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    Eve
    Eve
    Eve
    Ebook248 pages3 hours

    Eve

    By Anna Carey

    3.5/5

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    About this ebook

    The first book in Anna Carey’s chilling Eve trilogy, Eve is perfect for fans of The Handmaiden’s Tale.

    After a deadly virus wiped out most of Earth's population, the world is a terrifying place. Eighteen-year-old Eve has grown up isolated from the rest of the destroyed world in an all-girls school. But it isn’t until the night before her graduation that she discovers what her duties will be once she graduates.

    To avoid the horrifying fate that awaits her, Eve flees the only home she’s ever known. On the run, she encounters Caleb, a rough, rebellious boy living in the wild. Eve knows she shouldn’t trust him, but he slowly wins her confidence…and her heart. He promises to protect her, but when soldiers begin hunting them, Eve must choose between true love and her life.

    Eve is the first book in Anna Carey’s trilogy, full of romance, adventure, sacrifice, all set in a near future that is both wonderfully strange, and chillingly familiar.  

    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherHarperCollins
    Release dateOct 4, 2011
    ISBN9780062048530
    Author

    Anna Carey

    Anna Carey graduated from New York University and has an MFA in fiction from Brooklyn College. She lives in Los Angeles.

    Read more from Anna Carey

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    Reviews for Eve

    3.5/5

    539 ratings96 reviews

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    • 3/5
      Eve is a post apocalyptic story that promises to engage readers but I wasn’t impressed by it at all. The plot was extremely predictable and contained vague references to THE PLAGUE, without ever mentioning what it was or how it was able to kill 98% of the population. There are bodies in cars - where people died while trying to get out of cities. This wouldn’t happen if disease killed them, it sounds more like poisonous gas or a nuclear detonation. Moreover, it is never clear whether other countries were affected by it, or whether American citizens are being subjected to their own person hell. I can’t decide whether to like Eve or not. On one hand she has been lied to her whole life and suddenly everything has changed and she’s fleeing for her life, but on the other hand, she desperately clings to the lies she’s been told and acts as if she knows what’s best, even though she’s in a completely alien environment. She behaves irrationally and her stupidity astounds me at times. But I also felt sorry for her and think she cares deeply for those around her. The insta-love with Caleb was frustrating and I feel he lacked substance - he wasn’t written as a man, but as fairy tale version of a hero that women want men to be. It made him unrealistic and two-dimensional when he had some potential.While Eve is a good story, and if you’re interested in it I think it’s worth a read, there are plenty of superior post-apocalyptic stories available and it wouldn’t be high on my list of recommendations. I’ll probably read Once when it’s available, if only to see what happens to Eve.You can read more of my reviews at Speculating on SpecFic.
    • 4/5
      I ended up really enjoying this book. It had me interested from the first page and kept me engaged until the end. Set in 2032, girls are being used as breeding sows to replace the population that has been decimated by the plague, which was a fascinating premise. It took me a while to warm to Eve, but I liked Caleb from the beginning, although at first I didn't trust him, and I enjoyed the development of their relationship. The book ended with a cliff-hanger, so I'm glad I don't have to wait for the sequel. I have the next two books ready and waiting. This book will appeal to lovers of good YA dystopian reads.
    • 4/5
      It seems that dystopian novels are becoming the next big thing. They're just so much fun to read. I've read about six dystopian novels this year, and they have all been amazing. Eve is another book to add to that list. It was SO good and I am a little upset it took me so long to read it. I enjoyed it a lot and finished it in one sitting. There were times I found myself a little scared while reading. The world Anna Carey sucks you into is just crazy and you can easily picture it in your head. It's not hard to put yourself in Eve's shoes and see the world through her eyes. I mean, I can easily see our world becoming hers. It's actually pretty scary.Eve is a strong character and you can tell this from just the first couple of pages. All her life she has basically lived in a box and has never stepped outside of it. All she knows is what she was taught. She is proud of herself and is looking forward to her bright future. But Eve finds out the hard way that her world is all a lie and that her bright future isn't what she thinks it is. Everything she was ever taught was twisted and changed. So many things happen that lead to Eve's escape. Once outside the box, she learns what life is really about and just how cruel the world truly is. But not once did she feel like giving up. She kept going and was very strong through it all. She even found out what "love" was really like.Caleb is also a runaway and trying to survive. He was kind and caring and even though he didn't have too, he helped Eve through a lot. Caleb also has a rough past, but he has always known that the world wasn't always peaches and cream. Caleb and Eve eventually fall for one another, but it's the way that they fall that I really liked. It wasn't something that was rushed and it was developed at a really nice pace.Eve is full of great characters, one heck of a scary world with one major hottie, a beautiful romance and lots of action! Only thing I would have changed was the ending. I wasn't to thrilled with it, but I am excited to read the next book in the series and see how they've all ended up. A Good Choice for Reading.4 out of 5 Stars!
    • 4/5
      In Anna Carey's dystopian novel, she creates the story of a young girl, Eve, who just like in most dystopian novels, has been told lies her whole life. But when she escapes, only does she learn that she's being hunted down. Anna Carey brings on the meaning of love and gives it a creative take into this entertaining read. Set in 2032, where most of the population has been wiped out, the King desperately tries to rebuild the New America. But how he's doing it--it's sick. It's twisted. It's wrong. I don't know how many times I've shuddered at the thought of what the orphaned boys and girls have to go through. Eve had been right to run away, I personally wouldn't have let it be. I would run as far as I could. Anna Carey's New America is a dark one behind all the lies they tell as well as a unique one. I thought it was a great treat that the author had included a lot of things that we are familiar with today. I never expected them to be mentioned, which was great. I totally geeked out when "I Love Rock n Roll" by Joan Jett (or at least that's the version I think it was), when Winnie the Pooh was mentioned, and when Harriet Tubman's name appeared on the page. The girls at School have had a good education, but not the right one, which through Eve, you'll find out why. Eve was smart, focused, and serious as a student, but everything she's learned would be undone when she finds out the truth and when she learns that this won't help her survive the wild. I found Eve to be an agreeable character. I loved being with her when she started to discover things on her own and when she finally understood the reality she lived in. I see her as selfless, thinking about her friends, the boys at the dugout, and others. I really didn't