Hox

by Annemarie Allan

Faced with a cold Saturday afternoon and being stuck at the Institute for Animal Research, Robbie is angry and frustrated at yet another weekend ruined by his father s job. Then a disturbing encounter in the animal house thrusts him into a perilous journey through the stunning but inhospitable landscape of a Highland winter—alone, except for two enigmatic traveling companions. Robbie s world implodes as he tries to make sense of a hostile environment, his old life slowly unravels, and a shocking realization emerges.

(Ages 9-12)

192 pages, Paperback

First published October 18, 2007

Reviews

[Chris · Rating 4 out of 5]

Hox genes really do exist and they do control growth within the body. As for the rest, when I came across an article on the web about how ancient mammals had more Hox genes than they do now, it set me wondering … What if those Hox genes were reintroduced? — ‘Author’s Note’.

Young Robbie Burns – yes, that’s his name – is an only child, with few real friends. His scientist mother died after he was born, but his father Michael still works at the Institute for Animal Research at Duncraig, a town to the northwest of Edinburgh somewhere near Stirling.

But all is not well: Robbie feels out of sorts with his father, sensing there are secrets he’s not been told. And when after visiting his father’s workplace he overhears an argument between the Institute’s director and Michael it adds to his suspicions.

Then in one of the barn-like labs where Michael’s colleague Joe works he comes across a pair of lynxes called Baldur and Freya confined to cages; after he receives a shock out-of-body experience in connection to Baldur he realises he’s arrived at a crossroads in his young life, one where his future, and that of the lynxes, will rest on a crucial decision he’ll have to make.

The upshot is that he’ll have to set off with the lynxes in tow across the Southern Highlands of Scotland, following a route which can mostly be found on a map – a map which Robbie doesn’t have with him. A further problem is that it will have to take place after the school half-term in October, as autumn gives way to winter and conditions take a turn for the worse.

But why does Robbie believe he can unerringly find his way across Sheriffsmuir near Stirling towards Callander, ‘gateway to the Highlands’, and then across the mountains to his grandmother’s old cottage, isolated but within sight of the Isle of Mull on the western coast? Where does this ‘homing’ instinct originate? How is it he feels an emotional oneness with one of two wild lynxes? And what kind of gene splicing was his mother investigating before she died from a degenerative disease?

Annemarie Allan’s debut children’s fiction confounded a few of my initial expectations: it began as a mystery about family history, then swivelled towards science fantasy, and ended up as a kind of road novel, also morphing from a narrative angled towards middle grade readers into something easily enjoyed not only by young adults but indeed by readers of any age. But all through there is a sureness of touch whether dialogue, pacing, characterisation or suspense are concerned; and there’s even a nod towards Nordic myth in which the chariot of the goddess Freyja was pulled by a pair of cats.

Robbie, Baldur and Freya are of course the stars of the show, and it’s their interaction that is designed to grab our interest and retain our sympathy; the adults are—— well, from the viewpoint of many youngsters adults really don’t ‘get’ them, or don’t feel they should explain grown-up things to them: it’s almost as if they’ve forgotten what it’s like to be a child themselves.

The key to the mysteries in this story is of course the issue of Hox genes: they evolved in animals hundred of million years ago to ensure the various parts of a body developed in the correct places. If however they somehow develop at the wrong location in the body then critical problems inevitably arise. And, as we discover, this was what Robbie’s mother Jane was working on before her premature death, though exactly where the lynxes might fit into the picture is a puzzle Robbie has to entangle.

If there’s a theme that I take away from Hox then it’s this: childhood is a complicated enough time without having to negotiate the outright lies, minor fibs, white lies and evasions that adults try to fob them off with, sometimes told for worthy reasons but mostly because of laziness, fear or even malice. But, as another Robbie Burns once wrote, young Robbie’s suspicions are often confirmed by what he reads in the faces of the adults he’s bound to confront.

THAT there is a falsehood in his looks,
I must and will deny:
They tell their Master is a knave,
And sure they do not lie.

[Alette J. · Rating 3 out of 5]

A fun book set in Scotland, which would provide a good starting point for a classroom discussion about genetics, evolution, animal rights, or even surviving in the wilderness. Lots of suspense, a likable protagonist and some interesting ideas.