We Are All Made of Molecules is a fiction novel for teen readers by Canadian author and screenwriter Susin Nielsen. It tells the story of a thirteen-year-old boy called Stewart, who is a child prodigy with no social skills, and Ashley, the most popular girl in school whose grades stink worse than a room full of skunks. There would be no reason for these two polemically different kids to ever come into contact with each other, yet they do, because Stewart's dad and Ashley's mom are dating, and soon, Stewart and his dad move in with Ashley and her mom. Stewart is quite happy about it. Ashley is mortified. It's already embarrassing enough that her dad moved out (the reason is her closely guarded secret) and now if anyone finds out that the Lord of the Nerds has moved in, her position on the highest rung of the social ladder could be seriously compromised. These two kids have almost nothing in common - except for the fact they are both made of molecules.
Nielsen used to be a writer on the hit television show "Degrassi Street" and uses her observational talents to show the reader what happens when two people who should never really cross paths are suddenly thrown together. She creates both likable and odious characters - Stewart is almost a nerd stereotype, but he is a decent kind of kid, whilst Ashley's personality is as abrasive as fingernails on a chalkboard - that can coexist somehow. The book also uses basic principles of molecular science to teach teens about interpersonal relationships - not many books can claim to have done that.
Susin Nielsen began her career as a runner and muffin-baker for "Degrassi Junior High". The cast hated her cooking. She is immortalized in a poem written by the cast : "An ode to Susin, the bran muffin queen, we eat them, we die and then we turn green." Fortunately they saw a great deal more potential in her writing talent than in her baking skills; she wrote a speculative script for the show and was hired to write four of the books in the Degrassi High series, for which she received two Canadian Screen Writer awards. She is also the winner of the Gemini Award for literature.
