Mar 22, 2017 Sharon Hoskins rated it really liked it

I have not read any of F Barish-Stern books before and I have to say this author has a good imagination. This story will pull in just about anyone who loves to be lost in a good story line.

This is about a family who's life gets turned upside down by various events, from lab experiments being contaminated to sentient life on a computer. It has all the elements, love, adventure, science, family, corruption, you name it. The adventure follows the family from the start when the mother and father were young and had met and fallen in love. They were very bright stars of the scientific community and progressed well in their chosen field much to the admiration of their piers. They were well respected and enjoyed life with their twin son and daughter. A new job moves them from California to a town called Island Falls where they set up home and the mystery starts to unravel.

The parents have been engaged by the I.A.S (International Alliance of Scientists) to try and find a way to stop a dangerous faction called the Controller that seemed to be causing trouble in the local area. Powers that be believe it to be some sort of a computer sentient being and were scared that it was a danger to society and wanted a way to eradicate it. Already the Controllers influence was being felt at the local campus with students acting out of character and getting hooked on a strange candy.

The twins start to notice a change in one of their close friends and decide to take things into their own hands by stealing one of their parents experiments which may possibly enhance physic abilities. One night they sneak into the lab but during the process they get caught and accidently damage and contaminate an experiment which causes a reaction no one could have expected.

Things unfold and slowly they form a plan of action that changes their lives in more ways than one.

This is only the first book and I bet the kids will love it. Can't wait to find out what happens next.

If your like me, I found this story easy reading and enjoyed the journey.