Mosquitoes Don't Bite Me

Mosquitoes don't bite Nala Simiyu. It's part of who she is, like being a half-Kenyan seventh-grader whose mother is in a wheelchair. But when a schoolmate's father--who happens to head up a large drug company--learns of Nala's special power, the excitement begins. After helping out with mosquito research, Nala has the chance to travel to Kenya to investigate mosquitoes' reactions to her father's family. All goes well until a man heartbroken by his daughter's death from malaria kidnaps Nala. In the midst of a realistic adventure story, this book will introduce young readers to such dilemmas as health disparities, subtle racism, and who owns biological information. Brave, fallible, compassionate and spirited, Nala is a strongly relatable character in a loving, imperfect family.

Pendred Noyce is a doctor and author of 11 books for young people. She has worked to improve science education and afterschool science opportunities for young people nationwide, and she has three half-Kenyan nephews.