The Body Institute
by Carol Riggs
Release
Date: 09/01/15
Entangled
Teen
Summary
from Goodreads:
Meet Morgan Dey, one of the top teen Reducers at The Body Institute.
Thanks to cutting-edge technology, Morgan can temporarily take over
another girl’s body, get her in shape, and then return to her own body—leaving her
client slimmer, more toned, and feeling great. Only there are a few catches…
For one, Morgan won’t remember what happens in her “Loaner” body. Once
she’s done, she won’t recall walks with her new friend Matt, conversations with
the super-cute Reducer she’s been text-flirting with, or the uneasy feeling she
has that the director of The Body Institute is hiding something. Still, it’s
all worth it in the name of science. Until the glitches start…
Suddenly, residual memories from her Loaner are cropping up in Morgan’s mind.
She’s feeling less like herself and more like someone else. And when protests
from an anti–Body Institute organization threaten her safety, she’ll have to
decide if being a Reducer is worth the cost of her body and soul…
Fun
Facts About Writing THE BODY INSTITUTE
1.
BOYFRIEND NO MORE.
The main character, Morgan Dey, used to have a boyfriend named Aaron
in the beginning of the novel—until 8 months before the book was
published. He got slashed by Carol’s Entangled Teen editor. In the
original version, Morgan broke up with him by walloping him in
virtual paintball.
2.
BEST FRIEND TWEAK.
Morgan’s best friend, Blair McClure, was called Bunny in the first
drafts. Blair sounds more serious and fits her better, now that she’s
Morgan’s science-minded friend.
3.
TITLE CHANGE.
The previous title of THE BODY INSTITUTE used to be SHAPERS. This was
changed by Strange Chemistry when the book was under contract with
them, before they went out of business and Entangled Teen picked up
the book. ET liked the new title and kept it.
4.
EVEN EARLIER TITLES.
Back in 1990 when the novel was just an idea, the working title was
FARRADAY’S FAT FARM. In 2010 when Carol started the actual writing,
this morphed into EMRT. (Electromagnetic Resonance Transfer—the
process of downloading one person’s brainmap into another person’s
body.) An editor at an SCBWI conference wisely suggested that Carol
change this to SHAPERS. (Now the body-swapping process is more simply
called ERT, which is more reader-friendly.)
5.
INSTITUTE WORKERS.
When the book was called SHAPERS, the weight loss was performed by
workers called Shapers, instead of being called Reducers as they are
now.
6.
AVATARS NO MORE.
In early versions, Morgan had a holographic princess warrior avatar
that popped up on her phone; she used this instead of the texts and
voice-to-text that appear in the final version of the book. Bunny
communicated using a (duh) bunny avatar, and Krista used a slinky
clown. Morgan’s ex-boyfriend Aaron was a troll.
About
the Author
I'm
a YA writer represented by Kelly Sonnack of Andrea Brown Literary. My sci-fi
novel THE BODY INSTITUTE explores the themes of society, identity, and body
image. I live in the beautiful, green state of Oregon and have a Studio Arts
degree; I'm an SCBWI member.
You'll usually find me in my writing cave, surrounded by my dragon collection and the characters in my head. I also enjoy reading--mostly young adult novels--as well as drawing, painting, and quilting. I also attend writing conferences, walk with my husband, and enjoy music and dance of all kinds.
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