The DNA of You and Me: A Novel

by Andrea Rothman

Overview

“Refreshing.... Asks urgent questions about female ambition. Fans of Lab Girl have found a worthy successor.”—Real Simple

A powerful debut novel—a wonderfully engaging infusion of Lab Girl, The Assistants, and Eleanor Oliphant Is Completely Fine—that pits the ambition of scientific discovery against the siren call of love.

Emily Apell arrives in Justin McKinnon’s renowned research lab with the single-minded goal of making a breakthrough discovery. But a colleague in the lab, Aeden Doherty, has been working on a similar topic, and his findings threaten to compete with her research.

To Emily’s surprise, her rational mind is unsettled by Aeden, and when they end up working together their animosity turns to physical passion, followed by love. Emily eventually allows herself to envision a future with Aeden, but when he decides to leave the lab it becomes clear to her that she must make a choice. It is only years later, when she is about to receive a prestigious award for the work they did together, that Emily is able to unravel everything that happened between them.

A sharp, relevant novel that speaks to the ambitions and desires of modern women, The DNA of You and Me explores the evergreen question of career versus family, the irrational sensibility of love, and whether one can be a loner without a diagnostic label.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781982607517
Publisher:	HarperCollins Publishers
Publication date:	03/12/2019
Edition description:	Unabridged
Product dimensions:	5.20(w) x 5.70(h) x (d)

About the Author

Andrea Rothman was born in Brooklyn NY and raised in Caracas, Venezuela. Her debut novel, THE DNA OF YOU AND ME, was published by William Morrow-HarperCollins in March of 2019. The novel has received starred reviews from Publisher’s Weekly and Library Journal, and won an award for Best Popular Fiction in English at the 21st International Latino Book Awards in Los Angeles.

Prior to being a fiction writer, Rothman was a research scientist at the Rockefeller University in New York, where she studied the sense of smell. She holds an MFA in writing from Vermont College of Fine Arts and was a fiction editor for the VCFA journal of the arts-Hunger Mountain. 

Her essays and short stories have appeared in print and online journals such as Literary Hub, Lablit, Cleaver Magazine, and Litro Magazine among others, and can be viewed at www.andrearothman.com. 

Rothman lives with her husband and two children in Long Island, New York. She is at work on a second novel. 

Editorial Reviews

★ 03/04/2019

This sharp debut from Rothman, a former research associate at the Rockefeller University in New York, sets a bittersweet love story within the cut-throat world of academic research, a great pairing she explores with heart, smarts, and a lot of furtive sex. The novel’s narrator, Emily, a bioinformatician—“a sort of Watson-and-Crick of the new millennium”—details her 12-year effort to discover a groundbreaking “pathfinder” gene at a New York City research lab. But her promising work means that university lab colleague Aeden will get sidelined as he’s grudgingly reassigned from his own project to help with Emily’s project. The pair’s initial animosity—fueled by Emily’s admission that she borrowed Aeden’s research findings—turns to passion, but also forces an emotional and career choice after Emily’s awkward visit to meet Aeden’s family. “People like Emily don’t need other people,” Aeden’s mother bluntly tells him, a conversation that Emily overhears. When she then discovers Aeden’s own duplicitous move to discredit her work, both are forced to take a hard look at their futures. This insider look at the rigors and risks of the competitive world of scientific research is fascinating, but it’s Rothman’s aching study of loneliness, heartbreak and forgiveness that resonate. (Mar.)

Publishers Weekly

Powerful...a surprisingly literary love story set against the clinical, sterile, and cutthroat environment of an academic research lab.” — Library Journal (starred review)

“This sharp debut...sets a bittersweet love story within the cut-throat world of academic research, a great pairing [Rothman] explores with heart, smarts, and a lot of furtive sex... It’s Rothman’s aching study of loneliness, heartbreak and forgiveness that resonate.” — Publishers Weekly (starred review)

“A debut novel by a scientist that makes the lab feel like a real place....The pleasure of this novel lies in Rothman’s sincere, straightforward, unpretentious prose wracked with the loneliness of young love.” — Kirkus Reviews

“The DNA of You and Me is a gorgeous novel exploring the intersection of love and science.” — Kimmery Martin, author of The Queen of Hearts

“The DNA of You and Me is a delightful journey through experiments—both in science and in love. I loved following Emily’s quest to find the perfect strand of DNA, and the perfect boyfriend. You can’t help but root for her!” — Miriam Parker, author of The Shortest Way Home

“Refreshing...Asks urgent questions about female ambition. Fans of Lab Girl have found a worthy successor.” — Real Simple

“Andrea Rothman’s debut novel is both a fine and necessary accomplishment.   Emily is memorable in this tale of the anguish and splendor of a thoroughly modern woman. We look forward to more from this original and courageous writer.” — Xu Xi, author of That Man in Our Lives and Habit of a Foreign Sky

“Rothman’s debut novel is a fierce and eloquent exploration of what it is to be a woman working in STEM - a scientist in the cut-throat world of cutting-edge research and academia....This one’s a powerful literary page-turner.” — Leah Kaminsky, author of The Waiting Room

From the Publisher

“The DNA of You and Me is a gorgeous novel exploring the intersection of love and science.

Kimmery Martin

Refreshing...Asks urgent questions about female ambition. Fans of Lab Girl have found a worthy successor.

Real Simple

The DNA of You and Me is a delightful journey through experiments—both in science and in love. I loved following Emily’s quest to find the perfect strand of DNA, and the perfect boyfriend. You can’t help but root for her!

Miriam Parker

Rothman’s debut novel is a fierce and eloquent exploration of what it is to be a woman working in STEM - a scientist in the cut-throat world of cutting-edge research and academia....This one’s a powerful literary page-turner.

Leah Kaminsky

Andrea Rothman’s debut novel is both a fine and necessary accomplishment.   Emily is memorable in this tale of the anguish and splendor of a thoroughly modern woman. We look forward to more from this original and courageous writer.

Xu Xi