Rise by Anna Carey

 The Eve Series 

Eve, Once, Rise 

Published: April 2nd 2013

Publisher: Harper Audio
Website: Author’s Website
Series: Eve
Format: Audiobook, Unabridged 
Narration by: Tavia Gilbert

Quick Review

Introduction

            Taking place after the events of the last book, Eve has to live in the palace of the City of Sand. Caleb has been executed, she has married Charles against her will, and she soon discovers the repercussions of her one night with Caleb. Life in the palace plays against the backdrop of a growing revolution in the city, and Eve wants revenge against her father for killing the one man she has ever loved. Luckily, the elusive Moss is there to help.

Characters

            The characters in the last installment face many changes. Eve has been separated and reunited with most characters. Most are satisfying, and some will break your heart.

Arden is absent for most of the book. Where she does go, I saw it coming, but it made me cheer inside. This book cements her sheer awesomeness, but she really needs her own book series.

Clara has changed in this book for the better. She still carries the same bossy attitude, but she moves forward with Eve in many ways. She is an example of a character that changes with the tides of the world but still keeps her essential characteristics. She is another character that I do not want to say goodbye to. She doesn’t get much of an ending for herself, though the reader can assume her fate in the end.

Charles, poor Charles. He tried so hard with Eve, but she was forced to marry him. He could have forced himself on her, despite her love for a dead man, but he doesn’t. In fact, he goes out of his way to protect and help her. All for a woman who doesn’t love him – a woman who wants to tear down the very society that has treated him very well.

Rebellion

            I have to say that the rebellion aspect was a little underwhelming, though that is because the reader is delivered events only from Eve’s perspective, and she is stuck in the palace or within the city while under soldier supervision.

            Where the book shines is what Eve does for the rebellion. In Once, Eve was forced to leave Arden, Pip, Ruby, and all the other girls at the schools. Readers have criticized her for not doing anything for them (though when exactly and how was she supposed to manage that?). In this book, she takes action to save as many girls as she can. Her actions are realistic – at that point, she couldn’t take down the government all by herself. She helped as many girls as she could muster in a short amount of time. Girls were left behind, so it feels like Schindler’s List – she wished she could have done more, but she moved forward with those she did save.    

The Very End

Spoilers ahead

This is my very favourite part of the book, and after a brief search on the internet, a lot of people hated it. And yes, you can write whole feminist essays in favour for, or against, the ending. Personally, I was so happy that Rise ended the way that it did. Since this is a quick review, I will only go through my reasons briefly.

So, Caleb isn’t dead. Yes, this resurrection is a bit…exasperating. Granted, I didn’t see it coming, and it could happen. Eve’s father is a duplicitous and calculating man. If he needed some leverage against her, he would still have Caleb’s life to manipulate her.

Caleb starts the revolution, as far as Eve is concerned. She helped the rebellion by stealing maps in Once, so she was willing to help where she could. Once Caleb is dead, she helps more, in more drastic ways. You could say that it took the death of “her” man to move her to pivotal action/revenge. Thinking that he was dead gave her the edge to risk everything. She killed her father, the King of The New America, because she was angry and wanted change and revenge. To her, it was his revolution, and she wanted it to happen because she loved him and she saw the terrible conditions. She was able to do it, but she didn’t do it for him, for him to love her, or so they could live freely together. He was already dead. She did it because it would bring the change they wanted. She got him back after she achieved her goal, and she wasn’t expecting it. He wasn’t her goal. He was an unexpected revelation. It can be said that the author gave her a happy ending that she wasn’t expecting, but she deserved it. I do wonder though, how different the book would be if Caleb was never “dead”. Would she have had the courage to kill her father if Caleb were still alive? Would the task be purposed to her? What else would she have done, if anything at all?

The only thing I find strange is that she calls herself his wife. Well, that’s nice, though technically they aren’t married. But what do you call yourself? Declaring that she’s his girlfriend doesn’t do much for last words of a novel. Maybe the hospital won’t let her see him if they aren’t related. It’s just that they aren’t so it was weird to hear it. I’m sure they do get married and live happily ever after the book (and apparently, the author has written an epilogue, though I don’t think it’s needed).