have a problem with Eve, it was great to be able to read about her and her world.Eve and the girls have been told that men were bad, period. Men were dangerous, manipulators, and basically everything negative. I thought that Anna Carey's choice about having that be a part of her story was a good one because as far as I can remember, that idea has never been done before in any dystopian novel I've read. This also made Eve and Caleb's relationship a bit more interesting, since Eve had to be cautious because of what her teachers taught her at School. Their relationship was one I rooted for from the beginning. Caleb was a wonderful character, better than any of the men in the novel, really.What I loved the most about this book was the definition of love. Anna Carey was able to come up with an effective and beautiful way of putting what it means to love someone. In the novel, love plays a big part. The love between Eve and her mother, the love between Eve and her friends, the love between Eve and Caleb, and the love between the young boys in the dugout. That part with the two boys in the dugout, Benny and Silas, struck me the most. Eve teaches them what love is and that love is an eternal thing. It's a heartfelt moment for me, but I won't dwell much on that because I might give too much away. The only problem I had with Eve was that the pacing was a bit inconsistent. Sometimes it would go to fast and at times it was slow. Especially at the beginning, I was a bit unsteady about the fact that the story immediately jump-started at the very first chapter. It happened too fast for me and I was left going like, "It started already?" All in all, Eve is an exciting dystopian novel packed with heart stopping scenes and page-turning moments. Anna Carey is a promising writer. Her writing is interesting and her ideas are creative. I can't wait for Once! That ending just had almost brought me to tears. I loved that ending. I loved it, I loved it, I loved it.
    • 4/5
      This review is hard for me to write. I did like the story. I didn't like Eve. She made many stupid decisions throughout, endangering her own life and the life of those around her. I found it a little too convenient that Caleb was automatically attracted to her, condsidering she got him into several scrapes along the way. I did like Caleb's character. Arden was my favorite. I found it fairly unbelievable that the King wants Eve because she is so wonderful, she certainly didn't show how smart she was through her actions. I would like to read the next book. Maybe Eve will get smarter as we go! I did like the middle the least, after she met up with Caleb. I found the school and Marjorie and Otis to be much more interesting parts of the story.
    • 3/5
      Alright... I was a little bit disappointed by this book. Which is very rare! I usually love any book I read, but this one just did not live up to my expectations. It just... wasn't that great. The plot was interesting, the writing and editing was good; so what went wrong? First I'll start with what I did like. I really liked Arden, the other girl that escapes school. She was tough and didn't let anyone or anything get in her way. And Caleb seemed like a great love-interest, except he's one of the first male characters that I cannot immediately visualize in my head! Really though, that's all I can recall really liking in the novel. In my opinion, Eve was just an OK character. She wasn't someone I could really connect to AT ALL. I wanted to know more about her, but it felt like there was a huge puzzle piece missing that would make her seem like a round character! Actually, that's pretty much how it was for the entire book. Who knows, this might be one of those series that gets better in time... hopefully! It isn't one of my must-read-again, nor is it on my donate list. I will buy Once when it's released though, because I can't ever not finish a series once I've started!
    • 3/5
      You all know how much I love my dystopians. It's my favorite genre and I don't care that readers are now saying it's overdone and the latest craze and it's getting tired, blah, blah, blah. I love dystopians and I will read them until I go blind. With that in mind, obviously I was really looking forward to Eve. I love the cover of this book. I just think it's amazing and I was hoping that the inside would be as gorgeous as the outside. Truthfully, it was just ehhhh. It had a lot of great things going for it, but there was also a lot left to be desired. For one, I think the world-building is one of the most important things when it comes to dystopian novels. And I just felt it was lacking here and kind of all over the place. There wasn't a distinct feel and there weren't many distinct details that made this world unique. And then there were the characters. Truthfully, they were all kind of generic and blah. The one thing I really did enjoy was the relationship between Eve and Caleb. It wasn't insta-love and they had to build trust with each other first. It was slow and sweet, which I appreciated. I liked Arden, but I didn't love her. I thought her character could have been a lot stronger. The rest of the characters were all kind of names without faces. They didn't really have distinct personalities, and I wished they did, because it would have made the emotional connection to the book that much stronger. And that's kind of what it was. I really felt a lack of emotional connection with this story as a whole. That and there was nothing that really made it stand out from other books in the dystopian genre. It was a decent effort, there are just plenty of other books out there that did it better. Much better.
    • 4/5
      Eve is another entry into the growing world of genre of young adult dystopian literature, but still manages to feel fresh and different despite exploring well-known themes of forbidden love, obeisance, adventure and teens coming-of-age. Written in a strikingly beautiful and haunting style, Eve had me reading let into the night and wanting more. Eve lives in a perilous future where a deadly virus has wiped out much of humanity, where she and many other young girls are kept in a place known as the School, where they are taught complete obedience to the rulers beyond and that, as women, that must beware all men, lest they be violated in some way. But when Eve discovers the truth about her School and the strange destiny that have in store for her, she runs away from the protective world of the School and finds a world she's never imagined, as well as a boy that she's never imagined.The appropriately-named Eve delivers high-octane action mixed with gorgeously real writing and a unique dystopian world that feels fresh. Most importantly, Eve is an interesting character that will pull readers into the world and genuinely want to learn more about her world and her adventures. Despite the fact that Eve has the shades of the currently over-used love triangle, I still thought the romance sub-plot was still well-done, and it didn't overtake the rest of the novel, which seems like a consistent issues these days with dystopian and other YA novels.I will point out that Eve did have a few low points. There were times were the action or plot dropped just too far for me, so much so that I found myself shifting uncomfortably at certain points, just wanting the story to get on with it. Thankfully, it wasn't enough to destroy the story, but it still bugged me at times.But overall, Eve was another excellent YA dystopian novel with subtle beautiful, great writing and fascinating characters. Recommended to anyone who enjoys the genre
    • 3/5
