Author: Michael Grant & Katherine Applegate
Paperback: 291 pages (ARE)
Publisher: Feiwel and Friends/Macteen
Published date: October 2012
FTC: Requested from Shelf Awareness
I'll admit that I like reading good, fun, clever YA books. This one is up there. It's no Hunger Games or Divergent - it's not even a dystopian book. So if you are kind of burnt out on dystopian, you still might like this one.
Back of the book:
In the beginning, there was an apple. And then there was a car crash, a horrible, debilitating injury, and the hospital. But before Evening Spiker could even lift her head out of the fog of unconsciousness, there was a strange boy checking her out of the hospital and rushing her to Spiker Biopharmaceuticals - her mother's research facility. Just when Eve thinks she will die - not from her injuries, but from boredom - her mother gives her a special project: Create the perfect boy.
Using an amazingly detailed simulation that her mother claims is designed to teach human genetics, Eve starts building a boy from the ground up: eyes, hair, muscles, even a brain, and potential personality traits. Eve is creating Adam. And he will be just perfect...won't he?
My thoughts:
First of all, the beginning of the book is intense and draws you in. I really won't be giving away too much and you can go over to MacTeen to read part of the first chapter, but there's an apple, a good lesson about texting while doing anything, and a debilitating car crash which propels Eve into her mother's Biopharmaceutical complex. There she is treated by Terra Spiker's specialized doctors and staff -- she also meets the Spiker gopher, a boy her age named Solo.
What I really enjoyed was that the narrative alternated between Eve (goes by E.V.) and Solo. I really enjoyed Solo's story and perspective. I think had it just been Eve's perspective it would have been a bit boring - even with her crazy best friend who has serious boyfriend troubles thrown in the mix. Just be aware that there is a bit of violence with Eve's friend Aislin and her druggie boyfriend.
While Eve is recouping and extremely bored at her mom's work complex, Eve is tasked by her mom to try out a new genetics simulation program that is supposed to help students understand how genetics works humans. She is supposed to create a human being from scratch - any gender any age - and of course she creates a perfect boy her age -- or is he? And this is just a silly computer program, or is it?
While this is definitely a teen/YA book, there is interesting underlying questions of morality and ethics. When it comes to the medical field, just because we have the technology, is it still ethically or morally right to do certain things? How far is too far? Even Aislin's relationship with her boyfriend brings up a lot of interesting topics that I think would appeal to teens.
Since it appears that there's going to be at least a sequel, I am curious to see how the story plays out. The ending of the book leaves a lot hanging and a lot of questions unanswered.
Also Reviewed By:
Luxury Reading
At Home With Books
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