Okay, so I read this at the beginning of the month and I think my brain is a little muddled about it. I remember thinking that the premise was very interesting: a near future where the structure of society seems similar to ours except for some very important details. The class lines are now determined not only by income, but your income determines how many resurrections (called recons) you are allowed. The most powerful, important people in society - doctors, lawyers, etc. Are allowed 3 resurrections in their life - 3pers. Then you have the middle class, 2pers, the working class, 1pers, and then the poor, nopers. The story follows a teenage girl name Phoenix and her popular brother Gryphon - a star athlete. Once the perfect big brother, kind, loving and inclusive, lately he had been distant and harsh. When he dies in a weird accident that seems like suicide and might not be resurrected, Phoenix is determined to unravel the mystery.
I liked the idea a lot- however, I don't feel like Mac explores the dysfunction of the world that she created enough. She spends a lot of time on Phoenix, who is self-absorbed and prejudiced (although part of the story line is how she has to confront this). I think this might be one of the most difficult thing about science-fiction: creating this one to one correspondence between the world building and the plot. The plot needs to have a reason for residing in this world, it needs to allow the author to explore the set of problems posed, exposed, circled and highlighted by this particular vision of the future. In this case, our fear of death, and how that might affect the socioeconomic aspect of our future. The idea of having people alotted more lives than others is extremely Orwellian and worth more time than Mac gives to it. ( )

Among an enormous group of talented YA writers, Mac appears to come out on top as she works her way towards becoming a prolific writer for young people. Winner of the Sheila A. Egoff Book Prize, 2010 and an voted an Honor Book by Canadian Library Association Young Adult Book of the Year 2010, "The Gryphon Project" is a stunning fantasy tale of budding romances, shifting friendships, and struggle of loving our family despite their and our issues. Recommended for Grades 8-12 level. ( )