Another request to help identify a book read in my youth.

Elements I think I remember:

  • Certain kids can see rings or portals floating in the air.
  • This is apparently made possible by a small extra ring of DNA unique to each of these kids' cells (I don't remember the term plasmid specifically used).
  • These portals are invisible to most people but show up as different colors and have different qualities assisting travel.
  • The protagonist is a girl who can see more unusual kinds of portals than other kids, though most of the other portals don't seem to have a purpose or can't be entered.
  • I think the kids are under control of some government organization or scientists or something, but am unsure.
  • Probably had more a feel of sci-fi than fantasy, but I don't remember a clear scientific rationale for the phenomena involved.

Unfortunately, other than maybe exploiting something unique about her own powers, I don't remember much about the plot. Google isn't much help since there are a lot of books about portals and rings.

I probably read this in the late 1980s or early 1990s, but it may well date a decade or more earlier. I feel like this was middle grade or young adult fiction but somehow got housed in the library with adult fiction for reasons unknown.

Any help in figuring it out is appreciated.


'Spaceling' by Doris Piserchia. From the description on Amazon:

The ability to see other-dimensional rings that float in Earth's atmosphere was a late mutation of a few space-age humans. Daryl was under the care of the institution for muters, and she had discovered that if you jumped through the right ring at the right time it would land you in another dimensional world and another shape.

Spaceling is the story of Daryl's desperate efforts to unravel the mystery of why she was being held captive and of what was really going on in a certain alien dimension. Because she was sure it was all bad and that someday everyone would thank her for the revelation.

But instead everyone was engaged in a wild effort to hold her down, to keep her on this Earth, and to keep the world simply intact!"

  • This really seems like the book I'm thinking of. Thanks! – Peter K. Jan 1 '16 at 15:30
