The Sentient

Starred review from July 20, 2020
Afifi’s staggering and un-put-downable debut offers a fresh and feminist-forward take on cloning. Scientist Amira Valdez was raised in the Children of the New Covenant religious compound, where women and girls were abused and treated as second-class citizens, but she escaped 10 years ago. Amira’s new life at the Academy in Greater Westport feels like a dream. Trained as a holomentic reader, “the latest breakthrough in thought-visualizing neuroscience,” Amira sets her sights on a placement on one of the Academy’s space stations—but her dream is dashed when she’s instead assigned to the highly controversial Pandora project working with human cloning. Rozene Hull, one of the Pandora project’s subjects who herself escaped from a different fundamentalist cult, causes panic when her emotional instability puts her life, and the life of her cloned baby, in danger. As Amira slowly embraces her new position and makes breakthroughs with Rozene, she unearths a shocking conspiracy. The story moves at light speed while still making room for nuanced explorations of religion, morality, and gender, without compromising scientific detail or character development. Amira’s emotions are raw and palpable, and readers will be touched by her obvious compassion for her characters. This riveting debut is a must-have for any sci-fi fan. Agent: Naomi Davis, Bookends Literary.

September 1, 2020
When she was younger, Amira Valdez escaped a horrific religious upbringing to live in the utopian city of Westport. There, she becomes a talented holomentic reader, skilled in interpreting the inner thoughts of her patients. Instead of fulfilling her dream of going to work at a space station after graduation, she is assigned to work on the mysterious Pandora cloning project. Amira wants to believe that she's done with her past trauma, but even outer space can't stop it from catching up with her. Afifi's first novel is a science fiction noir that starts small and slow and grows in scope. The worldbuilding is a particular strength, as every locale feels well-realized and lived-in. It is exciting to watch Amira learn who she is through her adventures and how she faces challenges both external and internal. This is an excellent book for fans of Mira Grant and Michael Crichton, or readers who love a thrilling narrative and welcome moral and philosophical questions in their science fiction.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2020, American Library Association.)