This was an interesting read for me, I enjoyed the aspect of how Kit only grows one year every four years and showing how this affects the family over the years. It was interesting how Shelley Wood revolves her story around major historical events as well, Kit lives through a lot. I loved following the relationship between her and her sister, there is a lot of animosity but as they grow together her sister begins to understand her a little more. This was definitely a fun book, hard to read and follow at times, but an interesting concept.

Spanning decades and continents this is a heartfelt story about a baby born with a rare genetic disorder that has her aging one year for every four. It's also a story about sisters, family, love, the changing course of medicine in the 20th century and so much more. Original, moving and hard to put down, this was good on audio and a fun departure from the Canadian author's debut, The Quintland sisters. It would also make for an excellent book club pick, full of controversial topics sure to inspire healthy debates. Many thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for an early digital and audio copy in exchange for my honest review!

Title: The Leap Year Gene
Author: Shelley Wood
Genre: Historical Fiction
Rating: 3.75
Pub Date: August 6, 2024

I received a complimentary eARC from HarperCollins Canada via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own. #Gifted

T H R E E • W O R D S

Inventive • Reflective •

📖 S Y N O P S I S

February 29, 1916. A baby girl is born—but as the months and years go by, Kit McKinley inexplicably ages just one year for every four.

Her mother Lillian, a fledgling botanist, fears that Kit’s condition will catch the attention of Lillian’s fellow suffragettes, who have embraced the eugenics craze sweeping North America targeting unfit, unwed mothers and “defective” children. For decades, Kit and her family must keep on the move to conceal her secret and protect her from the unwanted attention of Nazi scientists, nosy doctors, Big Pharma and the insatiable news media that is always hunting for the next sensational story.

When Kit finally reaches her teens and can pass for an adult, she must decide whether she wants to stay perpetually on the run or stay put and form lasting ties. The only problem is Will Katzen, whose life—first as a baby, then as a boy, and then as a man—keeps intersecting with hers, complicating every instinct she has to flee, or to love.

💭 T H O U G H T S

I discovered The Leap Year Gene by Shelly Wood while researching titles releasing in 2024. I was immediately intrigued by the unique concept of delayed ageing and a gene that slows down the ageing process.

Divided into four parts, the narrative follows the McKinley family, particularly Kit, as they navigate the 20th century and early years of the 21st century. There are a variety of POVs of the difficulties of living a life with such a condition. It is wildly imaginative and the content certainly allows for quite a bit of quiet reflection. It gives an rather in-depth history of genetics and eugenics and raises many ethical questions and consequences.

The Leap Year Gene is really unlike anything else I have read before. Despite diving deeply into historical detail, scientific research, and ethical questions, at its heart this is a love story and a story about the importance of family. It is one of those books that will linger in the back of my mind simply because of the concept. It's a book that would make for interesting and lively discussion among bookclubs.

📚 R E A D • I F • Y O U • L I K E
• medical mysteries
• family epics
• magical realism

⚠️ CW: ableism, grief, death, dementia, medical content

🔖 F A V O U R I T E • Q U O T E S

"Kit knows better than anyone: it's not eternal youth we need, but love and the chance to hold on for as long as possible."

"How lucky, how precious, how rare it is to grow old with the people we love. Science, she thinks, should be hunting for something very different: a way of being in the world for as long as you feel yours is a life worth living, then a door to slip away through, when it's time to leave."

Delighted to include this title in the August edition of Novel Encounters, my column highlighting the month’s most anticipated fiction for the Books section of Zoomer, Canada’s national lifestyle and culture magazine. (see column and mini-review at link)

The premise of The Leap Year Gene is so unique and inventive that you can't help but get sucked into the McKinley's world. The story went to unexpected places that kept me reading along -- it's also very informative about scientific and historical movements (for example, I learned that eugenic ideology had a big role in the suffragette struggles in Canada!). I personally struggled with relating to/caring about the characters since the characterization at times seemed a bit stiff. It is definitely more of a plot-driven narrative rather than character driven, as I felt more motivated to keep reading to discover how the story unfolded rather than out of interest in the characters. Overall, the whole concept of delayed aging and the ethical consequences that arise with it is handled with a lot of thought and grace by Wood, and it's a something that will stick with me for awhile.

A great read that I really really enjoyed! I found myself fascinated by the elements of the book and the characters as well as their raw stories that only add to their development. It surprised me and intrigued me a lot by the end!

This is a poignant family saga centered around Kit, who is born on February 29th and ages one year for every leap year that passes.

Written in four parts, we are told the story of the McKinleys over the span of a century, as they try to protect Kit's secret. From the eugenics movement, through Nazi Germany, and into modern-day DNA mapping; we visit the dangers and pitfalls that are too often seen in the face of progress.

While science and genetics are prevalent throughout The Leap Year Gene, what ultimately takes center stage is the importance of the relationships one forges and how our existence affects others. By the end, we are left with a quietly beautiful summary of the comforting weight of the lives we intersect.