      This book had a very intriguing premise, which is what attracted my attention when I was perusing books to review on NetGalley. I'm a huge sucker for the dystopian/post apocalyptic YA genre, and there has been so many good choices to read.Eve was very well written and had a promising story. A serious disease has killed a large chunk of the population, leaving many children orphaned. Schools have been set up to welcome these children in (boys and girls are kept completely separate in different schools and never even see each other) where they are educated, medicated and housed until their 18th year. The girls are taught to fear the male of the species, being told they are nothing but animals who are intent on lying to them until they can satisfy their urges and then abandon them. (It's not until later that we find out more about the boys and their "education".) Once they reach their 18th year they "graduate" to the next area where they will begin their more focused career training. Or so they have been lead to believe...We very early discover that things are not what they are expected to be, and the girls are being kept for more sinister reasons. The reasons, although I sat and tried to think very hard about how it might actually could happen in the real world, come off as too far-fetched to me. I don't see why the school would focus so closely on education and keeping them away from some of the things from the past just so they can house them up later and force them to pop out babies while they remain strapped on hospital beds. It just doesn't make much sense to me.My main issue with this book is the main character, Eve. She is one of the most annoying main characters I have met in a very long time. She is weak, annoying and selfish. Her choices are wishy washy and completely unrealistic, going against characteristics that are laid out for her in the story. First she is strong, then she wimps out, then she wants to do whatever she can for a person, then leaves them behind, she's completely unpredictable. She is so immature I often just wished the author left her behind to die in a corner somewhere. That might sound harsh, but it's how I feel. I had a better connection with Eve's friend, Arden. She is strong and true and willing to give up anything to help those closest to her. I hope we see more of her in book two. I also hope Eve takes a cue from Meghan (The Iron Fey series) and does some growing up over the next book or two. I'm not sure how much more I can stand to read from her...On top of all that, the ending was another one of this horrible cliffhangers I hate so much...Really?/groansThe writing style, the "promise" of a good story, and the hope that Eve is using this book to learn and mature are the only things that saved me from ranking this book lower...
    • 1/5
      I don't really know what it was about this book, but I just could not get into it. Perhaps it was the incredibly weak main character. Or that I just could not identify with any of the character's emotions or motivations.
    • 5/5
      Seriously, why haven't I read this book sooner!!!! I am captivated by such an amazing and unique dystopian book. Finally, something different. Something real. Something amazing!Now what was so captivating about this book that I simply must gush. The plot. Handsdown, the plot. After reading the first chapter, I was intruigued. The second chapter, HOOKED! The endless possbilites of what Eve is facing left me giddy. I enojoyed this book so much, that I went right on to second book, reading them both in a matter of hours.The love interest in this book is soo good. Beautiful and enticing, the love that is formed between the characters is perfect. I loved the stolen moments of peace and smiles. This love held so much more that friendship, but one that the readers know will last.Overall the characters are so easy to get into. Eve is an likeable character who is naive at first, but learns quickly. She becomes strong and her growth is amazing. I simply adore every part of Eve's adventure.Eve is an amazing book. Nothing falls short but instead grabs the reader holding them in for more. More secrets. More running for your life. More survival. It holds everything that I want in a book and more. Eve is hauntingly beautiful and soooo good!
    • 1/5
      Eve bills itself as The Handmaid's Tale for the teen set, but sadly Carey takes all the subtlety and interest Atwood used and replaces it with a not-too-interesting teen romance, apparently under the impression that no YA dystopia is complete unless the heroine spends most of her time thinking about a boy instead of concentrating on (for example) survival or the problems in her government.The titular Eve is a good student at one of the many girls' schools in a futuristic America where most of the population has been wiped out. Taught that she is destined for a great future in the City of Sands, and that men are all evil rapists, she finds out she's actually being groomed for some sort of breeder position. (It's unclear why the school teaches its girls to dream about a career instead of, say, their glorious destiny of making babies to save the world.) Horrified, Eve takes off for legendary Califia, a city where she can have a life without forced pregnancy. Sadly, the book drags; the journey to Califia is both too short and overly long. Along the way, Eve meets a number of side characters, both men and women, and bizarrely manages to forget her "Men are evil, only trust the king" brainwashing in order to fall in love with hero Celab in about ten minutes. This is despite the fact that while both the women she meets are good/help her, about half the boys are cruel soldiers, attempted rapists, or sex traffickers. She and Celab manage, with a little help and a lot of luck, to make it to Califia, where they are tragically separated in a less-than-compelling sequel bid.In conclusion--skip it. At this point you might as well just go straight for The Handmaid's Tale.
    • 4/5
      I did get really hooked on this one and it definitely stuck with me through the trilogy. It was an interesting take on a dystopian post-plague world. I kept wanting things to be easy for Eve- I wanted there to actually be a trade school, I wanted for her to be able to settle down, I wanted for things to work. The twists led her to Caleb, however, who I very much liked.
    • 4/5
      Eve by Anna Carey gives us a glimpse of the possibility and aftermath of a world-wide plague dystopia filled with tyranny, a corrupt monarch, tragedy, exploitation and SO much more. I love it! I love it! I love it!I am one of those people who believe in this kind of probability to occur. Face it, there are a lot of things in our day to day lives that can lead to this practical consequence of our unstable and at times impractical endeavors. Which made "Eve" all the more easily relatable and realistically believable. Anna Carey created a chilling world that draws you in and compels you to read on, daring you to predict what happens next. As well as her talent in character building excels and made the story more engaging. I cried so hard for Benny and Silas!Eve is a strong character but I ran hot and cold on how I feel about her. I understand that she grew up in an all-girls school, sheltered, and was taught to fear/avoid/dispise men, but sometimes she made choices that really disappointed and upset me. She is very smart and can be strong in her own way, but Eve is really the damsel-in-distress. And how the ending played out made me flustered with her. With that said, even though I have my issues with her it's what makes "Eve" all the more enjoyable to read because of it's emotional impact.Thank you HarperTeen for the ARC & Thank you Anna Carey for an exceptional read!!
    • 2/5
      The huge mistake Eve makes near the end caused me to completely lose my sympathy for the character.
    • 3/5
      Damn. I finally finished it. It took me six days to read it since I don't read it continuously. And I don't know what to think yet.

