you
wouldn't feel anything, but I wanted to give the mirrors a texture to amp up
the feeling that they were crossing over into a parallel universe. I always
imagined it would feel kind of like melting through ice.
Suddenly,
even though I had been staring right at her, her face came into focus—and I
understood Damian’s surprise.
I did know
the girl.
Of
course I hadn't seen her at school. Of course I didn't recognize her; I never
had to before. Because until tonight, she had only existed in the fleeting,
two-dimensional glimpses I caught in mirrors.
She
was my reflection.
A
million times I had glared into her eyes, gawked at her face, scrutinized her
flaws.
Not
once had I actually seen her.
Earlier
in this scene, which takes place in a reflection, Blaire sees a beautiful girl
at her prom whom she doesn’t recognize. Then, in a flash, she realizes the girl
is her own reflection. I loved this scene because I think people—especially
teens—are their own harshest critic. I think everyone’s had a moment like that,
where you catch sight of someone, maybe in a photograph or a strangely angled
mirror, and you don’t realize it’s you. At first you’re just curious and a
little intrigued. Then, you recognize yourself and suddenly you’re way more
critical. In the scene, Blaire goes through a similar experience and gets to
see herself exactly as others see her. She is pleasantly surprised—like I think
most people would be.
Blaire is never insecure,
and I’m not a fan of stories where insecure but beautiful girls only feel
beautiful because some guy validates them and says they’re beautiful. I felt it
was important for Blaire to see herself through a different lens, rather than
have someone else be the lens. Beauty is not in the eyes of the beholder. It
comes from within.
Dan Rix lives in Santa Barbara, California with his fiancée, paranormal romance author Laura Thalassa. He started writing his first novel in college while procrastinating his architecture studio work.
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Huge thanks to Dan Rix for being a guest on Literary Me today! :)
Readers, continue on for the giveaway! ~
Good luck & thanks for stopping by!
♥ Happy Reading!
♥ Happy Reading!
