(ARC) YA Book Review: Eve & Adam by Katherine Applegate and Michael Grant

Release Date: 2 October 2012 Publisher: Feiwel & Friends
Format: eARC
Source: Publisher via NetGalley

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Goodreads description:

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.

My Thoughts...
Eve & Adam was a pleasant surprise for me.  For some reason, I was really expecting a futuristic science fiction novel with this read, but that was totally not the case. While it took me a number of pages to realize this, I was pleasantly surprised when I realized that the novel was not going where I immediately expected it to.

Both Eve and Solo were characters that I enjoyed following along with on their adventures, but I have to admit that I didn't connect on a very deep level with them.  Eve is spunky and loyal and I enjoyed her obsession with genetics.  Solo is a bit of a mystery and he's definitely intriguing.  Their connection is  instantaneous, but they don't immediately explore it in a deeper way. Their relationship is also interesting to watch since the reader gets to see it from both sides.  The dual POV allows you to understand how much Solo knows about Evening and her mother that she doesn't, but Applegate and Grant keep just enough hidden from both characters to keep you reading.

The storyline is full of action, intrigue, and smatterings of romance that keep the reader turning the pages.  While the book itself is right around 300 pages long, the alternating POVs and the short chapters keep the pace moving along briskly and it feels like a shorter book. It was easy to immerse yourself in the world and I often found myself picking the book up when I had just a few minutes to read.

I would venture to call this fun science fiction book a "guilty pleasure" type of read.  It's a quick read that didn't have a lot of deeper substance. Action, adventure, secrets, and romance abound and will draw many readers into its unique storyline.  It's also the type of science fiction book that you don't have to be a "sci-fi fan" to enjoy (which, alternately, may be less of a draw for more die-hard science fiction readers).