      I don't really like the way or the reason for the Schools. I find it repulsive but then again, I guess if it's how the world would be, it's acceptable. For the story I mean. I don't really find it acceptable now. Or in the next days. It just isn't right even if the purpose is for greater good.

      What I like about this book is the main character herself, Eve. I like her for not being a whiny female protagonist, I like how she pick up herself and try to tend herself on her own. I like how she taught them to read. How she care about her friends.

      I read in a review that why do the author have to build up the story about the school. Why educate the girls and all that stuffs they do in the school if the girls would be like THAT. Just make them like animals who needed to be breed.

      I get it now. The School is trying to gain the girls' trusts. They need that in order to do whatever the hell they want without too many complications. It's more easy to educate them, try to gain their trusts, give them medicines, 'care' for them.

      Sooo anyway, that's how I see it and I did enjoy some parts of the book. It is good. :)
    • 2/5
      Eve is one of those books that everyone has mentioned at one time or another in the YA world, so I knew I had to take a look.Eve by Anna Carey is a post apocalyptic dystopian YA novel-- unsurprisingly about a girl named Eve. She is brought up in a School where she is taught to hate boys, but quickly, finds out that nothing is what it seems. After a disturbing discovery, she runs away, and meets a boy named Caleb, who lives in a mountain with a bunch of other boys. From there, she realizes what she has been taught is not entirely true and that she has a lot to learn about life and love.Eve seems like a very stereotypical dystopian YA to me. We have a female protagonist that is very innocent and gullible, who is thrust into a dangerous world. While the story itself is straightforward, I couldn't really get into it because Eve is not a very compelling character. She keeps making obvious and terrible mistakes, and then quickly becomes completely besotted with Caleb, which makes me prefer the old Eve who thought all men were awful. There is maybe one plot twist if I'm being generous, and I quickly skimmed through the last 25% of the book just to see what would happen. Not much. Overall, a disappointing addition to the dystopian genre. Nothing very surprising about this book.
    • 4/5
      Eve was another entry into the current crop of dystopias. This future world has been decimated by a plague that killed 98% of the population. Orphan girls are rounded up into schools and educated. They are told that they will have a bright future when they graduate and go to the City of Sand. Eve has been a perfect student and has bought into the whole agenda. It isn't until the night before her graduation that she hears from a rebellious student named Arden that the future planned for her is much different. She sneaks across the lake and sees that graduates from other years are living strapped to beds while they give birth to large numbers of babies. Eve hates the idea of this fate and manages to run away.But Eve is completely unequipped to survive in the wilderness. She stumbles upon Arden who isn't doing much better and they reluctantly decide to travel together. Then they meet Caleb. Eve has been brainwashed by the school to believe that all men are evil. She doesn't trust Caleb at first. But Caleb does help them. He brings them to his hidden camp of young men. Life isn't any better for orphaned young men. They are all herded into labor camps. Caleb and the rest of the boys have escaped and set up on their own in the wilderness. Eve and Caleb start a tentative romance. But Eve can't stay. The King of New America has chosen Eve to have his children and he isn't going to let her go without a fight. Eve has a goal of reaching distant Califia - which is supposed to be a safe haven. But she has lots of scary experiences along the way.Eve does have her eyes opened on her journey. She still makes mistakes and the mistakes cause loss of life. It will be interesting to see how the story plays out in future books. There really doesn't seem to be much hope for a happy ending for Eve or for Caleb.Fans of dystopias will enjoy this story with its adventure and romance.
    • 4/5
      LikedDarkerI wouldn't describe this book as a light easy fun read, it has many darker issues that make the book very thought provoking. Due to the post-apocalyptic nature of the book, with many deaths and the rebuilding of society being taken over by one person a lot of repression is bound to happen. The book deals with the issues of twisting the truth to make someone believe what they want one to, not providing the unbiased information and letting the individual develop their own opinions. Lies, lies and more lies is what Eve's life at the school based on. Life outside the protective school walls can be deadly, dealing with the rebels, the solitary, the gangs, the wild animals and finding food to survive, not good odds if one was never taught any survival skills (which she wasn't). The book also deal with betrayal and death.CharactersEve: At first I wasn't really digging her character type. She was too naive and a bit weak, but I also came to realize that is how she was raised so it really isn't completely her fault. As the book progresses and she is forced to die or survive she really does buck up and her true personality starts so shine through. Caleb: I like him, I like his many characteristics he presents. He is kind, brave, helpful, caring, cute and subtlety charming.Budding RomanceConsidering Eve was raised to abhor and fear men and that loving a man only brings disaster and heartbreak. Their holding hand, blushes, tentative touches and their first kiss are so sweet and very innocent.PersonalThe reason why Eve ran from the school (which I won't reveal to you) really hit me in the gut. I only just recently learned about this as part of woman's history and it has completely terrified me to no end. Especially considering that the book makes a full circle in history is very scary. Woman were very repressed (for a long time), we gained our voice and freedom and than for this book we lost it again. Now people are back to the dark ages in many aspects and especially with this subject.Wanting MoreThe book ends on a sad note, but hopeful at the same time. I am wanting more of this series. I want Eve to learn and tell us more about her world she now lives in. I can't wait to be on the next journey and conflicts she still has to overcome.Recommendation Even though this is a darker book and dealing with darker issues I still think it is completely worth the read. It really does make you reflect on society both the past and the present to affect our future. Great for any age really.InformationEve TrilogyEveBook 2Book 3
    • 3/5
      Eve has lived most of her life within the confines of a boarding school-esque type place where she has happily gone along with whatever they told her to do (including taking medicine and getting shots). She is the top of the class - the prettiest girl - you get the picture. But then one day she sees what happens to the girls after they graduate and it is so horrible that she decides to run away...into the unknown. There, she encounters another runaway, people who hide runaways, and a clan of boys.This book's premise is a good one. It had all the things that I was looking for in a dystopian society. It had a terrible plague that wiped out most of the population. It had a government that was doing terrible things to their young people. It had love and heartbreak at the end of the novel. But for me, I don't know..this one just didn't stand out enough for me to LOVE it. I liked it and I read it one day but at the end I didn't feel like I NEEDED to know what was going to happen next. I do, however, think that I will pick up the next installment of this series.I had just finished reading two very happy-go-lucky books and so maybe I wasn't ready to leave them behind when I immersed myself into this dark, dystopian world. So take my review with a grain of salt.You'll enjoy this book if you liked Delirium by Lauren Oliver.
    • 4/5
      Really good.
    • 4/5
      Eve (the first in the Eve trilogy) is a dystopian book which introduces you to a young female character who faces a world of lies and deception. I could easily relate to her and found myself reading this book in two days (I'm seriously slow at reading... two days is a good thing).

      I liked this book so much I purchased the next two books in the Eve trilogy automatically.
    • 5/5
      Eve is set in a dystopian future where the majority of the population has died off in through a viral infection and New America is now run by a despotic man. The title character of Eve is charm and grace with a beautiful covering and is in a convent type school where she is taught that boys are evil and is lead to believe that she will be part of the country's rebuilding as a teacher. When she uncovers the horrible truth about what awaits her when she graduates, she flees and meets up with her rival Arden who explains the truth of the school. Together, they find other young survivors from the apocalypse and uncover additional horrors as they try to make it to the safety of another part of the country. Eve becomes attracted and aligns herself with Caleb, a survivor himself, and together they piece together a future- or what they hope might become a future.Character development is the key to this story from being just another dystopian tale. I was really moved by Eve and her will to survive and fight for her life. It could have easily been just another book in a massively populated genre, but I immediately connected with Eve and Caleb and cheered them on even though I was left hanging by the time they reached their supposed promised land. That didn't quite turn out the way they planned it, but I can't wait for the next in this series to find out exactly what happens next. So the setting of this book is quite familiar to those of you who have read Wither by Lauren DeStefano or The Handmaiden's Tale by Margaret Atwood, but Carey gets the characters perfectly developed and for me, this made all the difference between being good and excelling.
    • 3/5
      I found Eve to fit in delightfully with the dystopian trend that is occurring, and was quickly engrossed in Eve's tale. While I loved Eve's tale of escaping from the fate of the other graduates, I was occasionally off-put by how quickly Eve shook off years of training to hate and fear boys & men. Despite a summary and my expectations that Caleb would 'slowly gain her confidence' I found the opposite to be true, where despite a few skittish moments, Eve nearly immediately trusted him. I found Eve's world to be rather harsh, with her moments of happiness often followed by dark moments.Haunted by the friends she was forced to leave behind at her school while knowing their fate, Eve does little but think about helping them in the future, and I often wished she would've tried harder. Eve often falls into the 'can do no wrong' category, and I really wish some of the characters would've held her more accountable for her actions, no matter how good they are intended.As a book-smart character thrown into a street-smart world, it was fascinating to see her try and compromise what she has been taught is right versus what actually is true. One of things I appreciate most about Caleb's character was that he didn't force realities on Eve, but encouraged her to look again at what she had been taught, and come to a conclusion herself. Caleb himself was a character I found interesting, however shallow he is at the moment. While we do gain a bit of background to his character, there still seems to be little to him other then as the 'hero'. I'm interested to see if his character develops more in the following two books.
    • 1/5
      I finished this book a few days ago, but I had to double-check I had finished it because I couldn't remember a thing about it. Just not enough here to keep me interested and I don't think I'll read the next book.
    • 1/5
      Man. Oh Man. I was so ANGRY at this book by the time I finished it. Just...ugh. It starts off slow and then builds into a massive trainwreck. The heroine, Eve, makes one bad decision after another after another, gets everyone around her into horrible trouble, says she's sorry, and then does it again. She's supposed to be a real smart girl but you wouldn't know it from the way she acts in EVE.

