Eve by Anna Carey

Eve by Anna Carey

In the not too distant future, a devastating virus has wiped out most of the world's population. Many who didn't die from the virus died from the subsequent "cure." Orphaned at a very young age, Eve has spent most of her life at an all-girl's school, learning everything she needs to know about this new world. The night before her graduation, Eve discovers what really happens to the graduates. Horrified, she flees, escaping into the unknown.

Eve stumbles her way through the world outside her sheltered school life. She has no idea how to survive the challenges in this barren, new world. Along the way, Eve stumbles into Caleb. Since she was a little girl, Eve has been segregated from men and taught to fear them. Caleb slowly succeeds in convincing Eve to trust him,  and he wins her heart, piece by piece. When soldiers begin to hunt them, Eve and Caleb must go on the run, searching for somewhere safe to stay.

Eve is yet another dystopian society book. While the idea is not new, I found the book oddly compelling. The world is a complex twist of wild children living like adults, struggling for survival. There are sympathetic adults (few and far between) manning a new version of the underground railroad and combating the horrifying ideas on how to repopulate the earth.

Caleb is a strong character, forced to grow up way to young working hard labor in a camp rebuilding the city for the adults in power. He has been living in the wild, struggling to survive. I felt his character was strong, but was often missing from the story. I admired his survival skills, but felt the love story could have been flushed out a little better if he was more present.

While I liked Eve's character as she worked to overcome all she had been taught and come to grips with her new life, I felt that she was very needy and flawed. I was annoyed by how she continuously put herself first, causing a lot of harm to those around her. I found that her character had growth as she learned to deal with her new life, but it wasn't until the end that I felt she had finally figured out how to care for others. I am interested to see where the second book takes her character.

Overall, I liked the book, but would have liked to see a bit more character development and Eve figuring out how to not be selfish a little faster.

Splintered by A.G. Howard

Splintered by A.G.Howard

I learned about this month somewhere around the middle of last year and was very disappointed to find out that it didn't come out until January. That being said, it took me until February to finally purchase the book and until May to finally read it. But, once I started it, it took me a mere two days to finish it (and only that because I fell asleep while reading). 

Alyssa Gardner has been hiding a secret for years. Desperate to avoid landing in a mental hospital like her mother, she hides the fact that she can hear bugs and plants talk. The women in her family have been afflicted with this curse all the way back to Alice Liddell, the inspiration for Lewis Carroll's Alice's Adventures in Wonderland.

However, as her mother's mental health begins a rapid downward spiral, Alyssa learns that there is far more to her family's history than Carroll's story lets on. Not only is Wonderland a real place visited by the first Alice, it is a dark and twisted world filled with mortal danger and disturbing mystical creatures. Alyssa must enter Wonderland and fix the problems Alice left behind in order to save her family before it's too late. Along the way, Alyssa must also choose between Jeb, her best friend and secret crush, and Morpheus, her gorgeous and suspicious guide through Wonderland. 

This story was a captivating mix of intrigue and romance. Howard twisted the elements of Carroll's original story, making for a much darker version of Wonderland. At the same time, I ended up enthralled by the complicated relationship between Jeb and Alyssa. The two ended up saving one another, creating an entrancing romance neither saw coming. 

In the end, I also couldn't hate the darker character of Morpheus. Although he always has his own motives for what he does, I believe he cares for Alyssa in his own twisted way. His character is responsible for much of the growth we see in Alyssa throughout the story.  I thoroughly recommend this book for lovers of fantasy. romance, and twists on old classics.

I Hunt Killers by Barry Lyga

I Hunt Killers by Barry Lyga

I recently finished this book as part of YALSA's 2013 Hub Reading Challenge and found it utterly page-turning. 

The story centers around Jasper "Jazz" Dent, a charming and likable teenager with a spine-tingling past. Just four short years ago, Jazz's father, Billy Dent, was identified as the most notorious and terrifying serial killer in the world and sent to prison to serve multiple consecutive life sentences. His murders number in the triple digits. Jazz went to live with his senile grandmother and has been trying to keep his insane life together and deal with memories of the life with his father that plague his waking and sleeping hours. It seems Billy took "Bring Your Child to Work Day" to a new level while raising his son as an heir apparent.

While Jazz fights his inner demons and struggles against becoming his father, a gruesome murder appears in his hometown of Lobo's Nod. While the town's sheriff doesn't believe Jazz was involved, he feels a relentless drive to convince the local police that he is not the same man his father is and that the murder is the work of a new serial killer. 

The whole book is a relentless drive of intrigue as Jazz works to figure out who the killer is before more bodies pile up. I found myself eager to follow the clues along with Jazz and was constantly on the edge of my seat trying to figure out where the clues would lead. The best part was that I had a little trouble guessing who it was going to be. I loved not being able to figure out the ending at the beginning of the story.

Growing up with his father, Jazz is able to see the murders the way a killer would. It was fascinating and a bit disturbing what memories Jazz dredges up in an attempt to glean some inside knowledge of the killer. The scenes from his father's crimes, as well as the new murder scenes were a bit graphic for my taste. I also found them a bit specific for a young adult book, but I know they will captivate young readers. This movie was thoroughly suspenseful and well-written. The sequel, Game, is already out. I am both terrified and excited to read it.