REVIEW: Eve by Anna Carey

Eve (Eve #1) by Anna Carey
Publication Date: October 4, 2011
Publisher: Harper Teen
Source: Book Purchased by Reviewer
Buy it at: Amazon, Barnes and Noble, IndieBound

My rating: 5 out of 5 stars

Summary (from Goodreads):

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.

Let me start by saying that this book definitely shocked me in more ways than one. The only reason I read this book is because I went to a book signing that the author was at. I was there for another author, but Anna Carey spoke so well during the event, I knew I had to buy it. Later, I was a little iffy before reading it, thinking that I may be a waste of time. So I read a few reviews for the book to see what other people thought. After reading  reviews, it was clear to me that my suspicions were right! Turns out, there were plenty of unflattering reviews for the book and the author (to my shock) but I decided to read the book anyway….and boy am I glad I did!!!

There were many things about the book that I absolutely LOVED. For one, the author wrote two extremely emotional scenes that literally brought me to tears. Now, I have to tell you that I am NOT a crier! But the author wrote those two particular scenes so well that every emotion was brought out in me…tears HAD to be shed!

Another thing I loved about the book are the characters. Though Eve is not a particularly deep character, she did portray (towards the end) a sort of sorrow for the line of bodies she left in her wake. It seems throughout the entire book, while I was screaming at her to wake up and stop being so selfish with all these people trying to protect her, she actually heard my pleas and GOT IT TOGETHER! Yayy for her (lol)

Caleb was a bit more together than Eve. I felt drawn to him from the moment he saved her life from the bear. The connection that grew between them was so beautiful to me and I definitely felt every tingle involved. It was also, however, a bit too fast. I feel like Eve was raised in a world where she was made to believe that all men were evil and unloving, so for her to fall in love so fast with Caleb was a bit off to me. But the love connection was definitely beautifully written.

But my absolute FAVORITE characters in the book were definitely Benny and Silas. I completely fell in love with those two little boys from the moment Eve met them in the dugout. They captured my heart in every way possible and my heart completely broke when the girls were taken away from them. Watching that scene (in my head) was so devastating. At that moment I felt all the pain that Benny and Silas felt while running after Eve, screaming that they loved her. I realized that at that moment they fully understood what it meant to truly love someone and that was something that Eve taught them.  

Though I did love the book, of course there were a few small flaws. For one, as I mentioned, the love connection bloomed too fast considering that Eve was taught to hate men. Also, I feel like the extreme environment (ie: plague that takes out 98% of the world) was a bit undeveloped. I wish there would’ve been more explanation, more detail, more anything! And lastly, #1 pet peeve of the book….LEIF!!! He truly was such an a-hole!!! When he had that “moment” with Eve at the piano, I thought something really changed in him, like he finally opened up and you would finally see the good side to him that Caleb talked about. But for him to do what he “tried” to do to Eve was despicable!!! He should’ve been stoned, or beaten, or castrated!!! I mean honestly, come on…he’s a d-bag. Enough said!

So overall, I absolutely LOVED this story and can’t wait to read the next installment of the series, Once