      So we've got a dystopian novel in which earth's population has been wiped out by a horrible plague and efforts to re-build and re-organize are still in their early stages. The plague orphaned Eve and a lot of other kids, who are placed in sex-segregated Schools. Here's the first weird thing: Eve gets some pretty fancy schooling. Like, most private schools currently operating right now in the US aren't this fancy - she learns to waltz and play the piano and she's always yammering on about the books she reads, like Anna Karenina and The Great Gatsby and To The Lighthouse. Fancy, right? Yet, for some reason, this very elaborate education is dished out to the orphan girls...so that they can be tied down in hospital beds and forced to bear litters of children for the rest of their lives. It turns out all the orphan girls are "sows" whose sole function in life is to repopulate the earth as quickly as possible.

      Now. I could buy some very basic schooling to keep the kids docile until they're of childbearing age. But I can't buy this really elaborate, intensive schooling that lasts all the way until they're 18 (well into those precious peak childbearing years), not when none of the schooling will ever be put to use. It makes no sense. I'm guessing the author was more interested in evoking the hip, dystopian shock of betrayal that Eve feels when she discovers the truth than actually creating a world that makes any logical sense.

      And that's just the beginning. Like I said, it gets worse and worse. So next we find out that Eve has been selected to be the King of New America's broodmare. We don't find out what this entails; a special hospital bed? A life of luxury? Eve doesn't care - she is dead set against it no matter what! So suddenly that's our conflict. Once Eve escapes from school, the surprisingly extensive military apparatus of this destroyed, resource-starved country is mobilized to hunt for her, because even though she's a random orphan who's never met the King, she's THE ONE and he will STOP AT NOTHING to find her!

      How does this make sense? If the whole point of the orphans and their Schools is how disposable they are, how they're treated like slaves (slaves who read Tolstoy!), it makes no sense for the King to waste resources searching for uppity little Eve.

      I could go on. The world makes no sense. Neither does the story. And neither do the characters. Eve somehow manages to become MORE naive as the book goes on. When she meets Caleb, the handsome boy-hero, she's pretty wary of him. Things happen, lots of them bad, like assault and betrayal and attempted rape. These experiences lead Eve to reflect on how horrible and untrustworthy people can be, on how cynical she's become...and then she sees a lit window in the wilderness and runs right toward it, totally convinced that she will find a nice person inside to save her from her troubles. If I could have reached into the novel and slapped her, I would have.

