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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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These books are ranked using the premise + themes 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

Themes labels used: STEM, women in science, science ethics, life and death, mortality, identity, belonging, class and money, financial precarity, caregiving, loyalty, truth and deception, trust, ambition, power and corruption, academic pressure, coming of age, parentification, moral courage

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

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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

Themes labels: immortality · aging · ambition · success · power · betrayal · ethics · fame · money · legacy · gender in STEM · women in STEM · class difference · parental approval · identity · obsession · pressure · science vs business · morality · expectations vs reality

Semantic match: ranked by premise + themes

Distance: 0.1851

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The Resurrectionist

Kathleen S. Allen · 2025

A Victorian teen obsessed with medicine and resurrection falls into grave robbing, corruption, and deadly family secrets.

Why this is here

Premise labels: female scientist · medical obsession · resurrection · grave robbing · corpse stealing · forbidden research · ambition and corruption · family legacy · sister rivalry · women in STEM · playing god

Themes labels: ambition · scientific hubris · sexism · gender restrictions · morality · ethics of experimentation · death and resurrection · sisterhood · identity · recognition · obsession · corruption · playing god · women's ambition · social constraints · power and consequences · feminine rage · knowledge and transgression · grief · family duty

Semantic match: ranked by premise + themes

Distance: 0.2084

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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

Themes labels: truth and secrecy · knowledge and power · science and philosophy · science and spirituality · science and religion · ambition · academic politics · funding pressure · trust · grief · mourning · identity · loyalty · moral ambiguity · climate crisis · career versus meaning · humanity of scientists

Semantic match: ranked by premise + themes

Distance: 0.2099

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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

Themes labels: academic elitism · ambition · identity · self-discovery · paranoia · trust · corruption · ethics in science · scientific experimentation · race in academia · class inequality · control · morality · greater good · institutional abuse · reality vs perception

Semantic match: ranked by premise + themes

Distance: 0.2250

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To Best the Boys

Mary Weber · 2019

A science-minded girl disguises herself to enter a deadly male-only labyrinth competition to win a scholarship and save her mother.

Why this is here

Premise labels: disguised girl · male-only competition · scholarship quest · science ambition · disease cure · gender barrier · labyrinth challenge

Themes labels: gender equality · female ambition · education access · social class · choice of life path · women in science · family duty · illness and caregiving · challenge the status quo · respect for different women · toxic masculinity · supportive masculinity

Semantic match: ranked by premise + themes

Distance: 0.2332

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Virals

Kathy Reichs · 2010 · Virals

A teen science geek and her friends gain wolf-like powers and race to solve a cold-case murder on a coastal island.

Why this is here

Premise labels: teen sleuths · scientific transformation · animal experimentation · cold-case murder · superhuman abilities · friend group · pack dynamics · science-driven powers · virus outbreak · forensic mystery

Themes labels: friendship · loyalty · science · identity · coming of age · justice · animal welfare · ethical experimentation · family · moral courage · truth-seeking · teamwork · gender dynamics · class conflict · environmental concern

Semantic match: ranked by premise + themes

Distance: 0.2346

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The Starseekers

Nicole Glover · 2026 · Murder and Magic

In 1960s NASA, a Black arcane engineer and amateur sleuth uncovers a murder-and-theft conspiracy tied to magic and the moon race.

Why this is here

Premise labels: NASA and magic · space race · moon mission · murder investigation · museum theft · cursed artifact · sabotage · arcane engineering · arcane archaeology · family sleuths · treasure hunt · conspiracy · magical education show · Black women in STEM · science and magic

Themes labels: Black excellence · STEM representation · race and discrimination · civil rights · family legacy · identity · belonging · community care · women in science · women in engineering · knowledge control · institutional power · sabotage · grief · responsibility · ambition · trust · discovery · legacy · history and power · racial violence · hidden histories

Semantic match: ranked by premise + themes

Distance: 0.2356

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Origin

Jessica Khoury · 2012 · Corpus

An immortal teen raised in a secret Amazon lab escapes the fence and uncovers dangerous truths about herself.

Why this is here

Premise labels: immortal race · secret laboratory · scientific experiment · forbidden escape · first contact · truth-seeking · origin mystery

Themes labels: immortality · ethics of science · morality · freedom · identity · self-discovery · coming of age · truth and lies · humanity · choice · sacrifice · belonging · knowledge vs ignorance · love versus duty · colonization · classism · racism · eugenics · perfection · nature vs science · loss of innocence · power and control

Semantic match: ranked by premise + themes

Distance: 0.2372

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Starclimber

Kenneth Oppel · 2008 · Matt Cruse

A young pilot joins a perilous first voyage into space, where rivalries, romance, and sabotage threaten survival.

Why this is here

Premise labels: space mission · space race · space exploration · training competition · search and rescue · survival adventure · will they/won't they · romantic rivalry · first journey · engineering challenge

Themes labels: ambition · coming of age · class and privilege · women's suffrage · gender roles · scientific discovery · exploration · survival · duty vs desire · identity and maturity · love vs career · heroism · independence · social convention · risk and sacrifice

Semantic match: ranked by premise + themes

Distance: 0.2433

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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

Themes labels: identity · belonging · secrecy · trust · freedom · self-protection · bullying · coming of age · morality · humanity · survival · social pressure · betrayal · family loyalty · scientific ethics

Semantic match: ranked by premise + themes

Distance: 0.2460

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Immune

Richard Phillips · 2009 · The Rho Agenda

A hunted teen team races to stop a government-backed alien-tech crisis as conspiracies, violence, and powers escalate.

Why this is here

Premise labels: alien technology · government conspiracy · teen protagonists · genetic cure · medical breakthrough · pursuit and cover-up · hidden informant · technological escalation

Themes labels: power and responsibility · corruption · secrecy · betrayal · coming of age · scientific ethics · human enhancement · good versus evil · alien contact · moral ambiguity · conspiracy · control and autonomy · danger of technology · government overreach · immortality consequences

Semantic match: ranked by premise + themes

Distance: 0.2465

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Our Hideous Progeny

C.E. McGill · 2023

In 1850s England, a sharp-tongued woman scientist uncovers a family secret and pursues a dangerous, life-making experiment.

Why this is here

Premise labels: Frankenstein retelling · Frankenstein sequel · scientific ambition · female scientist · queer twist · feminist retelling · paleontology · play god · creation of life · dinosaur creation · academic recognition · career struggle · family secrets · forbidden knowledge · scientific rivalry

Themes labels: feminism · gender inequality · patriarchy · women in science · scientific ethics · creation and responsibility · ambition · obsession · motherhood · grief · loss · queer identity · otherness · female rage · class inequality · racism · scientific racism · ableism · marginalization · legacy · credit and recognition · morality · reproduction · childlessness · love · ethics of creation · social justice · prejudice

Semantic match: ranked by premise + themes

Distance: 0.2472

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