What would you do to survive if your very existence were illegal?
Rowan is a second child in a world where population control measures make her an outlaw, marked for death. She can never go to school, make friends, or get the eye implants that will mark her as a true member of Eden. Her kaleidoscope eyes will give her away to the ruthless Center government.
Outside of Eden, Earth is poisoned and dead. All animals and most plants have been destroyed by a man-made catastrophe. Long ago, the brilliant scientist Aaron Al-Baz saved a pocket of civilization by designing the EcoPanopticon, a massive computer program that hijacked all global technology and put it to use preserving the last vestiges of mankind. Humans will wait for thousands of years in Eden until the EcoPan heals the world.
As an illegal second child, Rowan has been hidden away in her family’s compound for sixteen years. Now, restless and desperate to see the world, she recklessly escapes for what she swears will be only one night of adventure. Though she finds an exotic world, and even a friend, the night leads to tragedy. Soon Rowan becomes a renegade on the run.
My rating:
★★
I’ve seen so many excellent review of this and was really looking forward to starting it. I have to say, I was really disappointed, I was still bored round the page 100 mark and it didn’t improve afterwards.
In Eden it is illegal to have more than one child in order to control population numbers so there is enough resources to ensure Eden thrives. The story follows Rowan, a second child who has been hidden away her whole life by her family. When Rowan finds out she will be getting the lense implants, (everyone except second children have them) and moving in with a foster family located wishing one of the outter rings she climbs over her garden wall to experience ‘Eden life’ firsthand. This sets in motion a string of events that not only turn her world upside down, but could possibly be the end of Eden itself.
For me, this was an overused concept that offered nothing new to make it stand out against others. At 278 pages this should have taken me a day to read, it took me nearly a week to get through it. The plot and pacing felt disjointed, characters felt bland and boring in a world full of bright colours and light. There’s not much more I can say about it. I really wanted to love it, I just felt disappointment and relief once I had finished. I thought about DNF’ing, I decided to stick with it hoping it would pick up.
Published by: Atria/Keyword Press
Publication Date: 01/10/16
Pages: 278
Have you read ‘Children of Eden’? Let me know what you thought in the comments!
I’m sorry you didn’t enjoy this book as much as you thought you would, it’s always a shame when that happens. I’ve never heard of this book before your review, but I don’t think it’s a book for me either.
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I’m sure it does
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I know, I was really looking forward to reading it. I can’t help but think a lot of the praise is down to Joey’s name being on it.
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this book sounded so good in the synopsis. I’m sorry you weren’t a fan of it. Great review.
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I’m sorry you didn’t like it. I’ve been hesitant to pick this up myself. I’m glad I haven’t picked it up yet now that I’ve read your review.
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I’m still enjoying the show a lot! One of my fav YA sci-fi shows out there. 🤩
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I really love The 100 books, i’ve Only read the first 2. I gave up on the show after Lincoln. It was such a slog reading this.
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A big part of the story sounds a lot like The 100. You probably best reading that one, or even watching the TV show. Its hard to keep going when books aren’t what you expect. 😔 xx
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That’s exactly what I was afraid of and why I haven’t picked it up.
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I really wanted to love it, I can’t help but feel that most of the hype is because Joey’s Name is on the cover.
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Aww darn! The synopsis sounded so good! Too bad it was a letdown. Will be skipping this one! Thanks for the great review and saving me some money!
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