   

Final Verdict

            If the first two books of the Eve trilogy excited you, the third is an excellent conclusion. It’s a realistic rebellion story – Eve is a single cog that has an important role in one event, but she doesn’t win the war all by herself, and she doesn’t even fight. Eve does her best to act appropriately when, in previous books, she failed. The series is great material for that teen who has read all the popular dystopian novels already.

Once by Anna Carey

The Eve Series
Eve, Once, Rise 

Published: July 3rd 2012

Publisher: Harper Audio
Website: Author’s Website
Series: Eve
Format: Audiobook, Unabridged 
Narration by: Tavia Gilbert

Quick Review 

Introduction

            Eve and Caleb made it to Califia, but only Eve was permitted inside to safety. Even though Caleb was wounded, he was turned away, and Eve is haunted during her time in Califia.

One day she hears a rumour that a boy fitting Caleb’s description is holed up outside of Califia, and Eve seizes the chance to save him. Instead of living happily ever after with Caleb, she ends up in the City of Sand. From here, the unexpected revelation of why the King wants Eve is revealed.

With everything changing for Eve in the City of Sand, she sees someone who couldn’t possibly be in the city’s streets – it’s Caleb, and the rebellion against the King is underway.

Eve

            For the people who couldn’t stand Eve in the first installment, she gets better in Once. She’s still not a “take-charge” girl yet, but she is on her way. She takes risks, though she is largely following orders. Still, considering her position, that takes bravery. Does she still make mistakes? Yes, and again, her mistakes lead to people dying. This mistake, to me, doesn’t seem likely to occur considering how much Caleb and the rebels are aware of how not to get caught. But it does, and I can’t change it, but I can’t agree that it would happen in reality.

Arden

            Oh, Arden, why weren’t you in this book more? She’s still an independent survivor and for that, she is still my favourite character. What happens in Once with her is heart wrenching, but you know that though something bad has happened, Arden will know how to pull herself out of danger. You just have to wait for Rise to find out what happens.

Rebellion

            The best part of this book is that the rebellion is rising from within the City of Sand. If you are the kind of person who gets goose bumps from rebellion stories (like me), I recommend Once, though the rebellion is just getting started. Throughout Once you can feel the rebellion gathering steam and momentum, and you can feel that it is about to burst into action soon. Eve is there, helping where she can. For the most part, though, she is in love with Caleb, and that drives most of the story.

Travel/Setting

            Where this book differs from Eve is where Eve and company travel and stay. In Eve, she and Arden had the agency to go where they pleased, and basically, they stayed where they pleased. In Once, it is not the case. Eve is in Califia, then captured in the City of Sand. Once she is in the City of Sand, her agency is greatly reduced, and she can only travel (almost) freely within the palace, and she can sneak around the city. Although I usually like to see more travelling characters exploring and moving in worlds, the City of Sand was much better than listening about the dug-out in Eve.

Final Verdict

The book series is rising above the first installment. In the beginning, Eve wasn’t the most independent or strong character, and she didn’t even have a character arch in Eve. In Once and Rise, Eve begins to evolve and change the world arwiound her. This series only gets better, so I highly recommend reading Once and Rise even if you thought Eve was just ok. This book lacks some of the greater themes that the first book has. Yes, the women’s rights issue is still present, but it isn’t treated the same way as in Eve. Arranged marriages are an issue in Once, but not on as a grand scale. The theme of government rebellions can be discussed using this book, but Rise would be a better candidate (though there are better books for that, such as The Unwind Dystology by Neal Shusterman).

