Eve (Eve, #1)

by Anna Carey

In 2032, sixteen years after a deadly virus has wiped out most of the earth's population, Eve discovers the terrible fate that awaits students when they graduate from their all-girls school, and she sets off on a treacherous journey into the wilds of The New America, searching for a place where she can survive.

• ISBN10: 0062048503
• ISBN13: 9780062048509
• Publish Date: 4 October 2011
• Publish Status: Active
• Publish Country: US
• Publisher: HarperCollins Publishers Inc
• Imprint: HarperCollins
• Format: Hardcover
• Pages: 336
• Language: English
• URL: http://harpercollins.com.au/9780062048509

Reviews

[Amber (The Literary Phoenix)]

Eve was a difficult book.

I wanted to like it, but somehow, it didn't add up.  Eve is about post-apoctaylptic America, after a plague has wiped out most of the population.  Orphans, in particular, have been subject to the cruel regime and have become servants to build and repopulate.  The boys start in when they are young, but the girls are raised in the shadow of false hope.  Eve, our main character, is the smartest girl at her school when by chance someone who hates her reveals the whole dastardly truth and not only does she manage to pretty easily run away, but she also falls in love, gets people killed, and eventually gets to safety at the sacrifice of many others.

Oh, and did I mention?  She is most desired of all women by the King himself.

The writing in this book is on and off.

There were some moments in this book that were raw and gritty and perfect and terrifying and I loved them.  Scenes where the boys are hunting, or the mountain lions are tearing apart a carcass?  I know it's a bit morbid, but they're written really well.  Anna Carey should try her hand at horror rather than romance.

On the other hand, there were many more moments I found myself questioning the direction of the story as well as the author's research.  There were little things.  The first one I noticed was the beginning of the book where a pregnant girl is described as having a stomach that protruded three feet in front of her.  I assume the hyperbole was there to make it grotesque, but three feet is quite a distance and I'm not sure that's humanly possible.  Then later a bear fell off a ravine.  Also some of the setting seemed a little off for Arizona.  I haven't been, so I may be completely wrong, but isn't Arizona more of a dry climate?  Repeated descriptions of forests felt extremely New England-esque.

As far Eve goes... she's perfect and it's horrible.

I don't usually cheer for the MC anyway, but Eve is Class A Mary Sue.  She's the "smartest".  She's so pretty everyone wants her or falls in love with her.  Everyone is willing to lay down their lives for her.  And she's so stupid that she is willing to get four people killed so she can tell a boy she loves him.  Not to mention that she was raised from a child to believe men are evil and within ten minutes of meeting one, she's in love.

I find it really difficult to care about a character who doesn't have any common sense, guile, or genuine remorse.

Overall, this is a two-star book.

The plot was jumpy.  The first half of it there were a lot of pointless things that happened to establish a romantic relationship.  Carey could have developed this into a really interesting post-apocalyptic survival story, but she went with teen romance instead.  Put that together with the questionable details in her writing and the insufferable characters, and I'm out.  The one saving grace of this book was the idea.  It begins with a quote from Margaret Atwood's The Handmaid's Tale and had it chosen to do so, an interesting tale could have been made of women's rights and struggles in a post-apocalyptic world.  I feel like the ideas were twisted to appeal to a fluffier audience, and it's a shame.  I'd've liked to have seen what this book could have been without the romance.

For this series, I'm going to say "thanks, no thanks" to the rest of the books.  Eve didn't really grow as a character at all - she just changed her mind.  I'm not intrigued enough to continue.

Read this review and more like it on my blog

[mrs_mander_reads]

Another dystopian book that I loved from start to finish. I like that this one has a new take on the end of the world thing. It's a plague, and not war. I never saw the early twist coming, the one that leads to Eve's escape from the School. I'm completely mad about Caleb's character, and the end of the book is such a cliffhanger... I'm going to have to go buy the second book in the trilogy tonight.

2nd Read
This time, I listened to Eve on audio. I never finished the trilogy the first time around, so I'm hoping to do so this summer. I still enjoyed the book, but it feels childish at the moment. I think it's listening to it... Some of the lovey parts feel forced.

[angelarenea9]

This review is posted on Reading with AngelaRenea!

I have been eyeing this book up in Books-A-Million for over a year now, and I finally read it! I have to say it was not what I expected, but it was still really good.

This book is a dystopian young adult book with a love story incorporated into it, so while this is a very unique dystopian young adult book with a love story, it is still a snowflake in a blizzard, which unfortunately means, that not a whole lot of this book really stuck with me. That being said, I will be continuing this book because I think there is a lot of potential in this series.

This book follows Eve, a young girl who escapes from her 'school' where she learns they are preparing girls to be baby machines, and teaching them to fear and hate men. I think that that is a really interesting idea, that has some really great ties to today's society.

I really enjoyed the fact that Eve was not a special little flower who everyone loves and dotes on at all times, but is also not a hard core Katness Everdeen type character who kicks some butt, and scares everyone, while being emotionally unavailable. I found her very realistic, and it actually really broke the mold in that respect.

