Book Review: Eve of Man by Giovanna Fletcher & Tom Fletcher

Now I have POV by Mcfly suck in my head.

She survived against all odds. The first girl born in fifty years. They called her EVE.

On the first day, no one really noticed. All those babies wrapped in blue blankets--not a pink one in sight. On the third day, people were scared--a statistic-defying abundance of blue. Not just entire hospitals, not only entire countries, but the entire world. Boys. Only boys.

Until Eve. The only girl born in fifty years. The savior of mankind. Kept protected, towering above a ruined world under a glass dome of safety until she is ready to renew the human race.

But when the time comes to find a suitor, Eve and Bram--a young man whose job is to prepare Eve for this moment--begin to question the plan they've known all along. Eve doesn't only want safety, and she doesn't only want protection. She wants the truth. She wants freedom.

I wasn't sure about this novel going in, I am a fan of Mcfly and therefore Tom Fletcher, but not sure if songwriting translates to prose. This was another Sci-fi by people famous for things outside of their known writing mediums that I did like. It's not perfect but its decent first attempt at YA Prose.

This is another novel with a lack of females being born. This is always the way Dystopia go along, I've only come across one Dystopian st where all the males died out. Probably never going to be a thing since more women and fewer men have in the past been able to build up the population and Afitical sperm is apparently on the way. This one goes for girls just not being born anymore which brings up questions as to why.

LGBTQ+ people aren't really talked about, apparently, there are brief references that I missed. I had a moment where I thought wouldn't it be cool if there were a trans character, but no, just appears to be a cis boy pretending to be a girl and falling in love with eyes. This is the first book in a series so it might be explored more in the sequels. The two protagonists that have been sheltered in different ways and romantic relationships do seem not to be significant in this world anymore. It's interesting to think about what would Transness be like in a world like this, but it is probably best left for a trans writer to tackle anyway. Sexism and Toxic Masculinity are present in this world, so gender roles are there. I'm not sure what it's trying to say about them, it does seem to more about the power this company has over Eve and the other women with XX chromosome havers being so rare. It could be going somewhere with gender and sex. I could write an essay on this, however, it would more my own thoughts than what is actually present in this book. Best to move on to more of the actual text.

The audiobook has two narrators to match the POVs in this book. It works well. I do like and feel for the characters.

Overall, I give this book 4/5 stars for Rusty Metal. This is a near-future Dystopia and that will sadly never not be relvant. I think I will read the next in the series if I come across it. Anyway, I need to review my books as I read them.

Read: 6/6/2019 to 7/6/2019
Reviewed: 26/06/2019 - 16/03/2020
Narrator/s: Charlotte Ritchie and Josh Dylan
Medium: Audiobook
Published Date: 18th June 2019
Publisher: Listening Library
Source: Library
Content Warning for Book: I'm not sure, but memory says: Sexism; Sexual Assualt referenced; Child Abuse;

Book Review: Only Ever Yours by Louise O'Neill

You should read this book.

freida and isabel have been best friends their whole lives. Now, aged sixteen and in their final year at the School, they expect to be selected as companions – wives to wealthy and powerful men.

The alternative – life as a concubine – is too horrible to contemplate.

But as the intensity of the final year takes hold, the pressure to be perfect mounts. isabel starts to self-destruct, putting her beauty – her only asset – in peril.

And then into this sealed female environment, the boys arrive, eager to choose a bride.

freida must fight for her future – even if it means betraying the only friend, the only love, she has ever known . . .

This book made me slam my laptop scene shut in frustration. I felt so uncomfortable, but uncomfortable in a good way which is why it has took me so long to do this review. I started reading this book before it came out. I had to stop for a while.

This is a dystopia with no happy ending. Is that spoiler? I don't know. Reading this book it becomes clear that there is not going to be some big rebellion that the main character starts or becomes part of. This is a sad, clever book that reflects today's society with it being escalated.

The girls are completely dehumanised, especially with their names not being treated as proper nouns. This book was so hard to read because the problems in the book are just extremes we have now, in modern society and it scary because it possible that it could get this extreme, it has been this extreme. In Victorian times women were basically property and reliant on getting a good husband that could just abandoned her. And there whole thing that for some men this book's world would be a Utopia. Not completely possibly setup, lies are clearly happened about reproducing, but how this world got here isn't the real point of this book (though there is some interesting conspiracies going on).

 O'Neill has mirrored today's problems of body imagine, reality TV and girls being raised against each other into this terrifying dystopia. Also I like how O'Neil has used the only roles that women are often focused into the media and society. The mother/wife, the whore and the sexless which are in the books the teachers which is a rare option in this world. She also touches well on race with ideas of beauty and homosexuality.

 In the end, it's sad but it about these two girls relationship with each other, which is done so well and believable. In this hopeless situation, these characters carry you through. All the characters were done so well. The title of this book is really good and meaningful.

Overall, I gave this book 5 out of five stars for tunnel down below. This book made me uncomfortable, it forced me to think. I was already aware these problems, but it made me really confront the consequences of these issues within this society. This is a strong YA book and nice to see one so cleaver and well thought out.

On a side note, this book has been Nominated for the Waterstones's Children's book prize 2015 which is actually quite strong in the teenager category this year -often is- with another favourite of mine of last year Smart being in it. These are my two favourites, (yes I'm basically saying you should go to a Waterstones store and buy these on 1 and half deal), though I'm planning read the ones I haven't read yet and do some sort of joint review.

I got this book off Netgalley for Review. It was published by Quercus Children's on the 3rd July 2014.