This book was absolutely fantastic. The premise of the GEMs is unique, and the worldbuilding makes it feel real. The pacing is phenomenal. There's lot of fast action, but it's tempered with tension breaks at the right times.

Oh. Wow. Where do I start? I had intended to slowly read this book, but ended up finishing it in two sittings (a break was necessary for sleep and work, unfortunately).

Fragile Remedy is beautiful, painful, and absolutely wonderful. The main character Nate is a GEM, a Genetically Engineered Medi-tissue, who relies on a steady dose of Remedy to keep him healthy. Unfortunately, his existence as a GEM must be kept secret and Remedy is hard to come by. When his illegal supply of medicine runs out and his true nature is exposed, Nate finds himself, along with his friends, in danger, and he's forced to make some hard choices.

Where Fragile Remedy shines the brightest is in its characters. The characters and their relationships with each other are wonderfully nuanced and deep, and within just a few pages, I was ready to fight for the Alley Cats and their happiness. It is so easy to fall in love with them and sympathize with their struggles while also recognizing their flaws and complexity. My favorite character is Alden who is so lovely and broken, and his relationship with Nate is twisted up in need, power imbalances, secrets, addiction, but also deep, unwavering love and affection for each other. Then you also have Nate's relationship with Reed, sweet, tentative, and innocent, but also touched with guilt, mistrust, and hesitancy.

Ingrande Mora creates a world where children have to scavenge and fight for moldy scraps to eat, risking their lives on a regular basis, and around them, many people <spoiler>including Alden and one of the Alley Cats' siblings</spoiler> are addicted to a drug called Chem. It is raw and heartbreaking, but the story is constantly underlined with constant themes of love, family, and loyalty.

Thank you to Netgalley, the publisher, and the author for an advanced copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Sixteen-year-old Nate, a GEM (or genetically modified human) is trying to make his way on the streets of the quarantined island the Withers, to feed his gang by bartering ‘tech’, used parts of old machines. But when an explosion rocks the Withers, things change rapidly, and not for the better. Not only does Nate have to navigate an increasingly chaotic island, he has to do so while chronic illness hangs over him like the Sword of Damocles.

I can’t find words for how much I enjoyed this book. Not only does it tick the diversity boxes, it’s a fantastic story of addiction, found family and the power of big pharma. The writing hooked me from the first page, and the stakes were always high for Nate. The characters suffered real injury and there were meaningful consequences for their actions.

There was very little about this I didn’t like: maybe one reveal at the end felt a bit cliched.

I would have liked to see some of the consequences of the lung-rot. All we were told was that it had been cured using the GEMs. While it was a clever twist to have them work the way they did, I was confused as to why the city was still quarantined. As another reviewer pointed out, fleshing out the Withers’ relationship to Gathos City would have shed a bit more light on this.

This was a fascinating world to discover. The world-building is very well done and it really makes you want to learn more. There's a lot of missing details because there's a lot Nate doesn't know, but it just adds to the desire to discover the secrets. The characters were all multi-dimensional and interesting and I really enjoyed the book.

** this ARC was provided by the publisher in exchange for a honest review

4.5/5

As I first read the description of this book, I was both intrigued and sure that I was going to like this book.

And I was right.

As a real fan of a good SF/dystopian book, I truly enjoyed ‘Fragile Remedy’ for this ‘The Island’ vibes. The set-up was clear and steady and I was rapidly immersed in the universe and the conflict between Gathos City and the Withers. Dystopian worlds have the tendency of looking a bit the same with a repressive and conservative regime, but I like that this book went a bit further from that especially by questioning the link that exists between wealth and health, the use of of technology on our own bodies. I think pain has never been so well-written in that kind of books and even if it was sometimes quite hard to read (thanks to the beautiful writing-style) I really liked that part of the story.

Pain is nor a motivation or a determination for our main character Nate. He was by far my favorite character of the book because he was complexed and clear as water at the same time. He remains true to himself, true to his heart, without being this big hero. You can always find a way to my heart with the trope of the hero-who-doesn’t-realise-he-is-one. And Nate is one of a kind.

