About the Author

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

Reviews

"A gripping, unforgettable adventure-and a fresh look at what it means to love." -- Lauren Kate, New York Times bestselling author of FALLEN

Gr 9 Up-Eve is orphaned by a devastating plague that killed 98 percent of the population. Twelve years later she is set to graduate from an all-girls orphanage, where the students have been promised bright futures in the careers of their choice. However, the day before graduation Eve discovers that they are actually going to be bound to beds, impregnated against their will, and forced endlessly to bear children in order to repopulate the country. This discovery is horrific indeed, or at least it would be if it made any sense. The plot and characters are undermined by huge logical holes in the dystopian world-building. The girls are taught to hate men through reinterpretations of classic literature, but why bother educating them at all when they are going to spend their lives as prisoners? When Eve (unsurprisingly) escapes, more discrepancies emerge. "The New America" is now ruled by a king who has a large army and runs the schools for orphan girls as well as work camps for orphan boys. But if depleted population is the problem, why are the orphan boys being mistreated and killed? Why separate the genders at all? When Eve and her former frenemy from the orphanage end up in a camp of feral boys and meet the muscular yet gentle Caleb, a predictable romance ensues. Carey's clever writing and imaginative storytelling have potential but ultimately cannot save this flawed novel.-Eliza Langhans, Hatfield Public Library, MA (c) Copyright 2012. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.