Book Review: Eve and Adam by Michael Grant and Katherine Applegate

Title: Eve and Adam (Eve and Adam #1)
Authors: Michael Grant and Katherine Applegate
Publishers: Feiwel & Friends
Release Date: 2nd October 2012
Read In: September 2012

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*I received the book from the publisher in exchange for this review*

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.

What would you do if you could, literally, design the ‘perfect’ guy; from his looks to his personality, everything? This alone drew me to this book. It is different, it is original. I had to see what is was all about.

‘”This will be a wonderful introduction to the kind of thinking and creativity we require at Spiker,” my mother says. “It’ll challenge you, sweetheart. Bring out the talent I know you have hidden deep, deep down inside you.” She’s getting excited now. The lines in her forehead seem to smooth; her eyes gaze with a certain wild excitement at the horizon. She pauses, waiting to be sure she has my undivided attention. “I want you, Evening, to design the perfect boy.”’

This book gives a different perspective to the ‘perfect guy’. How many people get to simulate the perfect guy into the level of depth as genetics? But maybe there is no such thing. There will always be a fault into the guy you end up spending the rest of your life with. It is dealing with that fault that is the interesting parts of any relationship. A man without fault, the perfect guy, may not be so interesting. So what is perfect? When Eve is designing Adam, it really gets you thinking about all the different aspects that make us human; from our physical traits to all the nitty gritty details of our personalities. 

I am a nerd. I know I am a nerd. I can happily admit I am one. Two interests in my life are science, specifically biology, and latest technology (although not at as much detail). Eve and Adam sort of tickled my fancy in each. Eve is playing around with genetics but you really do not need to know much about the topic to understand this book. Genes code for our individual traits. That’s all you really need to know. I am guessing this is set in the near future. Technology is used a lot more in this book than most YA novels I have read. Many characters in YA still seem to use phones for just calls and texts which are fair enough. Here we have characters using apps. iPads are commonly used. Electric cars are also getting the go ahead. It did give a slight sci-fi edge to it but still thoroughly believable. I enjoyed this side of the world. iPads as medical charts? It could happen.

Eve is at the point in her life where she is discovering who she is. Not just all the sci-fi elements but the normal human side as well. She thinks a lot about what someone like her should be doing or what she should like. This was evident when she was designing Adam. I like the confliction she had with what she wanted and what she thinks other people would want. She grows and I liked following her. 

I was very curious about Solo from the start. He is adorable. He is really smart. He has things planned out. He knows how to handle situations. However he is shy. When he meets Aislin he is uncomfortable. He doesn’t know how to act around Eve. I loved that. I want more Solo.

My main niggle that I have with this book is I felt it was a little short. I had a fear at one point that there wasn’t going to be a sequel. This book needs a sequel. It ends too quickly to be a one off.

Overall I enjoyed this book. I liked the setting that the characters find themselves in and how technology is incorporated into their lives. I am looking forward to next book Adam & Eve.

Becky