I loved the relationship between the characters. The whole « family is what you choose » is something that always works in that kind of books when all the members of the family have this marvelous connection and personalities. The slow passion that settles between Nate and Reed was absolutely beautiful ; I love how the physical contacts and the looks were written like it was something forbidden but so much desired.

I don’t want to spoil anything so I’ll just leave my review there. But this book is fantastic. I could not believe it was a debut novel as I was reading it. A major tour de force!

I've never been drawn into a book world as quickly as I was with Fragile Remedy. Nate is such a well written nuanced character and Maria Ingrande Mora knows how to tell a story.

Nate is a GEM, a genetically engineered medical surrogate created to help combat the lung rot. Once it was gone, GEMs were used to keep the wealthy healthy. A life Nate has avoided after being hidden away in the Withers. A quarantine zone.

These characters are all so well written, all so believable. The world is easy to see and feels real. Nate's just trying to survive in the beginning but he's never sure who to trust and it only gets worse.

This book is strong and gorgeously written. Disparities between rich poor, healthy sick, people abusing themselves with a drug called chem. Even Nate's supplier for a substance called Remedy is abusive.

A fantastic introduction to a new to me author.

I am still thinking about Fragile Remedy, this beautifully painful little gem of a story.

Maria Ingrande Mora's debut is a mix of dystopian and Science Fiction, I'd say, and it's unlike anything I've read before.
I was immediately there with Nate, the main character, thrown right into action and the gritty world in which he lives. Life in the Withers is hard and painful, many people are addicted to a drug named 'chem', doing horrible things for just the next shot. And Nate, fragile, couragous, precious Nate, keeps a big, dangerous secret hidden from his small found family of outcasts...

Mora writes a great scenery and pulls the reader straight into the story with her fantastic characters and great worldbuilding. She doesn't shy away from hurt, loss, abuse and the horror of what deep addiction can make people do.
What I loved about her characters was the natural way in which they were written, their uniqueness and their way of life never their main feature, although they are beautiful in every way: people of color, transgender, gay, addicted.
And although there are cruel, painful and sad moments, the ultimate themes of Nate's story are hope, love and family.

I also have to mention Alden, beautiful, broken Alden who, despite seeming heartless and hopelessly addicted, loved deeply in his own way.

The biggest thank yous to Flux, North Star Editions, and NetGalley for providing me with this eARC in exchange for an honest review.

I received this book from NetGalley in exchange of an honest review.

This book talks about the social difference between riches and poors (highlighted by physical separations), addiction, murder, death, torture, the importance and meaning of family, above all the one you can create, love and relationship.

Nate is a GEM (Genetically Engineered Medical Surrogate) and he was created by Gathos City, to keep the healthy alive and happy (his blood has healing and wondrous proprieties). To save and give him a chance to live and not to be abused all the time, his parents smuggled him out into the Withers, a place separated from the elite city, a lawless place where he learned to survive as a Tinker, finding his own family with a scavenging gang. But Nate's days are threatened and counted, since the scientists of Gathos City buiilt a failsafe, making the GEMs' bodies deteriorate with age, if they don't take regularly their medicine. When remedy's supply (his saving medicine) is threatened and Reed, the boy he loves, is badly hurt, Nate finds himself into a difficult position.

I really, really loved Fragile Remedy. Nate is an amazing main character, weighed down by his past. He was abused by cruel scientists and he's burdened by own lies, since he's scared to tell the gang he's beginning to see as a family the truth about his origin, scared they, to survive, could sell him out.
Into a zone where people look for GEMs and their blood, where they are devastated by the drug named chem and subjects to Gathos City's whims, Nate doesn't know who to trust. His relationship with Alden, his remedy supplier, is complex and abusive, weighed down by wants and needs and feelings, while in the one with Reed there are so many lies and half-truths, even though it's clear they really love each other and the other with Pixel, the young girl in the gang, is sweet and protective.

