Review: Eve

Author: Anna Carey
Publish date: 2011
Source: Purchased ebook
"The year is 2032, sixteen years after a deadly virus—and the vaccine intended to protect against it—wiped out most of the earth’s population. The night before eighteen-year-old Eve’s graduation from her all-girls school she discovers what really happens to new graduates, 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 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." (Goodreads)

Eve is one of those books that I'd heard of when it came out, but I didn't have quite enough interest in to read. Until I met Anna Carey, that is. When I went to Chicago for RT in April, Anna Carey, Cynthia Hand, Taherah Mafi, and Veronica Rossi were doing a signing at Anderson's on that Friday night. The signing was great and Anna Carey was especially hilarious. I felt bad that I hadn't bought Eve at the time, but later the ebook was super cheap, so of course I had to buy it. Unfortunately, I didn't love it. Here are my mixed feelings:

First of all, I really like the concept of this book. I love dystopian/future books in general and the idea of a plague wiping out most of the population, while sad, is kind of exciting (only in books/movies though! Plagues, stay away from me!). My expectations for Eve were pretty high so although I didn't love all of it, the plot itself was captivating enough to make me keep reading and finish it. Adventure, lots of characters, plague aftermath, etc=ingredients for a fun book.

That said, I was annoyed with Eve as a character for most of the book. I didn't like how she went from believing one thing for her whole life and then within a few pages, had completely changed her outlook on life. That change was a bit too quick for me to believe it. There was also another event involving a guy that I had a hard time with. As in, when I read it, I immediately thought "Are you kidding me? You had to go there?" Blah.

So basically the plot kept me interested enough to keep reading despite having issues believing the characters. I'm sure I will read the sequel to find out what happens though!