Review: Eve and Adam by Michael Grant

Eve and Adam by Michael Grant and Katherine Applegate

Eve and Adam #1

Release Date: October 2^nd, 2012

Number of Pages: 291

Publisher: Feiwel & Friends

Source: ARC from BEA

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?

I was surprisingly excited about this book, since I didn’t know much about it and I hadn’t read anything by Michael Grant and Katherine Applegate. I have to say that I expected the story to be connected with the classic story of Adam and Eve, set in a dystopian or sci-fi setting, but it isn’t about that, and I have to say that it was a happy surprise.

There are a lot of things going on in this novel, that’s for sure.  I ended up reading it in a day, since I just wanted to know what would happen next to Evening, and of course Solo. Those two characters really made me enjoy this book, since they were so interesting. The only thing with Eve that annoyed me was reading her thoughts about creating the perfect boy. It sounded wrong to me, all the details she seemed to care for her “Adam”. It was probably the only thing that I didn’t really like about her. I love how caring she seemed to be for her friend, even if Aislin doesn’t always make the right choices. She’s always there for her when it matters. When it comes down to Solo, the only thing I felt really lacking was the backstory of his hate for Eve’s mother. I can get it, but I just wish we could have been shown more about his feeling regarding her.

The story really got me interested from page one. It was the kind of book I could have taken a few hundred pages more, simply because it was addicting. I just wish the authors could have shown us more about the world, about the details. There are things that just needed more information. I’m a sucker for details. I wanted a little more. This didn’t really take away from the experience, but it does make me wish we would get more in the next book. Eve and Adam is a quick and really interesting read. I can hardly wait to read more from this series.

Michael Grant's New Story Experience!

I was contacted about two weeks ago about Michael Grant's new project. I decided that I had to share it with you, because I felt like it was a really interesting project. It isn't only a book, it is also an interactive experience. Curious? Here's more about it!

A Q&A with author Michael Grant.

What is “Go BZRK”? Is this a book or some kind of interactive story?

Both. The book comes out this winter, but the interactive part starts now.  One leads up to the other, but they're part of a complete package.

Why “transmedia”?

There are different approaches to transmedia.  Most people take a single story and reproduce it on various platforms.  My philosophy has been to make each element - ARG, app, web, book - a thing unto itself, each revealing some aspect of the world of BZRK.  I've been fascinated with this is as a new way to tell stories.  The book remains central, but now I can reach beyond the book and create a much more complete world.  I can tell stories that enhance the book, and stories that parallel the book, and stories that are offshoots of backstory.  I guess the answer to "why" is "because it's fun."

How long is this running? Is this part of a larger picture?

We'll be running this in several chunks between now and the book release this winter. Because these things have a hard start/stop point, August is a ramp-up phase. There'll be a lot of content coming out, but the experience really gets underway at the end of the month… just in time to distract the kids from their schoolwork.

What if someone wants to follow the story but doesn’t want to participate?

You don't have to do anything.  You can do one thing and not another.  But the deeper you plunge the wetter you get.  I think every part of this is fun, I think people will enjoy the ARG, the app, the site and the books.  

What can you tell us about the story? What is “BZRK”?

It's a battle for the soul and freedom of the human race carried out simultaneously in the world we know, and in a world that you're not going to expect. It's a world where if you make a false move, you're going to lose your mind.

What’s this other world thing all about?

Do you really want spoilers? I'll tell you this. We'll be going "down in the meat." It's going to be vast, bloody, and beautiful. 

Wait… isn’t this supposed to be for kids?

Adults like to flatter themselves that kids won't get, won't understand, won't be able to handle, more intense, more complex stories. That's nonsense.  It's the adults who are easy to creep out or scare.  Say the word "biopsy" in a room full of adults. Or "audit."  See?  Easy to scare.  Kids are a tougher audience because kids think they're immortal. 

Want to join?


Check these sites!


Nexushumanus


Societytwins




Can't wait to learn more about it!