I loved the characters' complex relationships. They would do anything to protect each other and to survive and when one of them is in danger they are ready to do the impossibile, against the cruelty of greed and people. Their creating a family with each other was a wonderful thing and their loyalty, their love was inspiring and absolute. It was comforting and sweet reading how they have each other's backs, how they support and love one other. Intelligent Nate, resolute Reed, sarcastic Sparks, strong Brick and sweet Pixel.
This book wrecked me, emotionally, because it was impossible not to love its characters. Not to want to protect and love Nate, Reed, Brick, Sparks and Pixel, cheering for their safety and happy ending.
I loved the family they created, their fierce loyalty to each other. The complexity of Nate and Alden's relationship and the intense and complicated one with Reed are beautifully written and it was a pleasure to discover their intricacies.
How both Alden and Reed were ready to fight the world for Nate, each of them in his own way. I loved the writing style and I felt so involved I cried and laughed with the characters, feeling sad, cheering for them, squealing in delight. The author got me hooked since the very beginning, pushing me to read more and more, because I needed to see them safe and sound, to see how the story would pan out.

I liked how, through a story about love, survival, family and relationships, the author talked about the abuse the riches inflict on poor people. The gap was clear through physical separation (the gates) and because the Withers were depending on the City's supplies (food, remedy and so on). It was interesting reading the way its inhabitants struggled to survive, many surrending themselves to drugs, and others struggling to have a home in a place abandoned by many. Reading how many people in the Withers choose to drug themselves indicated their suffered and bleak life. How, to escape a grim and hopeless reality people were attracted by drugs, wanting to forget, to "fly", as they said in the book. Wonderful and inspiring was reading, instead, how Reed's gang mantained their morals and wanted to avoid conflicts with the majior players: the A-Volts, the Breakers, but they were ready, though, when one of their own was threatened and hurt..

Fragile Remedy lays important questions about morality and science, pushing the reader to think the lenght the science should go.
If a clone was created to save people's lives, what should his/her rights be? He/she should be considered a human being? What exactly being humans mean? Should science appeal to humanity and decency or shouldn't? The end justify the means and so on.
I found the social message really important and on point. It was intense thinking about that, above all because the reader sees through Nate's eyes, his feeling trapped, used and hurt, his life created to be in other's service, his own blood used to heal others while weakening him, his own life depending on medicine his captors created. Nate's reality was awful and incredibly complex and he wanted to survive and, at the same time, he was ready to sacrifice himself for the people he loved the most.
It was hard to read about Nate's story, because I felt acutely his feeling trapped, his hopelessness, above all with Agatha.
I was impressed by Alden's character, too, because both he and Nate, in their own ways, were forced to do things to survive, things that left them wrecked with shame and guilt. Alden's life, like Nate's wasn't easy, so he resolved to drugs and to forgetting. I loved Alden's personality and appearance, so flashy, so flirty and sarcastic all the time. He's one of my favourite characters.

Reading through Nate's POV was an intense experience. It was sweet, embarassed and cute when he was with Reed and I loved their interactions. Nate and Reed, they are amazing together and their relationship was a slow burn, until, the wonderful and hopeful ending. Their touches, their gazing, their being embarassed were absolutely cute and loving. The way they are fiercely protective of each other and their family, how unsure were of the other feelings. I loved everything.

The review will be posted on Lu's books on June 16

This YA science fiction is totally engrossing, with its best feature being its strong and nuanced development of the main characters. Through the stories of Nate, Reed, and Alden, the book tells a story that is as old as time, even as the book itself is set in a future world. It is a story of love, loss, wanting to belong somewhere, and learning to love with all the risks that come with loving someone, including their loss. and possible betrayal.

Where the book is slightly less successful is in fleshing out the conflict between the Gathos City and the Withers. I think if this conflict had been fleshed out a bit more, the dystopian element of the book, i.e. its engagement with contemporary social and environmental crises, would have emerged more clearly. Still the book touches on many contemporary topics that should be of interest to young and not-so young readers: the moral and political implications of genetic research and reproductive technologies, the social ramifications of environmental destruction, the social and economic costs of the opioid crisis, and the relationship between wealth disparity and the allocation of resources. And thus, it is well worth reading as a story of love and loss and as a piece of dystopian fiction.

3.5 stars.

I did not expect to enjoy Fragile Remedy quite so much, but here we are! I mentioned in a status update, but this book often gave me similar vibes to those of Victoria Lee's The Fever King: a world in chaos, marginalized groups, people with abilities that others want to abuse. And while Lee's novel held up better plotwise, I absolutely adored certain elements of this book.

