Eve – Anna Carey

Eve
By Anna Carey
Eve – Book 1
Available Now

Description:
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.

This Blonde’s Review:
Imagine a world where disease has destroyed most of the population. Where the majority of children are orphaned and cared for at same sex schools. This is the world Eve lives in. She is the valedictorian of her class and is excited for life after school, when she will learn more and experience more and have a chance for a great life. When she discovers a fellow student getting ready to run away and is told why, Eve doesn’t believe. Yet she finds herself looking for the truth and is horrified to discover the truth. So she runs.

She gets lucky at first, since she has no skills outside of those the school taught her. When she runs into Arden, the girl who told her about what happens after graduation, they decide to travel together for a while even though they never liked each other. Before too long her luck runs out and she finds herself in danger again. This is where she meets Caleb.

For a girl who has been taught since she was young that men are evil and only want one thing, she is smart enough to want to live to fight another day and lets him help her. She is a classic know-it-all and doesn’t want to accept that Caleb isn’t what she was taught to expect, and she refuses to accept that he knows things she doesn’t.

When Eve, Arden, and Caleb find themselves chased by soldiers looking for Eve it because apparent that she was not just another graduate. The soldiers are after her in particular, not just anyone.

Eve is a book smart girl, which does not always lead to world smarts. She finds herself in situation after situation that sound like bad ideas, and of course they are. She makes mistakes that cost other people their pride or even their lives, over and over she shows no sense.

Arden is mostly set as a secondary character, barely involved even though she is present for most of the story. She’s sick for a good portion, then when she’s better we’re still concentrating on Eve and Caleb. When she makes a sacrifice for Eve we can’t help but hope for the best for her.  I really enjoyed Arden’s character, even though she’s presented as unfriendly and unlikable. She is stronger than Eve in many ways and has a spunk that I can’t help but admire. I hope we see more of Arden in the rest of the series, I have a feeling that she could help make the series into something better.

Caleb is a kind boy who used to live at a boys school. We learn from him how the boys are treated and what can happen to the boys there. He also gives us insight into the other boys who live in the camp that he takes the girls to when Arden is sick. Through Caleb we see how the most unlikable of the boys is one we should care for, until the boy does something terrible. Caleb is both likable and unimpressive in my mind, and I hope to know more about him during the rest of the series. He’s quick to decide he loves Eve but is equally quick to run at trouble. He claims to want to be with her, yet isn’t willing to let her stay or go with her. Worst in my mind is that he doesn’t communicate with her to tell her what’s at the other end of her journey.

Eve and Caleb’s romance is sweet, but also happens quickly. Which I would expect from two teens who have little experience with the opposite sex, but is not quite how the synopsis describes it. Eve is quick to decide that she wants to stay with the boys in order to stay with Caleb, and puts herself and Arden in an obviously bad position for him. Her naiveté and desire to be with him causes more problems than it should.

I’m not really sure how I feel about Eve since I’m not sure how I feel about Eve and Caleb. It has promise and I will definitely be reading the next in this series to discover what happens to Eve, Caleb, and Arden.  The concept of what is happening to the orphaned children of the country and what is happening in the country following the widespread deaths is a fascinating one. Hopefully the author can pull it together more and make the characters people I can care more for in the rest of this series.

If the description sounds interesting to you I do encourage you to read it. What is happening in this story is an interesting idea and it is entirely possible you’ll have stronger feelings for the characters than I did. There are just as many great reviews I’ve seen as there are uncertain ones, so trust your judgment and give it a try if you think it’ll appeal to you.