Review: Eve by Anna Carey

Sep 30, 2011 by shanyn

Title: Eve
Series: The Eve Trilogy #1
Hardcover, 336 pages
Author: Anna Carey
Publisher: HarperTeen
Publication Date: October 4, 2011
Source: Publisher
Buy: Amazon
Add to: Goodreads

---

Book Summary from Goodreads.com:
Where do you go when nowhere is safe?

Sixteen years after a deadly virus wiped out most of Earth’s population, the world is a perilous place. Eighteen-year-old Eve has never been beyond the heavily guarded perimeter of her school, where she and two hundred other orphaned girls have been promised a future as the teachers and artists of the New America. But the night before graduation, Eve learns the shocking truth about her school’s real purpose—and the horrifying fate that awaits her.

Fleeing the only home she’s ever known, Eve sets off on a long, treacherous journey, searching for a place she can survive. Along the way she encounters Arden, her former rival from school, and Caleb, a rough, rebellious boy living in the wild. Separated from men her whole life, Eve has been taught to fear them, but Caleb slowly wins her trust . . . and her heart. He promises to protect her, but when soldiers begin hunting them, Eve must choose between true love and her life.

---

Review:
I had this one on my shelf for a little while (I received it at Book Expo America) before picking it up. I have to be in the right mood to read a dystopian/science fiction/fantasy/other type of world, because I prefer contemporary and the different rules in new worlds sometimes don’t mesh well with me. I watched The Story Siren’s In My Mailbox last week and she mentioned Eve and how she was excited to read it – and something just clicked with me. I picked it up that night.

Not really knowing what to expect, I ended up getting a lot more. Eve is a story of a world where a virus/plague takes out so much of the population that a new king is elected. He vows to build the country back up – and in the process sets up schools for orphans, where Eve has lived for most of her life. She finds out the real purpose of the orphan schools, and goes on the run.

My favorite part about Eve (the book, not the girl) is that Anna Carey is not afraid to write the hard scenes. Everything does not work out perfectly for any of the characters – in fact, it’s not even close to perfect – and that makes the story more real (and more thrilling) to read. It’s nearly impossibly to guess what could be coming next – in fact, there are three books planned for this series, and while I know how the first book ends, I have no idea where Carey will take us in the next two, and that makes it very exciting.

Eve grows as a character quite a bit throughout this book as well. Growing up at her orphan all girls school, she is taught many things about men that are not necessarily true, and you can see how much it skews not only her relationships, but the books she has read, her ambitions in life, etc etc. I had to remind myself many times that she reacts certain ways because she was taught to do so – Eve’s thoughts and actions remain genuine to her upbringing.

An exciting, thrilling first book of a trilogy, EVE will keep you reading as you discover the world along with Eve.

Buy: Amazon
Add to: Goodreads

Related Posts:

• Waiting on Wednesday: Once (Eve #2) by Anna Carey