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.   

 

Sever by Lauren DeStefano

The Chemical Garden Reviews
Wither, Fever, and Sever

Published: February 20 2013
Publisher: Simon & Schuster Books For Young Readers
Website: Author’s Website
Author's Youtube

Introduction

After months of experiments, Rhine is captured once again, but at least the truth is out. Unfortunately, not many people are willing to believe her. Reed, Vaughn’s brother, is an unexpected ally. In the final installment of the Chemical Garden Trilogy, Rhine journeys to find her twin brother Rowan, discovers Vaughn’s secrets, the virus’s secret, and the truth about the world. Her genetics hold vital information for developing the cure, and her brother is closer to all of this than she imagined.

Title

I was hoping there’d be some severing of some limbs, and I am sorely disappointed that there are not. Only metaphorical severing.

In all seriousness it’s an appropriate title. It’s an end to certain ties, and this is the final book.

Could it have a better title? Probably.  

Cover

                The cover isn’t too bad. Ring’s off, there’s a bird NOT in a cage, and airplane, a globe. All fitting. What I hate are the bloody apples! NO.

                Stop with the apples.

                I’m so tired of the religious imagery.

                You can say that it’s the only thing she eats at Reed’s house. And it’s way too easy to associate the apples with the knowledge that she gets from Reed or his books.

                Can authors find some other way of being stupidly clever than inserting apples=knowledge and/or other religious themes with apple iconography? Please?   

Death

There’s a death or two in here. One, the HUGE one, confuses me. I’m not entirely sure how this character died. For such a pivotal moment, I think it could have been explained better.

All I know is that I read the page and…a character died. I’m like, oh wait what?!

I still have no idea what happened. They just died and the plot moves forward. I’d love to talk about this with people who have read the book, though I feel like this character has to die because of the way that the author has written the series. Urgh it’s hard to write this without spoiling it.

But as far as deaths go, this death is stupid. At least make it clear why the character died. Make it worth something.

Character Development

                What struck me in the first installment, Wither, was the character development and the wide away of cast members. Here are my brief thoughts: 

Linden

                With the end of Fever, I had such high hopes for Linden. The truth-about how brides are Gathered, what Vaughn does with dead bodies, everything- would finally come out!

                And Linden is the biggest tool, ever.

                It killed me inside when he denies everything. And this isn’t too much of a spoiler, as it happens at the beginning of the story. And the story would be much different if Linden believed Rhine.

But my emotional agony kept me emotionally invested in the story. And it pays off. Linden has spectacular character growth that I rarely see. What DeStefano did with the character is amazing, and a true testament to her ability to write.

Though there is a constant tugging of affection between Linden, Cecily, and Rhine that I disliked. With everything that has happened, it would be excessively unhealthy for Rhine to actually love Linden (not that I’m particularly convinced that Rhine loves Gabrielle). It is very frustrating that the author keeps hinting that Rhine actually loves Linden.

Cecily

                As hinted at in the second book, the baby grows up.

                In some ways she stays the same, which is something that I liked. A character, much like a real person, does not completely change, no matter how much personal growth they experience. She grows up and matures in ways that are suitable to her environment, and she still displays hints of her spoiled tendencies. I like her much better now than her bratty incarnation that we are introduced to in Wither. 

Vaughn

                Not sure if I can count this as character development. I think that the reader FINALLY gets the whole picture in the last installment of the series. We finally get the rationale, the truth, that has propelled this whole story into action.

                Even with his explanation, he is a typical evil villain who tries to explain away his motives for the greater good, though.

Rose

                Before I start, I like Rose. I liked her in Wither and Fever, which is an interesting feat for a character who died in the first portion of the first book. More information is revealed about her lineage in Sever, but I feel like it was so forced. Like the author looked at the grand scheme of the book and realized that she could insert Rose in yet another slot and twist up the story more. The revelations about Rose in this book just made me go “Meh, whatever.” 

Plot Holes? Spoilers!

                It’s hard to discuss this without major spoilers. This book explains that cell phones and radios barely work because of the equipment like signal towers not being maintained. There are communication issues. Ok. And like in basically every dystopia, the government is a bunch of liars. Ok. But…

                How does Hawaii not know about the virus? Sure, the American government can lie to their citizens, but how does Hawaii not have a clue?

How does Rhine’s and Rowan’s condition cure everyone if they are so unique?

                If everyone knows about Rowan and what he is about to blow up, why aren’t the police there to stop him?  

                Why doesn’t Rhine go about trying to find out if Gabriel is safe? Linden is right there, ask him.  

Ending

I know some readers will hate the final chunk of pages. I loved it. It reminded me of the ending of Alice: Madness Returns.  

I don’t want to give it all away. It has a quietness that I feel is so fitting. The chaos that has been inflicted is ended simply, suddenly, like the crumbling away of a cliff, and it leads to a sudden end.   

There are still some questions lingering in my mind. I am not entirely sure I get the concept of the chemical garden. I can take some stabs at it because I’m told I’m excessively clever, but I was hoping that it would be explained fully. I hoped that the concept would blow my mind and make me lose my vision for a second because it is so radical. Perhaps I don’t feel like I get it because the chemical gardens are only mentioned a few times.

Verdict

                The Chemical Garden series is a fine dystopia for young adults. The writing is detailed, the world is altered yet believable, and the characters are well-rounded with motivations and develop naturally. I highly recommend it for mature teens who need a book with more than the typical fashion and love themes. It is a suitable gateway into adult literature, especially for the dystopian genre. There are some plot holes that I think adults who are analyzing the book will pick up on. But the world is immersive, and now that I have finished the series, I’m going to wallow in self-pity.