Eve by Anna Carey

From Goodreads:

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.

The premise of Eve  is utterly creepy. When you find out exactly what the students are in for after their graduation, it leaves a bad taste in your mouth. Anna Carey sets up how Eve learns all of this quite well, and I thought the world-building was pretty darn good. I felt like most of my questions were answered, and since it's a planned series, the few I had left were quite alright. 


I feel like Eve is a bit more post-apocalyptic than dystopian. This may change with later books, but we spend a lot more time in destroyed civilizations than in pseudo-utopian ones. I love post-apocalyptic anything at least as much as I love dystopian, though in all honesty dystopian may be getting a bit burned out for me. So Eve was a good relief; I got the desolation and fighting back spirit of dystopian, but in a dingier, more desolate setting. :) 


And that's the thing, everyone is dirty. Caleb has dreadlocks and Eve describes him as smelling like sweat. Sometimes we forget about that kind of thing in books when people are out in the wilderness. The author doesn't describe their state of cleanliness, so we never think about how they smell. I loved the fact that we're reminded that people stink when they live in the woods, without access to lots of soap. Odd, I know, but it made me happy.


Honestly, Eve was not a super fun protagonist to follow. She's naive, which is understandable, given how she's raised, but at some point you'd think she'd start to figure out some stuff. But no. She continually does stupid things that get people killed, and she skips off unharmed. I also didn't feel like she'd like Caleb so much so quickly. She's been conditioned ruthlessly to believe that men are only out to hurt women, so when this guy comes around, shouldn't she be more suspicious? She's supposed to be pretty darn intelligent, so maybe you'd suspect that he has ulterior motives? Naw. She decides pretty soon that he's good, which he does prove to be, but I would think she'd be more cautious. Maybe she would start thinking he's different and spend some time figuring that out, but no. She gets cuddly pretty quick. Really, she gets comfortable with men really quick. Hmm.


But, all in all, I thought the story was a good one. Eve has some growing up to do, and she needs to do it quick, but there's a lot of potential for the next book to be great. I did not expect the twist in the ending at all, and I'm itching for another book. 


Risk a paper cut? Eve has great potential, and if you're willing to read one decent book (that is not at all a waste of your time) with the hopes of an exceptional one to come, go for it! I know I'll be waiting in line. :)


To buy: Amazon