Ultimately, however, it did read like any number of first books in post apocalyptic dystopian worlds. Luckily the second books are always the best!

[lindsey]

I first read this book several years ago, and I always meant to finish the series, but I just never got around to it. I recently found the next two books in the series on sale, so I decided to go ahead and read the whole trilogy. I remembered the basic plot of the book, but not much more than that. I originally gave it three stars, which means that I must have liked it at least a little, but after reading it for a second time, I'm tempted to drop my rating to two stars. I suppose I've changed as a reader since I first read it, which is to be expected. I'm older and my taste in books has changed, at least a little. So maybe I shouldn't adjust my rating, even though my current rating system would give it a two. I was closer to the target audience of YA when I first read it, so maybe I will leave it three stars. This will take a little more consideration. Anyway, on to the review.

Eve is a dystopia, set in future America, sometime after a plague has wiped out most of the country. It's pretty formulaic, and follows the standard dystopian rules. After the plague, a politician steps up to take over and becomes the King. He renames the country the New America, and builds a new city for the remaining citizens to repopulate and recover. Children, however, are sent to Schools. Most of the children are orphans, or their parents are "Strays" living in the wild who can't care for their children properly.

Girls and boys attend different Schools. As a matter of fact, Eve has never even seen a man, apart from a picture of the King. They're taught that men can't be trusted. The girls at Eve's School believe that once they finish their education, they will move to the secondary School to focus on their respective crafts and skills, and then they will move to the city to rejoin the rest of society.

The night before graduation, Eve discovers that not all is as it seems, and she escapes into the wild to try to find Califia, where she is told she'll be safe. She embarks on the dangerous journey with absolutely no supplies, but soon meets others who help her along the way.

I think part of my problem with Eve is that she did such stupid things that literally made me close the book and shake my head. However, I suppose I should take into consideration that Eve has been raised in isolation, she's been lied to by everyone in charge, and her education has been skewed. She has absolutely no survival skills and is the epitome of naive. So maybe I shouldn't be so hard on her.

On a good note, the author's writing style is enjoyable, and the story is well-paced. After careful consideration, I think I will keep my original three-star rating, and I'm going to finish up the series. Here's to hoping the next two books are five-star worthy!

[Briana @ Pages Unbound]

Source: Giveaway

Review to come.

[nightingalereads]

1.5 stars

[jeannamichel]

After a plague that took out most of the population, people needed to learn how to rebuild. Eve grew up in a School that protected her from the Wild, where men and boys sought to take woman in the dead of night, or so she was taught. After figuring out what happens to students after graduation, she runs away looking for a safe place in the Wild, where the government will not find her. However, she is wanted by the king and it is only a matter of days before they catch her. She meets a boy, Caleb, who doesn’t seem to be like the normal boys as described in her School books. He helps her but when Eve is on the run, and to be strong, she has to face the world alone. Eve has to choose between true love or safety, but she can never have both.

The cover is the only negative thing I have to say about this book. It just doesn’t capture the fantastic story that Anna Carey has created. The bridge is too narrow to fit more than a one-way street on it. Therefore, it doesn’t really fit with the story. The girl on the front, looks lost in an awkward pose that I can only assume she had been running. She looks like a Barbie doll with extreme care to her hair. Eve is much more awesome than this cover, so don’t judge the book by its cover, because if you do this one will surprise you.

I’ve been reading a lot of dystopian this summer. But there is a catch with dystopian for me. The books in this certain genre can either be fantastically read-till-you-drop sort of books, or they are the awful books that you will-drop-while-reading. They can never been somewhere in the middle. I either like them or I don’t. With Eve, I quickly fell in love with Carey’s world and it easily became one of my favorites.

Carey writes so well that I barely noticed I was reading because I was so into the novel. Her voice speaks through her characters and from page one, I was involved in this dystopian society. Carey created this society that reminded me a lot of the background of I Am Legend, the movie starring Will Smith (not the book). She set the scene in many different places, but in every place I would get chills from the description she gave. The thought that all these suburban houses were abandoned and crawling with weeds gave me an appreciation for the work. Carey created a place that already existed but she put in her own original society with a girl on the run. It was genius and I am still shivering from the world of Eve.

The characters are what brought this book together. Eve is just the most innocent girl ever and when she goes out into the Wild, I was surprised she made it as far as she did, at first. Her innocence created such amazing comic relief in this dystopian universe that made me love her even more.

Ahhh… I don’t want to spoil the ending for you but it was just so GOOD! I was almost brought to tears in the length of about two sentences and it wasn’t even because of the mad cliffhanger dangling in front of me. It was because Eve… I have no words to say about it without giving it all away. So I leave you by telling you that you need to read this book.

Eve was a great read with innocent characters and fantastic descriptions. You will not be able to put it down.

[celinenyx]

The first few pages of Eve got me completely hooked. School of misguided girls? Mysterious place where they go when they graduate? 98% of the population killed by the plague? Hell yes!

