The Body Institute by Carol Riggs
Release Date: 09/01/15
Entangled Teen
Summary from Goodreads:
Meet Morgan Dey, one of the top teen Reducers at The Body Institute.
Thanks to cutting-edge technology, Morgan can temporarily take over another girl’s body, get her in shape, and then return to her own body—leaving her client slimmer, more toned, and feeling great. Only there are a few catches…
For one, Morgan won’t remember what happens in her “Loaner” body. Once she’s done, she won’t recall walks with her new friend Matt, conversations with the super-cute Reducer she’s been text-flirting with, or the uneasy feeling she has that the director of The Body Institute is hiding something. Still, it’s all worth it in the name of science. Until the glitches start…
Suddenly, residual memories from her Loaner are cropping up in Morgan’s mind. She’s feeling less like herself and more like someone else. And when protests from an anti–Body Institute organization threaten her safety, she’ll have to decide if being a Reducer is worth the cost of her body and soul…
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Fun Facts About
Writing THE BODY INSTITUTE
1. BOYFRIEND NO
MORE.
The main character, Morgan Dey, used to have a boyfriend named Aaron in the
beginning of the novel—until 8 months before the book was published. He got
slashed by Carol’s Entangled Teen editor. In the original version, Morgan broke
up with him by walloping him in virtual paintball.
2. BEST FRIEND
TWEAK.
Morgan’s best friend, Blair McClure, was called Bunny in the first drafts.
Blair sounds more serious and fits her better, now that she’s Morgan’s
science-minded friend.
3. TITLE CHANGE. The
previous title of THE BODY INSTITUTE used to be SHAPERS. This was changed by
Strange Chemistry when the book was under contract with them, before they went
out of business and Entangled Teen picked up the book. ET liked the new title
and kept it.
4. EVEN EARLIER
TITLES.
Back in 1990 when the novel was just an idea, the working title was FARRADAY’S
FAT FARM. In 2010 when Carol started the actual writing, this morphed into
EMRT. (Electromagnetic Resonance Transfer—the process of downloading one
person’s brainmap into another person’s body.)
An editor at an SCBWI conference wisely suggested that Carol change this
to SHAPERS. (Now the body-swapping process is more simply called ERT, which is
more reader-friendly.)
5. INSTITUTE
WORKERS.
When the book was called SHAPERS, the weight loss was performed by workers
called Shapers, instead of being called Reducers as they are now.
6. AVATARS NO
MORE.
In early versions, Morgan had a holographic princess warrior avatar that popped
up on her phone; she used this instead of the texts and voice-to-text that
appear in the final version of the book. Bunny communicated using a (duh) bunny
avatar, and Krista used a slinky clown. Morgan’s ex-boyfriend Aaron was a
troll.
About the Author
I'm a YA writer represented by Kelly Sonnack of Andrea Brown Literary. My sci-fi novel THE BODY INSTITUTE explores the themes of society, identity, and body image. I live in the beautiful, green state of Oregon and have a Studio Arts degree; I'm an SCBWI member.
You'll usually find me in my writing cave, surrounded by my dragon collection and the
characters in my head. I also enjoy reading--mostly young adult novels--as well as drawing, painting, and quilting. I also attend writing conferences, walk with my husband, and enjoy music
and dance of all kinds.
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