Eve by Anna Carey

The Eve Series

Eve, Once, Rise

Published: October 4 2011
Publisher: Harper Audio
Website: Author’s Website
Series: Eve
Format: Audiobook, Unabridged 
Narration by: Tavia Gilbert

Quick Review 

Introduction

98% of the world’s population was killed 16 years ago by a plague. The King is trying to rebuild America, and by his command, female orphans are kept in highly secured schools to educate them and protect them from the chaos outside. Surrounded only by female teachers and guards, they are taught that all men are ruthless, untrustworthy rapists. They are taught that after graduation, they will be moved to another building to learn a trade and move to the City of Sand to start a new life. Eve, the smartest student, wants to be an artist, but the trouble-maker Arden tells Eve that everything is a lie. When Arden disappears, Eve goes to see where the graduated girls go and discovers the truth for herself. With the truth in hand, Eve flees from the school, trying to survive in the wilds while being hunted by the King.

Narrator

Tavia Gilbert's voice was something I disliked at first, but as the time went by, I have come to like her voice. Perhaps not everyone will like it, though I think she fits the voice of Eve very well, and this story is told by Eve.  

World Building

            Eve recounts her final days with her mother, and for the most part, that’s all Eve knows about the world before the virus. Then, she only knows what the school has told her. When she is thrust into the world on her own, she has to figure it out on the fly. So no one is dumping every truth on her so the reader can know the details about how the new world functions. Some people “know” snippets, but even they might be wrong. It is apparent that surviving by yourself is not an easy task. Hopefully, the world will be explained more in the next two books.

Eve

            First off, Eve is not an unreliable narrator. An unreliable narrator is the result of when a narrator’s credibility has been compromised. Eve (and Arden) simply don’t know everything about the world as it actually is. The only information they have before they leave is what they were taught in school. If you wrote in a book report that she is an unreliable narrator, I hope your teacher corrects it with a lot of red pen.

            That said, Eve is terribly boring. She has no character traits other than the not-surprising “book smart”, and the not-a-character-trait of “girl”. I don’t mind her naiveté, because it makes sense. And yes, she is book smart (as in literature and math), so she doesn’t stand a chance of surviving in the wilds by herself (I wouldn’t either). What I hate about her is that she has no character arch. She makes terrible decisions that get people killed and she is only remorseful for a moment. In the next book, she ultimately blames the King for it. No, Eve, that was your fault, because you did something stupid without asking if it was ok first.

Arden

            Arden is awesome. She is sturdy and prickly like a cactus, and she has an actual character arch! The main character didn’t even get one, but she did.

Antagonist

            Who is the antagonist here? Possible antagonists include: the King, the wilds, the plague, Leif, and Eve (because she makes so many stupid decisions). If you had to write a book report, this could certainly be a point.  

Insta-love

            The first boy around her age she meets…she falls in love with. Of course, she argues and fights with him, and he saves her over and over again, and she knows him for such a short period of time but she loves him. Can YA stop this? You could argue that with her old education (all men are evil) she shouldn’t love him. But you can also argue that now she knows she has been fed lies for her entire education, she is naively open to going against that old education. Either way, I dislike the formulaic way the romance pans out.

Plot Holes

Spoilers! Read at your own risk!

            Why would the King decree that all girls be educated when they will just be strapped to a table and give birth to the future population until they die? This is not cost-effective. Why not indoctrinate them at a young age that this is how they will serve their country?

            Arden is labelled as a trouble-making liar. So what does Eve do when Arden tells her something that changes everything she has ever known to be true? She believes her. Why on earth would you believe her? If you have working brain cells, you wouldn’t. But the most intelligent girl in school does.

Ending

            The ending was awesome, because it stabs the Insta-love in the heart. I didn’t see it coming. Because I didn’t care about the love story, I was alright with it. I was walking through a wooded path when I listened to the end, and my jaw dropped and I subsequently laughed.

Final Verdict

            I recommend this for readers who like dystopias, though I think more girls than boys will definitely enjoy this. The beginning starts with a quote from Atwood’s The Handmaid’s Tale, and yes, there are parallels. If you had to write an essay, I’d say The Handmaid’s Tale, Wither, and Eve would be great to discuss repopulation and women’s rights (though Eve is a pale comparison). I will definitely listen to the next installment, Once, and the audio book experience has been enjoyable for me.