A review by effy
Baby X by Kira Peikoff

5.0

 
In the not too distant future, science has found a way for any two people’s DNA to be combined to create a baby. Unfortunately, this exciting technology has led to a new type of black market where anyone with enough money can buy a celebrity’s DNA and make themselves a permanent feature in their life by having a child with them. In Baby X, we follow three women as their lives are impacted by this embryo technology.

This was such a gripping thriller as not only were we uncovering the secrets of the mystery in this book but Peikoff raises intriguing questions around medical ethics, eugenics, and nature vs. nurture. There are a lot of deliberately uncomfortable moments within the book as we see a completely different landscape for conceiving children and the new stigmas that arise in such a society.

I don’t want to give too much of the story or plot away because this is a book that truly is worth going in with as little foreknowledge as possible.

The fact that this book is told through three POVs meant that some diverse perspectives were offered to the story as well as building suspense as chapters would frequently end on mini-cliffhangers. Unusually for a multi-perspective book, I didn’t think that there were any dud POVs as I genuinely wanted to know where each woman’s story took them. I also thought the consistent rotation worked well as the reader knew what to expect with the POV shifts.

I highly recommend picking up this book and I am interested to hear the conversations that other readers have about this book’s topics.