MADreads

If you had to have a body transplant

July 23rd, 2008 Molly - Central

Whose body would you choose?

Meg Cabot’s latest series starter, Airhead, is over the top entertainment.  It starts out with a crazy accident that crushes our heroine with a giant plasma screen television.  Emerson Watts then becomes the first successful recipient of a total body transplant.  Not only is she smart (she was already smart, a scholarship student at a fancy Tribeca school) but her transplant body is super hot.  In fact, her transplant body belongs to tween queen supermodel and face of Stark Megastore, Nikki Howard, also injured during the TV crash. 

Then Emerson discovers that she is not actually the first successful body transplant patient.  Lots of famous types with great brains or money (artists, musicians, royals) have secretly undergone this procedure and survived, while the world mourns their loss.  And not so coincidentally, the corporation that funds the research, experts and medical equipment for these transplants just happens to be the same corporation that owns the store where Em was fatally injured and where Nikki Howard happens to be the spokes model.  Stark Enterprises.  

In order to pay for the expensive surgery that saves Em’s brains, her parents agree to honor Nikki’s modeling contract once body and brain are functioning together properly.  But everyone who knows Em thinks she is dead.  And everyone who sees her body thinks she is “someone else.”  This brings up lots of ethical issues.   Whose body is it, really?  And how do you reconcile body and soul after this kind of switcheroo?  We will find out more in the sequel, Being Nikki.

Now, some might think the premise of this series is ridiculous beyond belief.  And that may be true.  But if you dig books about teen vampires and werewolves vying for the love of a brainy girl, then total body transplants won’t be much of a stretch for you.   It’s been more than 20 years since Weird Science and I think this fresh take on that concept could be very popular;  I hope that the CW has this on their hot list for new show ideas!

Entry Filed under: Young Adult