This Side of Paradise - Softcover

Accelerated Reader Program Selection

2001 Hal Clement Award Winner for Best New Science Fiction Novel for Young Adults
2001-2002 Best of the Best for Young Adults, Missouri Library Association
2002-2003 Read Aloud Books, Too Good to Miss, Indiana Library Federation
2003-2004 Texas Lone Star Top 20 List
2003 Young Adult Choice Title, International Reading Association

Accelerated Reader and Scholastic Reading Counts! Selection

“An entertaining, suspenseful thriller with a genuinely chilling villain. Good fun.”

—Kirkus Reviews

“Layne’s tale is a heady mix of conspiracies, alternate identities, and sinister underground laboratories with a creepy schizophrenic villain that readers will love to hate. Recommend this title to thriller fans who will enjoy the ride.”

—VOYA

“What will hold teen readers is the horror of a parent prepared to do anything, even kill, in order to clone the perfect family.”

—Booklist

Something wicked this way comes; in this case it’s high schooler Jack Barrett’s father, whose inherent drive for perfection has spiraled into a raging obsession ever since he began working for the mysterious Eden Corporation. When his father forcibly relocates the family to Paradise, a village that is literally owned by Eden’s enigmatic CEO, Jack uncovers a sinister plot that threatens the lives of everyone he loves. Delving even further into the secrets of the village, he soon learns just how high the price for perfection can be . . . and to what lengths some people are willing to go to obtain it.

“An entertaining, suspenseful thriller with a genuinely chilling villain. Good fun.”

-Kirkus Reviews

“Steve Layne has a powerful, passionate vision and knows how to connect with young readers. The poignancy and empathy with which he tells this tale is a reminder that a book is more than mere words: it is a relationship between reader and author.”

-Neal Shusterman, author of The Dark Side of Nowhere

“Part sci-fi thriller, part theme-park horror ride, this first novel is set in a paradise community where everything is perfectly controlled. The story is told in a wry contemporary voice by high-school junior Jack, who joins with his rebellious grandmother and resists his dad’s plans to force the family into Paradise. What will hold teen readers is the horror of a parent prepared to do anything, even kill, in order to clone the perfect family.”

-Booklist

Since Jack Barrett’s father started working for the Eden Corporation, his desire for perfection has spiraled into a raging obsession that is out of control. When his father forcibly relocates the family to the village of Paradise, Jack uncovers a plot that threatens the existence of his entire family. Delving even further into the secrets of the village, he soon discovers just how high the price of perfection can be . . . and to what lengths some people are willing to go to obtain it.

In this compelling thriller, Steven L. Layne takes readers on a suspenseful trek into the depths of the human psycheposing provocative questions that linger long after the story’s end. Read about Jack’s continuing struggle with perfection in the exciting sequel, Paradise Lost.

Hal Clement Award, Best New Science Fiction Novel for Young Adults in the U.S.

Best of the Best for Young Adults, Missouri Library Association

Read Aloud Books Too Good to Miss, Indiana Library Federation

Texas Lone Star Top 20 List

Young Adult Choice Title, International Reading Association

Accelerated Reader Program Selection

Accelerated Reader and Scholastic Reading Counts! Selection