      Seriously people. Give this novel a pass. It may be chock-full of literary references (the school for slaves also teaches James Joyce, can you believe it?) but that doesn't make up for the author's lack of actual writing chops.
    • 4/5
      Eve is an orphan. Her mother and many other adults died in a plague sixteen years before the start of the book. Eve has been raised at a girls' school. Now, at the age of 18, she is about to graduate and she believes she will go to learn a trade. However, another girl at the school, Arden, has found out that all the graduates go to a place where they are impregnated and forced to give birth so the population can be rebuilt. Eve's fate is to be different, however, as she is to become the wife of the Emperor. Arden sneaks out of the school compound after she tells Eve this. Eve doesn't believe Arden so that night she goes to check for herself and finds out it is true. She is determined to leave and a teacher helps her. But Eve is not prepared for life on the outside and she is close to starvation. Fortunately she finds Arden and convinces her to team up. Then she meets a boy, Caleb, who saves her from an angry bear. The school had always emphasized how untrustworthy men were but Eve starts falling for Caleb. But this isn't a happily ever after love story at least not yet. This is only book one of a series and the rest are yet to be published. I think it has promise and I'll keep my eyes open for the next.
    • 2/5
      Being a sucker for dystopian novels, I had to give this one a try. I regret that I was actually pretty disappointed in it. The story had some potential, but there were far too many plot holes to make me comfortable with rating this book any higher than 2 out of 5.The setting of the novel is a world in which 98% of the human population has been wiped out in a plague. America is now called the New America, is ruled by a King whose throne city is in the middle of a desert, and males and females are kept pretty much segregated. The man character, Eve, is in an all-female school, on the edge of graduation, after which she will cross the school's lake into another building and spend four years learning her trade.Or so she thinks, until one random girl whom nobody likes tells her that the real secret to that building is that girls are kept them and impregnated against their will. Despite having no reason to believe this, Eve decides to check it out anyway (swimming across a lake after admitting that she doesn't know how to swim), and finds out that this is all true.Waitasec, hold it. Completely ignoring the fact that she learns to swim after about 15 seconds in deep water, I want to take the chance to ask the following question: if girls are being prepped to basically be broodmares after they graduate from school, what the heck is the point? Why school them that long? Why waste time and resources and concoct an elaborate lie that makes them believe they're going to have careers, and then just strap them to a bed and introduce them to a doctor with a turkey baster? It's a waste of time and resources. If the real goal is to boost the population, then it would make better sense to make sure that the girls are fertile and then take them elsewhere as soon as possible, not continue to teach them how to dance and how to interpret 19th century novels.I may also add that this all takes place about 10-15 years after the plague has ended. Too soon. 50 years, I can see. But in such a short time after the crisis is over, a lot of the changes don't make much sense. Lawlessness running rampant because "people didn't read the Constitution"? A politician setting himself up as King and nobody opposing him because they were all scared and sick? Complete segregation of the sexes, and the female teachers (who all were old enough to have survive the plague in adulthood, I might add) intentionally teaching girls that all males are heartless and cruel and will use girls and then spit them out? This book doesn't take place hundreds of years in the future, when society can have radically changed in its views and perceptions. It takes place 20 years from now! Changes that massive don't happen so quickly, and when they do, the resistance is more than scattered pockets of stubborn people.So Eve leaves the school and decides to search for a rebel compound that she heard of, hoping that they'll offer her protection and freedom from a life of birthin' babies. On the way she runs into Arden, the girl who told her about the pregnancy program in the first place, and Caleb, a boy who escaped the all-male labour camps and is now living in an all-male society of hunter-gatherers. Naturally, Eve and Caleb fall in love.Really, who didn't see it coming a mile away?Another gigantic plot hole occurred during an incident that proves beyond a doubt that the author doesn't know much about biology and medicine. While investigating an abandoned house, Arden collapses and is coughing up blood all over her hands. My first thought is, "Ooh, is this a resurgence of the plague?" That would have been interesting. But no, it doesn't seem so. Eve tells Caleb that Arden was outside in the pouring rain the previous night and that must be why she got sick. Three weeks of bedrest later, and she's fine.I'm sorry, but if there's a condition that within 24 hours can chew up your lungs to the point where you cough and your palms are covered with blood, you're not going to get better by just sleeping it off. You're very likely to be dead in the next couple of days. Especially seeing as how the descriptions of the plague made it sound like a hemorrhagic fever, the author had a perfect chance to take the novel in a different direction and make it very hard-hitting, but she just let it go, and in so doing made a plot hole I could drop a piano through.The novel ends with Eve and Caleb finding the rebel compound and Eve discovering that it's a women-only deal, so Caleb can't come with her. Having fallen in love, to the point of risking their lives on more than one occasion, she vows to find him again. And there the book ends, with the first part of the trilogy complete.This feels, more than anything else, like an attempt to hop on the dystopia bandwagon before the journey is complete. The only way in which Eve stood out to me was in the mistakes it made. It could have been a novel by anyone, written at any time, with little in the way of a creative and original storyline. The author does have some talent, especially with introspective turns of phrase and artistic description, but the overall story was so lacking that it felt more like a "me too" than an "I have a great idea for a book."I can't say I recommend this one. I know a lot of people who read my most recent "In My Mailbox" post seemed excited about it, but really, unless they want a bland and unoriginal romance in a post-apocalyptic world, they're not likely to enjoy reading this novel.
    • 3/5
      Eve is the latest YA dystopian thriller to hit the shelves. It is set in a world decimated by a deadly plague, where a self appointed king is attempting to rebuild the world using the young people left alive. Of course the young people are unaware that they are being used until it is too late and they cannot easily escape their fate. Eve is on the brink of graduation when she discovers what her role in society is to be and she rebels against it by running away. In our world running away might seem dangerous but doable, in Eve's world running away is fraught with danger and almost impossible without help. Eve finds that help in Arden, another girl from her school, and Caleb, a boy who rescues her from an angry bear. Eve finds out that she is more important than she realizes when she learns she is being hunted by the kings men as she runs. Eve is an interesting look at a bleak future. I enjoyed reading about how the rebels had set up their hiding places and camps and how they helped each other along the way. I liked Caleb's character and found him believable and sympathetic. Arden and Eve were less interesting to me because they seemed more one dimensional. Eve made consistently bad decisions and had to be saved many times along the way. The trend lately has been to have strong female leads and Eve wasn't strong enough for me. Arden was strong but she was not allowed to develop as a character so I never really felt attached to her. Overall I thought Eve was a quick and interesting read but I found myself waiting for it to grab me and it never did.
    • 2/5
      This book is not offensive as much as it is boring and predictable. Typical dystopian romance of a "New America" but in this one after the plague has wiped out everyone, the orphans are sent away. The girls to a truly splendid school where they are taught great literature, how to dance, how to play the piano, etc. (and also informed constantly that men are evil) while the boys are sent to labor camps. Once they graduate, the girls are sent to a center where their main purpose in life seems to be to have children and repopulate the United States. Eve is the valedictorian who escapes from her school the night before graduation along with Arden another girl who had figured out the truth way before Eve did. They are rescued by Caleb who along with a group of boys have gone into hiding in a series of caves. Love blooms between Eve and Caleb leading to jealousy with Leif--the "leader" of the boys. When it is found out that Eve is actually wanted by the King to be his "breeder" things start to get complicated. There are TONS of unanswered questions in here. We know the plague wiped out many people, but why did so many children survive when adults did not? What happens to the children whose parents did survive (such as Otis and Margaret)? Why do the girls get such a great education only to be turned into sows? Why is Eve wanted by the King? Perhaps this is one those series where there will be a "prequel" written later. That's fine but I won't bother with it--you have lost my interest.

    Book preview

    Eve - Anna Carey

    Prologue

    May 23, 2025

    My sweet Eve,

    As I drove back from the market today, you humming in your car seat and our trunk filled with powdered milk and rice, I saw the San Gabriel Mountains—really saw them for the first time. I’d taken that road before, but this was different. There they were beyond the windshield: their blue-green peaks still and silent, watching over the city, so close I felt like I could touch them. I pulled over just to look.

    I know I will die soon. The plague is taking everyone who was given the vaccine. There are no more flights. There are no more trains. They’ve barricaded the roads outside of town and now we all must wait. The phones and internet have long since gone out. The faucets are dry and cities are losing power, one by one. Soon the entire world will be dark.

    But right now we are still alive. Perhaps more alive than we’ve ever been. You’re sleeping in the next room. From this chair I can hear the sounds of your music box—the one with the tiny ballerina—playing its last few tinkling notes.

    I love you, I love you, I love you.

    Mom

    Chapter One

    BY THE TIME THE SUN SET OVER THE FIFTY-FOOT PERIMETER wall, the School lawn was covered with twelfth-year students. The younger girls leaned out of the dormitory windows, waving their New American flags as we sang and danced. I grabbed Pip’s arm and spun her around when the band played a faster number. Her short, staccato laugh rose above the music.

    It was the night before our graduation and we were celebrating. We’d spent most of our lives inside the compound walls, never knowing the forest beyond it, and this was the grandest party we’d ever been given. A band was set up by the lake—a group of eleventh-year girls who’d volunteered—and the guards had lit torches to keep the hawks away. Laid out on a table were all of my favorite foods: leg of deer, roast wild boar, candied plums, and bowls overflowing with jungle berries.

