With the potential for cloning already a reality, today's teens will soon have to face some major ethical questions. Who has a right to determine a person's genetic make-up? And how will we treat our genetic underclass? In Pure, fifteen-year-old Lenni is a gifted healer to some and to others only skidge-an illegal genetic experiment gone horribly wrong. Set in a future where genetic engineering of humans is forbidden, this novel tells of Lenni's escape from Dawn, a community controlled by the Genetic Purity Council, or Purity. The story begins as Lenni discovers her mysterious healing powers, which eventually lead to tormenting seizures. When her powers become obvious to Purity, Lenni is placed in the medical unit for genetic testing, although she is certain that she has pure, unaltered DNA. At the unit, she gets to know Redge, a skidge who would rather remain in a wheelchair than submit to another unsuccessful treatment designed to help him walk. Then Lenni learns the horrible truth: that her parents illegally altered her before her birth, in fact, choosing who she would be. Lenni must deal with the prejudices against her and escape from Purity, who plans to sterilize and confine her.

Together, Lenni and Redge search out a way to belong-and make a difference.