Review: Eve & Adam by Michael Grant and Katherine Applegate

Book Description via Goodreads:

ARC, 312 pages

October 1, 2012, Hardie Grant Egmont

Sixteen-year-old Evening Spiker lives an affluent life in San Francisco with her mother, EmmaRose, a successful geneticist and owner of Spiker Biotech. Sure, Evening misses her father who died mysteriously, but she’s never really questioned it. Much like how she’s never stopped to think how off it is that she’s never been sick. That is, until she’s struck by a car and is exposed to extensive injuries. Injuries that seem to be healing faster than physically possible. 

While recuperating in Spiker Biotech’s lush facilities, she meets Solo Plissken, a very attractive, if off-putting boy her age who spent his life at Spiker Biotech. Like Evening, he’s never questioned anything... until now. Solo drops hints to Evening that something isn’t right, and Emma-Rose may be behind it. Evening puts this out of her mind and begins her summer internship project: To simulate the creation of the perfect boy. With the help of Solo, Evening uncovers secrets so big they could change the world completely.

Source: Jen & Hardie Grant Egmont (Thank you!)

My Thoughts:

Eve & Adam didn’t turn out to be what I expected. I thought it would be like Replication by Jill Williamson or Wither by Lauren DeStefano. I expected it to be the serious, intense and even terrifying type but I was pleasantly surprised with its light treatment of scientific horrors. I liked how it remained light throughout the story. It was different from the other science fiction novels that I’ve read. I liked it.

The story was told from three perspectives: Eve, Solo and Adam. Eve’s narration wasn’t stiff – she wasn’t serious or formal. Her style was girly, frank and thoughtful. I liked reading her observations about everything around her.

One of the things I liked about Eve & Adam was Eve’s relationship with her mother. After the death of her father, who was the only person who drove Eve and her mom together, they had developed a somewhat stiff relationship. Seeing warmth crack this stiffness through the story made me smile. The second thing I liked about this novel was Eve’s friendship with Aislin. Like most relationships, theirs weren’t perfect. They were both flawed and they needed each other during problems. I was impressed that they stuck together through it all. Aislin may have been stupid for staying with her problematic boyfriend but she was a good person through and through. If Eve needed her, she would be there.

Solo’s part was mainly about plotting against Spiker Biotech. There was a missing piece to his story that I really would have liked to know before the ending. Without it, I feel that I didn’t know Solo 100%. His actions were backed up by logic though. In going against Spiker Biotech, he was risking his safety for a good cause. But despite his desire, he still considered Eve's feelings and opinion. I admired this part of him.

I enjoyed reading Adam’s narration. Although I wish that I could’ve found out more about him. His integration into the story was a bit late, in my opinion. Since the title was Adam and Eve, I expected to see Adam if not right from the start, a few pages or chapters away from the beginning. He was attractive not only because of his physique but also because of his naivety. His voice was genuine. To be honest, I liked him more than Solo because of the way he talked and revealed his uncertainties in life.

I enjoyed reading Eve & Adam and I even flew through the pages to find out the ending. The writing was compelling because I couldn’t put this down. It was like magic. Eve & Adam was a lot of fun to read! It had humor and charm. In terms of romance, the romantic elements in this novel were not that strong but that can be expected since romance isn’t really the focus of this book. There were enough twists and turns and revelations to keep the story interesting.

Eve & Adam is a fun, charming and light science fiction. If you’re looking for a light, quick read that will make you smile, laugh and basically just have a good reading time, then pick this up!

Rating:

4 Cupids = Strong book love. 

I really enjoyed this. I recommend this!