    Headmistress Burns, a doughy woman with a face like a feral dog, was manning the table, encouraging everyone to eat more. Come on! We don’t want to let this go to waste. I want my girls like plump little pigs! The fat on her arms swung back and forth as she gestured at the spread.

    The music slowed and I pulled Pip closer, leading her in a waltz. I think you make a very good man, she said, as we glided toward the lakefront. Her red hair clung to her sweaty face.

    "I am handsome," I laughed, furrowing my brow to feign manliness. It was a joke at School, for it had been over a decade since any of us had seen a boy or man, unless you counted the photos of the King that were displayed in the main hall. We begged the teachers to tell us of the time before the plague, when girls and boys attended Schools together, but they only said that the new system was for our own protection. Men could be manipulative, conniving, and dangerous. The one exception was the King. Only he was to be trusted and obeyed.

    Eve, it’s time, Teacher Florence called. She stood by the lakefront, a gold medal in her aged, weathered hands. The standard teacher’s uniform, a red blouse with blue pants, hung loose on her petite frame. Gather around, girls!

    The band stopped playing and the air was filled with the sounds of the outside forest. I felt the metal whistle around my neck, thankful to have it should any creature broach the compound wall. Even after all these years at School, I never got used to hearing the dogfights, the distant rat-tat-tat-tat of machine guns, the horrible whining of deer being eaten alive.

    Headmistress Burns hobbled over and took the medal from Teacher Florence’s hand. Now, now, let us begin! she cried, as the forty twelfth years lined up to watch. Ruby, our other best friend, stood on her tiptoes to see. You’ve all worked very hard during your time at School, and perhaps no one has worked as hard as Eve. She turned to me as she said this. The skin on her face was wrinkled and loose, forming slight jowls. Eve has proven to be one of the best, brightest students we’ve taught here. By the power given to me by the King of The New America, I present her with the Medal of Achievement. As Headmistress pressed the cold medallion into my hands, all the girls clapped. Pip added a shrieking finger-whistle for good measure.

    Thank you, I said softly. I glanced across the long, moatlike lake, which stretched from one side of the wall to the other. My gaze settled on the giant windowless building beyond it. The following day, after I gave my valedictory speech in front of the entire school, the guards across the lake would extend a bridge and the graduating class would follow behind me, single file, to the other side. There, in that massive structure, we would begin learning our trades. I’d spent so many years studying, perfecting my Latin, my writing, my painting. I’d spent hours at the piano, learning Mozart and Beethoven, always with that building off in the distance—the ultimate goal.

    Sophia, the valedictorian of three years ago, had stood at that same podium, reading her speech about our great responsibility as the future leaders of The New America. She spoke about becoming a doctor, and how she would work to prevent future plagues. By now she was probably saving lives in the King’s capital, the City of Sand. They said he’d restored a city in the desert. I couldn’t wait to get there. I wanted to be an artist, to paint portraits like Frida Kahlo or surreal dreamscapes like Magritte, frescoed across the City’s great walls.

    Teacher Florence rested her hand on my back. You embody The New America, Eve—intelligence, hard work, and beauty. We’re so proud of you.

    The band started a much livelier song and Ruby belted out the lyrics. The girls on the lawn laughed and danced, swinging each other around and around and around until they were dizzy.

    Go on, eat some more. Headmistress Burns nudged Violet, a shorter girl with black, almond-shaped eyes, toward the food table.

    What’s her problem? Pip asked, sidling up beside me. She took the medal in her hands to get a closer look.

    You know Headmistress, I started, about to remind Pip that our head of school was seventy-five, arthritic, and had lost her entire family when the plague finally ended twelve years ago. But Pip shook her head.

    "Not her—her."

    Arden was the only twelfth year not celebrating. She leaned against the wall of the dormitory, arms crossed. Even in the unflattering gray jumper with the crest of The New American Monarchy sewn over her chest, even scowling, she was still beautiful. While most of the girls in School kept their hair long, she’d chopped her black mane into a short bob, making her fair skin look even fairer. Her hazel eyes were flecked with gold. She’s up to something, I know it, I told Pip, not taking my eyes off her. She always is.

    Pip ran her fingers over the smooth medallion. Someone saw her swimming across the lake. . . . she whispered.

    Swimming? I doubt that. No one in the compound could swim. We’d never been taught.

    Pip shrugged. Who knows with her. While most of the twelfth years had come to School at five years old, after the plague ended, Arden had arrived at School at eight, so there had always been something different about her. Her parents had given her over to the School until they could establish themselves in the City of Sand. She loved to remind students of the fact that, unlike the rest of us, she wasn’t an orphan. When she finished learning her trade, she would retire in her parents’ new apartment. She wouldn’t have to work a day in her life.

    Pip had decided this explained some deeper truth about Arden: because she had parents, she was not afraid to be thrown out of School. Often her rebelliousness took the form of harmless pranks—rotten figs in your oatmeal or a dead mouse on the sink, complete with a white toothpaste beehive. But other times she was mean, cruel even. Arden had cut off Ruby’s long black ponytail once, just for laughing at the C she’d gotten on a Dangers of Boys and Men exam.

    In the past few months, Arden had been strangely quiet, though. She was the last to meals and the first to leave, and she was always alone. I had the growing suspicion that for graduation tomorrow, she was planning her greatest prank of all.

    In an instant, Arden turned and started toward the dining building, kicking up dirt as she ran. My eyes narrowed as I watched her go. I didn’t need any surprises at the ceremony; I had enough to worry about with my speech. It had even been said that the King himself would be attending for the first time in the school’s history. I knew it was a rumor, started by the ever-dramatic Maxine, but still. It was an important day—the most important of our lives.

    Headmistress Burns? I asked. May I please be excused? I left my vitamins in the dormitory. I felt around the pockets of my uniform dress, feigning frustration.

    Headmistress stood beside the long table of food. How many times do I have to remind you girls to keep them in your satchel? Go, but don’t dawdle. As she spoke she stroked the snout of the roast boar, the fur on its face singed black.

    Yes, I agreed, looking over my shoulder for Arden. She had already turned the corner, past the dining hall. I will, Headmistress. I took off running, offering Pip a quick be right back.

    I rounded the corner, approaching the compound’s main gate. Arden crouched beside the building and reached underneath a bush. She pulled her uniform dress over her head and changed into a black jumper, her milk-white skin glowing in the setting sun.

    I strode toward her as she was tugging on boots—the same black leather ones the guards always wore. Whatever you’re planning, you can just forget it, I announced, pleased when she straightened up at the sound of my voice.

    Arden paused a moment and then pulled the laces tight, as if she were strangling her ankles. It was a minute before she spoke and even then, she didn’t turn to face me. Please, Eve, she said quietly, just go away.

