Hox by Annemarie Allan.
Kelpies / Floris Books, 2008 (2007).
Hox genes really do exist and they do control growth within the body. As for the rest, when I came across an article on the web about how ancient mammals had more Hox genes than they do now, it set me wondering … What if those Hox genes were reintroduced? — ‘Author’s Note’.
Young Robbie Burns – yes, that’s his name – is an only child, with few real friends. His scientist mother died after he was born, but his father Michael still works at the Institute for Animal Research at Duncraig, a town to the northwest of Edinburgh somewhere near Stirling.
But all is not well: Robbie feels out of sorts with his father, sensing there are secrets he’s not been told. And when after visiting his father’s workplace he overhears an argument between the Institute’s director and Michael it adds to his suspicions.
Then in one of the barn-like labs where Michael’s colleague Joe works he comes across a pair of lynxes called Baldur and Freya confined to cages; after he receives a shock out-of-body experience in connection to Baldur he realises he’s arrived at a crossroads in his young life, one where his future, and that of the lynxes, will rest on a crucial decision he’ll have to make.
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Calmgrove Books 