I held out on reading Eve because I was a little over dystopian novels for a while. There are only so many times in a row you can read about the bleak future of the world before you need a break. I’m actually pretty upset with myself now for how long it took me to read this. I should have read it sooner.

Eve remembers just a little bit of her life before the plague killed her mother and she was sent to School. While there, she becomes the best student of her class and finds a lot of pride in that. On the night before her Graduation, she discovers what the School is really a front for and decides to make a run for it. She heads into land where nothing she knows will help her. She may be book smart by the School’s standards, but when it comes to surviving she’s clueless. And yet she doesn’t think about giving up. All she knows is she does not want to end up like the rest of the girls that graduated from her School. She wants to be herself and not have anyone dictate her life for her. It’s this that gives her the strength of character that has me loving her. She doesn’t know exactly what she wants to do, she just knows what she does not want to do and lets that determination guide her.

Caleb had me crushing. He was sweet and strong and caring. He knows helping Eve won’t be easy, and yet he still helps her because he doesn’t want to see anything happen to her. The way they fall together was perfect and not too fast and felt right. It wasn’t love at first sight and it took time. That made it feel real and even sweeter than most Young Adult romances out there now.

Eve was a fantastic novel with amazing characters and a world just real enough to make it terrifying. The end had me wanting more and I can’t wait to see what Carey has in store for Once.