    I knelt down beside the building, holding my skirt to keep it from getting dirty. I know you’re up to something. Someone saw you by the lake. Arden moved quickly, her eyes fixed on her boots as she tied the laces in double knots. A backpack sat in a ditch beneath the bush, and she stuffed her gray uniform dress inside it. Where’d you steal that guard’s uniform from?

    She pretended she hadn’t heard me, instead peering through a hole in the shrubs. I followed her gaze to the compound gate, which was opening slowly. The shipment of food for tomorrow’s ceremony had just arrived on a covered green and black government Jeep. This has nothing to do with you, Eve, she finally said.

    So what is this about then? You’re impersonating a guard? I reached for the whistle around my neck. I’d never reported Arden before, never brought anything she did to the Headmistress, but the ceremony was just too important—to me, to everyone. I’m sorry, Arden, but I can’t let you—

    Before the whistle touched my lips, Arden ripped the chain from my neck and threw it across the grass. In one swift motion, she pinned me up against the building. Her eyes were wet and bloodshot.

    You listen, she said slowly. Her forearm pressed on my neck, making it hard to breathe. I am leaving here in exactly one minute. If you know what’s good for you, you’ll go back to the celebration and pretend you never saw this.

    Twenty feet away, some female guards unloaded the truck, carrying boxes inside while the others pointed their machine guns toward the woods. But there’s nowhere to go. . . . I wheezed.

    Wake up! she hissed. You think you’re going to learn a trade? She gestured to the brick building on the other side of the lake. I could barely see it in the growing darkness. "Don’t you ever wonder why the Graduates never come outside? Or why there’s a separate gate for them? Or why there are so many fences and locked doors around here? You think they’re sending you there to paint?" At this, she finally released me.

    I rubbed my neck. The skin burned where the chain had broken. Of course, I said. What else would we be doing?

    Arden let out a laugh as she tossed her backpack over her shoulder. Then she leaned in. I could smell the spicy boar’s meat on her breath. Ninety-eight percent of the population is dead, Eve. Gone. How do you think the world is going to continue? They don’t need artists, she whispered. "They need children. The healthiest children they can find . . . or make."

    What are you talking about? I asked. She picked herself up, never looking away from the truck. A guard pulled the canvas cover over the back of the Jeep and climbed into the driver’s seat.

    Why do you think they’re so worried about our height, our weight, what we’re eating and drinking? Arden brushed the dirt off her black jumpsuit and looked at me one last time. The area beneath her eyes was puffy, the purple veins visible under her thin white skin. I saw them—the girls who graduated before us. And I’m not going to wind up in some hospital bed, birthing a litter every year for the next twenty years of my life.

    I stumbled backward, as if she had slapped me in the face. You’re lying, I said. You’re wrong.

    But Arden just shook her head. And with that she darted off toward the Jeep, pulling the black cap over her hair. She waited for the gate guards to turn before approaching. One more! she called out. Then she jumped onto its back bumper and pulled herself into the covered bed.

    The truck bumped down the dirt road and disappeared into the dark woods. The gate closed slowly behind it. I listened to the lock click, unable to believe what I’d just seen. Arden had left School. Escaped. She had gone beyond the wall, into the wild, with nothing and no one to protect her.

    I didn’t believe what she’d said. I couldn’t. Maybe Arden would return in a few hours, on the Jeep. Maybe this was her craziest prank yet. But as I turned back to the windowless building on the other side of the compound, I couldn’t stop my hands from trembling, or the bitter vomit of jungle berries from spewing out of my mouth. I got sick there, in the dirt, a single thought consuming me: What if Arden was right?

    Chapter Two

    AFTER WE’D BRUSHED OUR HAIR AND TEETH, WASHED our faces, and dressed in the identical white nightgowns that came down to our ankles, I lay in bed, pretending to be tired. The dormitory was buzzing with the news of Arden’s disappearance. Girls poked their heads into each room to deliver the latest gossip: a barrette found in the bushes, Headmistress questioning a guard near the gate. Through it all, I wanted one of the hardest things to find at School, something so strange it was impossible to even request.

    I wanted to be alone.

    Noelle thinks Arden’s hiding out in the doctor’s quarters, Ruby told Pip. She surveyed the cards in her hand. Go fish. They were sitting on Pip’s narrow twin bed, playing a game they’d checked out of the School library. The old Finding Nemo cards were faded and ripped, some stuck together with dried fig juice.

    I bet she’s just trying to get out of the ceremony, Pip added. The freckled skin on her face was dotted with dried toothpaste, which she called her miracle blemish remover. She kept glancing at me, expecting me to speculate about Arden’s whereabouts or comment on the packs of guards outside who were searching the grounds with flashlights. I didn’t say a word.

    I thought about what Arden had said. In the last months, Headmistress Burns had become increasingly concerned with our diets, making sure we were eating enough. She appeared at our weekly blood tests and weigh-ins and saw that we were all taking our vitamins. She’d even sent Ruby to Dr. Hertz when she got her period a week later than everyone else at School.

    I pulled the thin white blanket up to my neck. Ever since I was small, I had been told there was a plan for me—a plan for all of us. Complete twelve years at School, then move across the compound and learn a trade for four years. Then onto the City of Sand, where life and freedom awaited us. We would work and live there, under the rule of the King. I had always listened to the Teachers, had no reason not to. Even now, Arden’s theory made no sense. Why would we be taught to fear men when we’d ultimately have children and families of our own? Why would we be educated if we were only going to breed? The emphasis they’d put on our studies, the way we were encouraged to pursue—

    Eve? Did you hear what I said? Pip interrupted my thoughts. She and Ruby were staring at me.

    No, what?

    Ruby gathered up the cards in her hand, her thick black hair still short and uneven from where Arden had cut it. We want a preview of your speech before we go to bed.

    My throat tightened as I thought of my final address, the three scrawled pages crumpled inside my nightstand drawer. It’s supposed to be a surprise, I said, after a moment. I had written about the power of imagination in building The New America. The words I had chosen, the future I’d described, seemed so uncertain now.

    Ruby and Pip stared at me, but I turned away, unable to look them in the eye. I couldn’t tell them what Arden had suggested: that the freedom of graduation was just an illusion, something created to keep us calm and content.

    Fine, suit yourself. Pip blew out the candle on her night table. I blinked a few times, adjusting my eyes to the dark. Slowly, her round face became visible in the gray moonlight streaming in from the window. "But we are your best friends."

    Within minutes, Ruby’s faint snoring filled the room. She always fell asleep first. Pip stared at the ceiling, her hands resting over her heart. "I can’t wait to graduate. We’re going to be learning things—real things. And in

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