Book Review: Once by Anna Carey

For the first time since she escaped from her school many months ago, Eve can sleep soundly. She's living in Califia, a haven for women, protected from the terrifying fate that awaits orphaned girls in The New America.
But her safety came at a price: She was forced to abandon Caleb, the boy she loves, wounded and alone at the city gates. When Eve gets word that Caleb is in trouble, she sets out into the wild again to rescue him, only to be captured and brought to the City of Sand, the capital of The New America.
Trapped inside the City walls, Eve uncovers a shocking secret about her past—and is forced to confront the harsh reality of her future. When she discovers Caleb is alive, Eve attempts to flee her prison so they can be together—but the consequences could be deadly. She must make a desperate choice to save the ones she loves . . . or risk losing Caleb forever. (Description from amazon.com).

Once is the sequel to Eve by Anna Carey.  I read Eve in July of 2011 and must admit that I did not remember the story at all. One of the problems of reading a lot of YA dystopian literature is that they all blend together a little bit.  Anna Carey did a great job of reminding the reader of Eve's journey to Califia,  the King who is waiting for her in the City of Sand and most importantly of Caleb, the boy she loves. 

I love Anna Carey's writing style and I love the world that she built. The story takes place in the not so distant future, so things that we are surrounded by are still around, just a little decrepit, as evidenced by her description of the City of Sand (Las Vegas) Although I have never been to Las Vegas,  I have seen enough pictures and I think she did a great job describing how it would be after a major human disaster. 

Character-wise, Eve continued to be a strong heroine, one that has to make difficult decisions to protect the ones she loves.  She is definitely a risk-taker. There are some returning characters from Book One and there are a lot of new ones. The two that stood out in my mind are Harper and Beatrice.

Plot-wise, she includes enough twists and turns to make you want to continue to flip the pages.  I figured some of the plot twists early on, but there was one character who ended up surprising me in the end.  Did not expect that!  Of course, the book ended with a cliffhanger. Can't wait for #3 which I found out is called Rise and will be published in the spring of 2013.