Tori's Review: Eve and Adam by Michael Grant and Katherine Applegate

Eve and Adam by Michael Grant and Katherine Applegate

Series: None
Genre: Young Adult, Science Fiction, Romance
Rating: ★★★★
Pages: 291
Published by Feiwel & Friends on October 2, 2012
Date Read: August 30, 2013
Goodreads | Amazon | Barnes & Noble

And girl created boy…
In the beginning, there was an apple—
And then there was a car crash, a horrible injury, and a hospital. But before Evening Spiker’s head clears a strange boy named Solo is rushing her to her mother’s research facility. There, under the best care available, Eve is left alone to heal.
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, Eve starts building a boy from the ground up. Eve is creating Adam. And he will be just perfect... won’t he?

Parental Review:

Language: Mild

Sexual Content: Mild

Violence: Mild to moderate (gangbangers attack once, and there's punching, and guns, but nothing too drastic)

Other: Genetics; two girls discuss a penis, but never actually say the word penis, nor is it described; mild obsessive behavior; parent negligence; science experiments (science fiction)

After Evening Striker gets into a car accident and almost loses her leg, her mother--a billionaire scientist--has her daughter transferred to her research lab to heal. While at the lab, Eve meets a guy named Solo who her mother Terra Striker has taken under her wing after his parents died. When Eve gets bored, Terra gives her an assignment, telling her to create the perfect boy via a simulation project her and her scientists are working on. 

In this tri-POV (point of view) novel, Eve learns horrifying truths and discovers shell-shocking lies. After Solo reveals one of the truths about her past, things seem to go south for Eve, and she just can't seem to catch a break. Her best friend Aislin doesn't help with her drug dealer boyfriend, recently out of jail, gets himself into a mess and owes some gangbangers 9k. 

Throughout this whole book, Eve, Solo, and Aislin are faced with constant action, and that's what makes this book so amazing. In less that 300 pages, a lot happened in this book, and the ending was a nice, clean wrap-up. When everything was explained, it wasn't rushed nor was it confusing. I understood everything, which is shocking since I'm not great in science. 

So the lack of science and explanation was okay?

No. It wasn't. Although I'm glad that this book wasn't chalk full of science, I do wish that Grant and Applegate elaborated on some subjects a bit more. (Spoilers will be blacked out. Highlight black bars to view.) For example, they never really explained how Adam was created. I mean, I know that Eve created him, but they never said how his body was actually created, unless I wasn't paying attention or skipped over that part. This particular aspect hasn't really affected the overall rating, so if I just missed it, it's alright. A little bit more of the science would've been okay in my opinion. 

There were also a view plot holes regarding Terra's involvement in the whole situation. It's vaguely explained in the end, but they were pretty skimpy on those parts, and I wish that they explained a bit more. This also ties in with the lack of depth in Solo's characters. His parents died and Terra took him in, and still yet he hates her because of her illegal science experiments. If I were him, I'd be grateful that she took me in. Even though she didn't pay a lot of attention to him and treated him like he was beneath her, she still took him in when he needed her. I hate to make this objective, but Terra is a billionaire. I doubt Solo had any difficulties living at Striker Bio. 

You're being objective.

I don't know. In my opinion, Solo's hatred just didn't have any roots, and he lacked reason. Also, the other thing that bugged me about him was the instalove between him and Eve. After just a few encounters with each other, he falls head over heels in love with her and doesn't go through with his plan to upload videos and pictures of Terra committing illegal crimes in the end.

The other thing was the characters. They fell short of realistic, to be honest. They weren't horrible and it wasn't like I hated them, but I just couldn't connect with him emotionally in any way possible. Eve didn't give two shits about the leg that she suddenly didn't have anymore, and she didn't even question it when the doctors wouldn't let her see her leg. I couldn't find it in me to feel bad for her and her car crash when the reason she crashed was because she wasn't paying attention.

Another characters I couldn't connect with was Solo, but I've pretty much already stated why. 

Lastly, the descriptions in this book weren't the best. I felt like Grant and Applegate were telling more than showing. I noticed lines like "I was angry" and "I was happy" more than "Anger/happiness coursed through my veins, causing me to (blank)". (I really don't feel like writing anything right now. Sorry. Crappy example.) I wish that there were more descriptions on actions and places. 

Wow, and you still gave this book four stars?

Yes, well, I did happen to like this book a lot regardless of its faults, and I do see myself reading this again in the future. I like the science fiction genre, and I love how everything ties together in the end and makes sense. I love the idea of things coexisting and working together and pieces fitting together to make a whole. I'm fascinating by life and the way it works. Plus, I'm interested in genetics, just like Eve, so the genetic parts in this book intrigued me a lot. 

I was surprised to find so many negative reviews on Goodreads, because I quite liked this book. I understand why people would dislike it now, clearly from all the bad things I found, but I could easily overlook for unfavorable aspects. I suppose each person is different, and obviously, for the people who didn't like this book, they couldn't overlook those particular ideas. 

But seriously. In the end, I found this book to be a fast, enjoyable read and if you like science fiction and action-packed novels, read this. Also, if you like Cat Patrick, then you'll like this book. 

If you've read Eve and Adam, what did you think about it? Let me know in the comments!