Students may want to consider other titles by Wilson such as Dydeetown World, a futuristic science-fiction novel replete with slavish clones, murderers, prostitutes, and legions of illegitimate children. This book was named an American Library Association Best Book for Young Adults in 1990.

Mirage, by Wilson and Costello, may be of interest as well. More of a med thriller, this is the story of a neuropsychologist who taps into her twin's memory to reveal secrets of their past involvements in brain experiments.

Of more substance are works by Isaac Asimov ("The Ugly Little Boy," 1966), Ray Bradbury ("All Summer in a Day," 1966), and Octavia Butler (Dawn, 1987) which deal with prejudice and ostracism. The question of societal control can be found in Lois Lowry's The Giver (1993), Aldous Huxley's Brave New World (1932), and George Orwell's 1984 (1949)—all classics in the science-fiction field. Kate Wilhelm's Where Late the Sweet...