Leap Year Gene of Kit McKinley

Description: February 29, 1916: On Leap Year Day, war widow Lillian McKinley gives birth at last to a baby girl who gestated far longer than she should. Kit proves to be a happy and intelligent child, but unnaturally slow to age--growing just one year older every four. For decades, she and her family must keep on the move to protect her secret--from insatiable newshounds, Nazi scientists, doctors, and pharmaceutical companies. When Kit can finally pass for an adult, she must decide whether she wants to stay perpetually on the run or form lasting ties. Ultimately, once the human genome is mapped and research on altering it begins, she'll need to make some difficult choices about the strange quirk in her DNA that has made her who she is.

Review Quotes: "A capriciously imagined historical epic that captures the essence of a century through the remarkable life of Kit McKinley. A skilled researcher, Wood deftly weaves genetic discovery and society's fascination with eugenics into a highly unique, engrossing tale of love and family."
--Cathy Marie Buchanan, New York Times bestselling author of The Painted Girls

"Shelley Wood offers a deeply heartfelt account of the McKinley family's complex relationship with time and societal change. With an intriguing blend of scientific insight and emotional resonance, Wood's novel is a poignant portrayal of kinship and the perennial search for meaning and belonging."
--Ellen Keith, author of #1 international bestseller The Dutch Wife

"An astonishingly beautiful, wonderfully unique, completely seductive novel about a woman who ages one year for every four. It is also a sweeping and memorable portrait of the twentieth century: eugenics, genetics, World Wars, feminism, politics, world travel, and much more. Most of all, it is a novel about love and devotion--among families, friends, and lovers--against the backdrop of a persistent violence against people who are judged to be born different. I could not put this novel down."
--Lawrence Hill, author of Someone Knows My Name

"The Leap Year Gene of Kit McKinley is a marvel. Spanning decades and continents, it shines new light on the essential bond of human empathy, exposing the burdens and immeasurable blessings of love. A fresh and unforgettable novel about what we can't help but lose in this life--and what lives on."
--Alissa York, author of Far Cry