Eve and Adam

Eve and Adam by Michael Grant and Katherine Applegate (hardie Grant EGMONT)

PB RRP $22.95

ISBN 9781405264341

Reviewed by Lillian Rodrigues-Pang

www.thestoryline.com.au

Evening Spiker is thinking of an apple when a street car slams into her. With this we are launched into a horrific accident and into Eve’s mind as she lives through the event. It is a compelling beginning to a story that is filled with medicine, technology and intrigue.

Eve is whisked away from the public medical system and into the laboratory of her famous medical research mother. A place Eve has rarely spent any time. Eve makes a miraculously quick recovery and we are launched into the complex world of medical technology, test cases and morality. Eve’s mother is a strong determined dominating woman who is surrounded by success, wealth and a number of mysterious deaths.

Solo is a good-looking guy just older than Eve who lives at the research facility. As their friendship develops they discover their lives have been linked all along. We travel through this story alternating between the first person perspective of Eve and then Solo. Eventually we also have Adam’s perspective.

In an attempt to keep her daughter (and her fast recovery) out of the public eye Eve is given an indoor task – create the perfect boy. Just as an exercise on some new technology, of course  So Eve gets to create Adam. As Eve plays with the technology we get a fun quick lesson on genetics – a gene for jealousy, height, hair colour, sweet tooth, restless energy, age and lifestyle. Eve can slide a bar for all of the genetic inputs to see the effects it has on Adam's body.

When Adam – the perfect partner, comes to life the story takes another change. Eve is confronted with her perfect creation and many moral issues are faced. The importance of a name, a history, do creators always fall in love with their creations, etc. The book has a great premise and makes for an interesting read. It is a medical thriller for teens and the story full of characters and twists definitely keeps the pages turning.

Written by the highly successful husband and wife team Michael Grant and Katherine Applegate. It is their first joint release since 2001. They have every technology a writer can; twitter, Facebook and websites. So delve into the big questions – what genetic features would your perfect partner have? Not a bad question for teens and adults to ponder.