Eve and Adam - Michael Grant and Katherine Applegate

I feel that to be totally fair, I should preface this review with a slight disclaimer. This is probably not a book I would have normally read. I chose to read it because I am going to a Children's Literature Conference at the university in my town next weekend, and Michael Grant and Katherine Applegate will both be there. I wanted to read some of their books before I hear them speak, which is why I got this one. Here is my first reaction about it. If you want more information about the plot of the book, click in the title in the paragraph below to go to its Amazon page.

Eve and Adam is a book, that, to me at least, seemed rather formulaic. The plot itself seemed rather half formed at times, and many of the characters, even the main ones, seemed very empty and weak at times. The ending, which tried to be a surprise, was, while not something I would have expected, not exactly very interesting or believable.

The book is in the first person, and is narrated in alternating chapters, by Eve, the main character, and Solo, her love interest. It is entirely in the present tense, which, in my opinion, certainly lowered the level of the story as a whole.

Don't take me wrong, this book was not all bad. I have, over my years of avid reading, that there is a strange effect that some books can have, and that this book had when I read it. The best way to explain is to use Eve and Adam as an example:

While I read this book, I enjoyed it. It carried me through. I was curious enough to read until the very end. It was a very light, quick read, which made it easy to get through in just a few hours. I do not regret reading it. I enjoyed myself. But, when I finished the book, I started thinking about it's different parts. I realized that I disliked the characters, the plot, and, to a certain extent, even the ending.

Over all, as I said before, I do not regret reading this book. However, I would not spend any money on it. If it is the type of book you usually enjoy, I would recommend finding a copy at your local library, or borrowing it from a friend before actually buying it. You might like it, but you might also decide it is not worth the money.