But then everything goes downhill. This is a very short book, and I was looking forward to a quick read. I got my quick read, but it was expense of the plot. Almost every single plot-point in the book was rushed. The love interest turned into insta-love. People get killed off and pretty much forgotten. Most characters are either shallow or completely unpredictable. The more I think about it, the less impressed I am by the plotline. Almost nothing is explained and there aren't any subplots.

Another thing that started to annoy me after a while are the mistakes. Several times there was talk of bare shoulders while they were wearing long-sleeved shirts. They walk on bare feet, but it never gets mentioned that their feet hurt. Try walking without shoes in a forest. It hurts, I can tell you!

I don't get why the guys in this book are so absolutely awful. In School, Eve gets learned that men are disgusting, manipulative and primitive, except for the King, who is all kinds of awesome. After she escapes from school, she meets men for the first time in her life. Of course she is afraid of them. Of course she views them as alien life forms. But why did the men themselves have to be that god-awful? Why should they run around in murderous pacts that rape every girly thing they see? Every man in this story is pictured as an abusive, traitorous, and overall disgusting person. Except for the love interest. And a few six year olds. The rest of them? Pigs. Another fun fact: every bad guy smells like alcohol. Good guy hero doesn't drink. Prejudice much?

I really liked the premise, and the story itself was enjoyable and quick, but the man hating nature of Eve put me off. If you're looking for a fast-paced story with a dystopian backdrop, you can give Eve a try.

[bookishzelda]

I would have to put Eve by Anna Carey in my..I enjoyed it but not overly wowed...category. I really like the overall concept of the story. Having a plague ravage the world leaving few survivors that have to rebuild society. It's not something we haven't ever heard before but everyone puts their own twist on it.



It was an easy lighter read for me, which is not a bad thing. I could tell that this was the first book in a series because there were many questions left unanswered. I couldn't say the ending left me hanging from a cliff and salvating for the next installment but I did enjoy it.



I noticed some familar themes....Eve herself has a little Wendy from "Peter Pan" going for her, with the exception of having to fight of sexual advances. This of course is no Neverland though with the wild strays having a bit of "Lord of the Flies" going for them.



The romance was cute not epic but I did believe the chemistry of the characters.



I will probably read the second book because I feel an authors writing grows just as much as their characters do. So I'm curious as to how some of the issues will be worked out and how some questions will be answered. I wouldn't run up to you on the street and say you have got to read this book.

[inlibrisveritas]

Eve is yet another book to add to the ever growing Dystopian genre, and while it is not among the best it is certainly worth the read. I personally enjoyed this a lot once I got into it, despite a few moments of head scratching. The writing was clear and fluid making this a very quick and easy read once you get past the first few chapters. The story itself if really good and it certainly has the 'shock' factor that I so love in these books. It wasn't anything terribly shocking though, it didn't make me stop and re-read it a few times to let it sink it. It was more of a "Oh! Wow....that really sucks." kind of shock. The dystopia aspect is pretty creative I suppose, having a post-plague society and it's new government. I even thought the concept of the 'sow's to be pretty ingenious, and it makes complete sense for a new and growing population. I can't say I fully understood the in depth and classical studies the girls have to go through until their 18, seeing as their fate after School isn't one where it's used per say. I ended up making a logical excuse for it though and so it no longer bothered me, I just wish it had been explained a bit better. It does help you get an understanding though of how shocking it is for the girls as well as understanding exactly how misinformed and naive the main character, Eve, is. Eve isn't exactly the main character I was expecting and I can't say I connected with her on a personal level because her personality just didn't click for me, but she is a interesting character read about. I can't say I was rooting for her but I was very interested in how she was going to handle things, and her struggles were really believable for someone so naive. I wish some of the wilderness parts were longer and showed more of her plight. You got a sense of how horrible things were at times but it was over to quickly to get a true understanding of anything.I also didn't quite get the King's determined search efforts for Eve, as there are bound to be more girls out there who are less trouble and statistically Eve would probably die anyway. So what's the big deal?

There is of course a love interest, Caleb. Who thankfully has no competition, because a love triangle would have made this along the stupid side. Eve's interaction with him is also believable and it isn't instantaneous, but given how short the book it is it does seem fairly fast paced. The book suggests months and weeks but to me it felt like they had only been on the road for like a month at most, and by the end of the book it only felt like it was two months past at most. Arden is more of the girl who find typically in the spotlight of these type novels but since she's a side character she is more of a "bully gone decent" kind of girl. I actually liked Arden more the Eve at times. The ending is kind of frustrating because you seriously don't want it to end there. It's one of those things where I was demanding a sequel and then I remembered that this is an ARC of a book that hasn't hit shelves. I'll be waiting for it though.

I recommend this to YA dystopia lovers or if you want to ease yourself into the genre. It's not terribly gory or blunt but there are a few moments (as with all dystopia novels) that involve violence of some sort. Overall not an amazing story but it is definitely one that should be checked out.

I received this from HarperTeen and Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.