From a beguiling new voice in YA literary sci-fi/contemporary fantasy comes an astonishing novel about a group of mysterious children with the power to change lives...

Ever since 15-year-old Milly Bythaway can remember, she’s had to hide who she really is – dumbing down an extraordinary genius in order to blend into the background. 17-year-old Calista Matheson had been told all her life that she was a nobody, until someone helped her to realise that just wasn't true. And 14-year-old Tai Jones, a boy abandoned by his mother and forced to live as a homeless wanderer on the streets of London, soon realises that he has a special gift: he can see thoughts and emotions of others in stunningly beautiful colours. A gift that is both wonderful and awful.

When the teenagers are brought together by a mysterious old scientist for their own safety, they are told of a common and forgotten past. One of hidden experiments, and a missing family that they yearn to find. But they soon hear of the disappearance of another child, the youngest, and are faced with an impossible dilemma. Saving themselves will require confronting their deepest fears and delving into the ugly truth of their past – only to uncover something hidden in the dark...

But if they can muster the strength to overcome adversity in inventive and ingenious ways, it will bring about the most extraordinary and unexpected change. In the end, the children must work together, unleashing the full force of their intellect and genius, in an epic battle of the world's greatest minds.

The Ingenious and the Colour of Life is J.Y. Sam’s beautiful and heart-rending debut – a story that explores the fragility of human nature, with a dash of science, culture, and the natural world. It will capture your mind, and steal your heart.