Black milk

by Robert Reed

Ryder’s gang is just like any other gang of suburban kids. They do what all kids do: build tree houses, hunt snakes and rodents in the woods, keep snowballs in the freezer to throw at each other in mid-summer, boast, brag, argue and tussle. Ryder, the sensitive day dreamer; Cody, the energetic tomboy; Marshall, the gangly know-it-all; Jack, the foul-mouthed mischief; and Beth, the pretty little girl with the sweet singing voice...all just like any other kids. Except... By their parents’ choice, they have all become members of a new generation of genetically tailored individuals created by one Dr. Aaron Florida. Hoping their son can get a leg up in an increasingly competitive world, Marshall’s ambitious parents have ordered for him the pre-planned life of a top scientist; Cody’s two mothers have a girl who can do anything a boy can do—better; Ryder’s parents are blessed with a son possessed of a perfect memory. And it is through Ryder’s perceptions that this at once captivating and chil