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by Emma Delwyn Stoll (Author)
Darwin Queen has never felt what it is like to celebrate a birthday. Every year instead of cake and candles, she was taken to a lab where children were used as test subjects for experiments that were quite deadly. Some gained powers, but many died. She survived, though surviving something does not necessarily mean you are able to escape it.
At the age of six, Darwin was protecting younger children who looked to her for comfort in a place that showed her none. At the age of eight, Darwin led the children to escape, determined to save as many as she could. However, freedom was not immediately peaceful for Darwin as hunger, fear, and loneliness followed her into the outside world until a quiet boy named Kyoya Ootori found her hiding under a tree. He never asked her any questions or pressured her to talk. He simply showed up. This is how Darwin Queen begins to learn what it is like to be safe through the help of Kyoya and his family.
Life at Ouran Academy is nothing like the lab she escaped. Surrounded by the opulence of the academy, the opulence of her classmates, and the uncontrolled energy of the Host Club, Darwin enters a reality that seems almost too good to be true. She doesn't try to be the center of the universe. Instead, she finds her place behind the scenes, using her quick wits and keen insight to help the club prosper. Gradually, without even realizing it, she becomes a part of something she thought she could never be a part of, a family she chose for herself.
The problem is, the past doesn't die easily. The children who never left the lab live on within her memory, and the oath she took to protect them still holds true. The Birthday Curse: Secrets of the Lab is a tale of survival, loyalty, loss, and the kind of love that doesn't even require an explanation. It's a tale of a girl who was forged in the fire of cruelty but refused to be defined by it, who learns that even the darkest of beginnings can lead to something precious.