“𝐈 𝐤𝐧𝐨𝐰 𝐢𝐭 𝐦𝐮𝐬𝐭 𝐛𝐞 𝐡𝐚𝐫𝐝,” 𝐄𝐫𝐧𝐞𝐬𝐭 𝐰𝐨𝐮𝐥𝐝 𝐬𝐚𝐲 𝐭𝐨 𝐊𝐢𝐭, 𝐲𝐞𝐚𝐫𝐬 𝐥𝐚𝐭𝐞𝐫. “𝐈𝐭 𝐦𝐮𝐬𝐭 𝐟𝐞𝐞𝐥 𝐥𝐢𝐤𝐞 𝐥𝐢𝐟𝐞 𝐢𝐬 𝐦𝐨𝐯𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐬𝐨 𝐬𝐥𝐨𝐰𝐥𝐲 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐲𝐨𝐮, 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐭𝐫𝐲 𝐚𝐬 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐦𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐭, 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐜𝐚𝐧 𝐧𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐫 𝐜𝐚𝐭𝐜𝐡 𝐮𝐩 𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡 𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐲𝐨𝐧𝐞 𝐞𝐥𝐬𝐞.”

“𝐍𝐨, 𝐏𝐚𝐩𝐚. 𝐈𝐭’𝐬 𝐧𝐨𝐭 𝐥𝐢𝐤𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭. 𝐈𝐭’𝐬 𝐣𝐮𝐬𝐭 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐭𝐫𝐲 𝐚𝐬 𝐈 𝐦𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐭, 𝐈 𝐜𝐚𝐧’𝐭 𝐠𝐞𝐭 𝐚𝐧𝐲𝐨𝐧𝐞 𝐞𝐥𝐬𝐞 𝐭𝐨 𝐬𝐥𝐨𝐰 𝐝𝐨𝐰𝐧.”

It’s revelations such as this that elevated the story for me; the opportunity to see things from a different perspective. This Canadian author has given her readers plenty of food for thought!

Although the book is 𝙘𝙚𝙣𝙩𝙚𝙧𝙚𝙙 𝙤𝙣 𝙜𝙚𝙣𝙚𝙩𝙞𝙘𝙨, its root is ‘𝙮𝙤𝙪𝙩𝙝’. Everyone is searching for the elixir! Society tells us that it’s important to stay young for our looks, for our careers, to lessen the impact of sports-related injuries, and to fend off/slow down Alzheimer’s.

If you had a magic wand would you take advantage of it to successfully stay young?
How would you deal with the heartbreaking moment you realize that you’re remaining young while those you love continue to age? You’d want to make sure they had the same wand.

What if you could simply slow down ‘growing older’? Would this have heartbreaking effects, too?
That’s exactly what happened to one of the characters in this book. Kit McKinley was born ‘normal’ in every way except that she ages/grows older more slowly than those around her. For those who’ve parented teenagers, can you imagine stretching those teenage years out to double or triple? What about the ‘terrible twos’? Kit’s parents keep her slow-aging to themselves as long as they can, but even then, their lives are forever changed.

Without giving too much away, know that Woods has crafted a ‘what if’ story tracing 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙡𝙞𝙛𝙚 𝙨𝙩𝙤𝙧𝙮 𝙤𝙛 𝙖 𝙗𝙖𝙗𝙮 𝙜𝙞𝙧𝙡 𝙬𝙝𝙤 𝙞𝙨 𝙗𝙤𝙧𝙣 𝙤𝙣 𝙖 𝙡𝙚𝙖𝙥 𝙮𝙚𝙖𝙧 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙬𝙝𝙤 𝙜𝙧𝙤𝙬𝙨 𝙤𝙡𝙙𝙚𝙧 𝙤𝙣𝙡𝙮 𝙚𝙫𝙚𝙧𝙮 𝙛𝙤𝙪𝙧 𝙮𝙚𝙖𝙧𝙨. I loved Woods’ perfect balance of history, medical mystery, and love. It drove me to Google and made my STEM heart consider the pros and cons of medical advances. It really is a double-edged sword. I realized that despite thinking I’d like an internal calendar “set at a slower tempo”, it would be too heartbreaking. Although I’d taught Canadian history before, I’d not realized the scope of the suffragists nor the advancements Canadians such as Carrie Derick made to eugenics. It’s safe to say that this teacher got a wonderful education within the pages of this spectacular book!

There’s no doubt 𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐰𝐢𝐥𝐥 𝐛𝐞 𝐨𝐧𝐞 𝐨𝐟 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐦𝐨𝐬𝐭 𝐭𝐚𝐥𝐤𝐞𝐝 𝐚𝐛𝐨𝐮𝐭 𝐛𝐨𝐨𝐤𝐬 𝐨𝐟 𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐥𝐞𝐚𝐩 𝐲𝐞𝐚𝐫. Don’t miss out on it. Also, keep your eye out in the news for Julie and Phumlani’s research as it comes to fruition in real life!

I was gifted this copy by Harper Collins Canada and NetGalley and was under no obligation to provide a review.

This is the type of book someone who loves biographies and/or history would love.

Kit's story, almost year by year, for a hundred years while she is just 25 and under, was so fascinating to follow.

It only left me wanting more. I think the ending is satisfying but I would really love to know what happens to her for the next 100.

I