Despite the actual story, this book felt much more character driven to me. Nate...I adored this scrawny, scraggly kid. He was literally the definition of trying my best and he just wanted everyone he loved to be safe and happy. More than anything, I enjoyed watching him be resourceful and fall apart and get back up again. The relationships between him and the members of his gang were well done; plus Reed, Brick, Sparks, and Pixel all had a significant amount of characterization (though I did find some weaker than others). The romance was one of the book's focal points and was on the whole enjoyable, especially when it came to Reed respecting Nate and always stepping back whenever Nate needed him to (Nate goes through a lot emotionally). But by far the best part of the book was Alden. My sassy, glitzy, flashy son. He was such a nuanced character, terribly flawed but so lovable, and the parts where he featured were some of my favorites.

Where I think Fragile Remedy falls short is the overarching story: the concept was fascinating but not fleshed out enough for me to be completely engaged in the conflict between the Withers and Gathos City. The same can be said for the GEMs who, again, were interesting, but I wanted to know more about their conception, as well as Nate's time in the city. The revelation regarding the Breakers and what came after left me wanting a bit, because while the main villain had certain motives, I wished we'd learned about them earlier so that this person became more than just a bad guy.

I'm assuming this is a standalone, which I'm more than happy with considering the hopeful, optimistic note it ended on.

I received an ARC of this book from the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

"His kind had been developed by scientists to fight the lung-rot outbreak, and later -- when the lung-rot was gone -- to be used up. Harvested by the wealthy. Kept endlessly asleep or left awake to participate in the horror of it. At least that's what people said when they whispered about GEMs...Genetically Engineered Medi-tissue. He wasn't supposed to be here."

Nate is sixteen and an abomination. At least, that is what he had been told. He knew he wasn't like everyone else in the Withers. He was starving and scraping together a meager existence, just like everyone else who had the bad luck to live in The Withers - a slum filled with people who would not hesitate to kill you for food, or for anything they could use to trade for Chem to feed their addiction.

Nate knew that if the members of his gang discovered he was a GEM, they would either kill him for putting their lives in danger, or they would turn him over to the Breakers - never to be seen again. He didn't want to put his friend's lives in danger, especially Reed's, but he loved being a gang member, they were the closest thing he had to a family. And, although he had never admitted it out loud, he not only loved Reed, he was also IN LOVE with him.

Just surviving the streets of The Withers was challenge enough, but Nate had another problem, his genetically engineered DNA (and that of all GEMs) had been modified so that his body would deteriorate and he would perish before ever reaching adulthood. He needed to find a way to survive, and he knew it would not be easy.

The world-building in FRAGILE REMEDY is second to none. With vivid descriptions of the slums known as The Withers so descriptive it is impossible not to form pictures of it in your mind. I love the fact that the world in which Nate lives is comprised of islands, and instead of water separating each island, and each social class, from the other, there is a vast ocean of toxic sludge which is fatal once submersed in it.

There are numerous parallels between our own society and the issues planet Earth is currently experiencing to the world of FRAGILE REMEDY. For example:

The society in FRAGILE REMEDY is segregated between the 'Haves' and the 'Have Nots.'  The high class citizens live in the Towers of Gathos City and never leave their perfect lives to see how anyone else lives. It is these people who create and keep GEMs so that they can extend their own lives by using the GEMs blood and body parts. This may sound far fetched, but cloning already exists, and stem cells are already being used in medical treatments. Is it really so unbelievable that in humanity's quest to extend human lives, something like creating a clone for the purpose of using 'it' as a personal organ bank may be inevitable.

Of course, it would be expensive to create a clone, so only the uber-rich would be able to afford such a luxury, thus creating another socioeconomic division amongst the world's population.

Once the clones are created, the rich clone owners would want to protect their assets. This could easily lead to physical segregation similar to that of the islands on which Nate has spent the entirety of his sixteen years of life.

ADDICTION is another of the central themes of FRAGILE REMEDY. Instead of being addicted to alcohol or opiods, the addicts in this story are fiends for a substance known as Chem. "They'd all been regular people once. People who'd made choices - good and bad. Chem had wrenched those choices out of their hands."

