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Dragonfly Girl: A Spellbinding YA Science Thriller About a Cure for Death and Deadly International Rivalry

Marti Leimbach

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Similar in premise + setting

These books are ranked using the premise + setting labels extracted for Dragonfly Girl: A Spellbinding YA Science Thriller About a Cure for Death and Deadly International Rivalry. Books rank higher when they are close on every selected axis.

Premise labels used: science prodigy, deadly discovery, medical breakthrough, cure for death, undercover lab job, prestigious competition, international rivalry, secrets and lies, financial desperation, girl in STEM, threatened by discovery

Setting labels used: high school, laboratory, science competition, Stockholm, Sweden, Europe, California, Russia, international setting, contemporary world, real-world science setting, academic research setting, underground lab, secret lab, ballrooms

This does not mean the books share the same plot, setting, quality, or difficulty. It means their premise + setting embeddings are close.

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Blood Ties

Sophie McKenzie · 2008 · Blood Ties

Two teens uncover hidden truths about their births and identities while fleeing extremists and a secret genetic conspiracy.

Why this is here

Premise labels: missing father · identity mystery · cloning · genetic engineering · teen on the run · scientific conspiracy · family secrets · birth mystery · fugitives · experimental births

Setting labels: contemporary · school setting · school disco · clinic · genetic lab · city setting · London · Washington DC · Germany · Scotland · international travel · secret facilities · real-world setting

Semantic match: ranked by premise + setting

Distance: 0.2561

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Morbid Curiosities

S. Hati · 2026

A scholarship teen at an elite science institute uncovers secret experiments, mutations, and a threat to her own mind.

Why this is here

Premise labels: elite school · science institute · scholarship student · secret experiment · unreliable memory · mutations · murder investigation · academic rivalry · institutional corruption · who to trust

Setting labels: elite academy · research institute · science campus · San Francisco · real world · near-future science · dark academia

Semantic match: ranked by premise + setting

Distance: 0.2683

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Notes on Infinity

Austin Taylor · 2025

Two Harvard students chase an anti-aging breakthrough, then fame, money, and secrets threaten their startup and bond.

Why this is here

Premise labels: anti-aging breakthrough · biotech startup · campus ambition · secret research · fame and scrutiny · immortality · scientific rivalry · friends to lovers · love story · academic competition

Setting labels: Harvard · college setting · academia · lab setting · biotech startup world · contemporary setting · Ivy League setting

Semantic match: ranked by premise + setting

Distance: 0.2720

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The Stars Turned Inside Out

Nova Jacobs · 2024

At CERN, a physicist is found dead in a tunnel, and a private investigator uncovers secrets that blur science, love, and rivalry.

Why this is here

Premise labels: lab death · scientific mystery · locked-room mystery · scientific investigation · academic intrigue · physics lab mystery · corporate secrecy · mole hunt

Setting labels: CERN · Geneva · Swiss laboratory · particle collider · physics lab · science campus · international research institute · Swiss-French border · high-energy physics

Semantic match: ranked by premise + setting

Distance: 0.2723

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The Rules

Stacey Kade · 2013 · Project Paper Doll

A hidden alien-human hybrid must survive high school, a bully, and a dangerous crush without exposing her secret.

Why this is here

Premise labels: alien hybrid · hidden identity · lab escape · life in hiding · dangerous secret · fake dating · revenge plan · bully retaliation · forbidden romance · ordinary life disguise

Setting labels: high school · small town · Wisconsin · present day · laboratory · school setting · hidden-in-plain-sight · near-lab hometown · contemporary setting

Semantic match: ranked by premise + setting

Distance: 0.2743

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Jekel Loves Hyde

Beth Fantaskey · 2010

A grieving teen and a troubled classmate race to recreate a legendary formula, risking love, sanity, and their darker selves.

Why this is here

Premise labels: Jekyll and Hyde retelling · scientific experiment · college scholarship · family legacy · hidden darkness · cure the monster · dual nature · partnered research · love amid danger · murder mystery

Setting labels: high school · chemistry lab · Pennsylvania · contemporary setting · American high school · school competition

Semantic match: ranked by premise + setting

Distance: 0.2757

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Ajin: Demi-Human, Vol. 3

Gamon Sakurai · 2015 · 亜人 [Ajin]

A fugitive demi-human faces escalating government pressure as rival factions, hidden powers, and brutal plans collide.

Why this is here

Premise labels: immortalism · human vs nonhuman · fugitive protagonist · government conspiracy · human experimentation · terror threat · superpowered conflict · manhunt

Setting labels: Japan · high school · research center · laboratory · prison · government facilities · urban setting · contemporary setting · secret experiment program

Semantic match: ranked by premise + setting

Distance: 0.2878

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Specimen

Shay Savage · 2016

A memory-wiped super soldier wakes in a lab and must decide whether his doctor is his guide, lover, or jailer.

Why this is here

Premise labels: memory loss · laboratory experiment · super soldier · corporate war · doctor-patient bond · engineered attraction · identity mystery · trust issues · altered human

Setting labels: laboratory · dystopian future · post-apocalyptic Earth · corporate-controlled world · war-torn future · science experiment setting

Semantic match: ranked by premise + setting

Distance: 0.2949

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Ball Lightning

Liu Cixin · 2018

A scientist haunted by childhood tragedy pursues the mystery of ball lightning, pulling him into military research and radical physics.

Why this is here

Premise labels: obsession · scientific mystery · weaponization · rare phenomenon · pursuit of knowledge · military research · physics discovery · ethical conflict · natural anomaly · lone investigator

Setting labels: modern day China · stormy mountaintops · military lab · scientific station · Chinese military · Russian military circles · experimental research setting · real-world setting

Semantic match: ranked by premise + setting

Distance: 0.2955

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Persephone

Lev Grossman · 2022

A bullied teen’s buried grief cracks open a hidden power and pulls her toward a secret world she barely understands.

Why this is here

Premise labels: teen powers · emotional awakening · school bullying · hidden abilities · secret world · coming-of-age · disappearing parent · gifted teens · power eruption

Setting labels: high school · school setting · teen setting · contemporary setting · secret facility · hidden world · speculative reality

Semantic match: ranked by premise + setting

Distance: 0.2983

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Wolfe's Hope

Lora Leigh · 2002 · Breeds

A wolf-breed alpha kidnaps his believed-unfaithful mate, forcing them to confront betrayal, desire, and a mad scientist.

Why this is here

Premise labels: fated mates · second chance romance · kidnapping · revenge romance · breeding experiment · mad scientist · mating bond · misunderstanding

Setting labels: lab setting · scientific facility · experimental reality · wolf-pack world · human-and-breed world

Semantic match: ranked by premise + setting

Distance: 0.3003

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The Girl Who Leapt Through Time

Yasutaka Tsutsui · 2017

A schoolgirl discovers time-leaping abilities and, alongside a second story about fears, confronts memory, consequence, and change.

Why this is here

Premise labels: time travel · accidental powers · mystery figure · teen protagonist · school life · psychological fear

Setting labels: high school · school science lab · 1960s · Japan · future society · everyday life · school setting

Semantic match: ranked by premise + setting

Distance: 0.3011

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