Another theme is HOPE. In FRAGILE REMEDY, Nate may not have many possessions, and he is aware that he will die sooner rather than later, but he still has hope. He hopes that he can do some good before he dies. He hopes that Reed feels the same way about Nate as Nate feels about Reed. And in a wider sense, the inhabitants of The Withers scrounge a meager living on a daily basis, but they still have hope that at some point, the doors to Gathos City will open to admit them.

I love the fact that the characters in this story are diverse and multi-faceted. Sparks is Trans, Nate is Gay, Alden is Queer, and other characters are Cisgender. Skin color is so rarely mentioned that I chose to believe that it was not a factor in their society.

Central to the story and to life in both Gathos City and in The Withers is the ethics of cloning as well as the question of what it is that truly makes a person human. With the increasingly complex technology and the numerous companies and laboratories working on the advancement of A.I. (Artificial Intelligence,)

There are plots and subplots, there are individual histories for each character, there is the storyline where  their lives intersect. There are romances and romantic entanglements that will satisfy even the most diehard romantic. And, finally, there is the theme of Family, and the fact that sometimes the people you choose to invest your emotions in make a more loyal family than those who share your DNA.

I started reading  this book yesterday morning and was unable (and unwilling) to put it down. I spent twelve straight hours reading FRAGILE REMEDY and they were hours well spent.

There is only one rating I would even consider giving to this book and that is the best possible one. So, I rate FRAGILE REMEDY as 5 OUT OF 5 STARS ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ and am sincerely hoping that author MARIA INGRANDE MORA is planning to write additional books in this series. I will be first in line to grab a copy of any book she writes.

*** Thank you to NetGalley for providing me with a free copy of
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FAVORITE QUOTES:

"He [Nate] longed for the simplicity of believing in something good. He'd seen too much of the bad to have faith."
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"He had no right to love Reed. But the soft, private smile on Reed's lips when their eyes met still sent a current of affection through him."
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"Nate approached slowly, the way hungry kids stalked sludge-rats."
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"'They'll make him sleep like they do in Gathos City.' His voice went ragged. 'They'll cut him apart. What were you thinking coming here?'"
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"I feel the need to remind you that my grandmother also believed that the cockroaches in her bedroom were trying to get a look at her knickers."
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A thousand thanks to Flux, North Star Editions, and NetGalley for providing me with this eARC in exchange for an honest review.

The writing here is pretty fantastic and immersive, especially for a debut novel. The world building came at a good, steady pace, and didn’t feel like info-dumping like most SF stories I’ve read. The plot as a whole didn’t take long to wrap my head around, and I eventually gathered the ins-and-outs.

The characters were a mixed bag (but in a good way)— Nate was a favorite, as well as Pixel (cool and adorable) and Alden (because I dig a character with depth, even when they’re teetering between crooked and sympathetic). The fact that there is lgbt rep (several of the characters), trans rep, as well as having the main character be biracial (I’m guessing from his surname and father’s name, and also his physical description), and the love interest another person of color... it was great! (To note: This is an own voices book. The author is a queer woman).

I don’t think there was one character I disliked (even including all the fleeting side characters and awful antagonists). There are a few small redemption arcs, too, that I’m glad came out: tragic characters with tragic backstories do not deserve tragic endings. Let me just say it again: I am awed that this is a debut novel!

What really surprised me was how often I got teary-eyed or emotional. That doesn’t happen often, and again, it really goes to show how wonderfully Ingrande Mora realizes her characters, their relationships, and dramatic plotting. Also, let me tell you, I liiiiiiived for the angst!!! It’s certainly not a light and fluffy book; There is blood and violence, poverty and sickness, dirt and grime, death and sadness and anger. But Nate’s ragtag group was a shining spot of hope and family.

If I had to make a complaint, it would only be the story at times suffers from redundancy: Nate’s constant worries and anxieties— his thoughts on Reed and Alden and all else— tends to always contain the same arguments over and over again (but it’s all thankfully less-so after the 50% mark as new troubles arise).

This book was a surprise, and I am glad to have found it (and been given the chance to read it!). We can expect great things from this author.