Eve of Man

April 22, 2019
This YA collaboration by married duo Giovanna Fletcher (Some Kind of Wonderful) and Tom Fletcher (The Christmasaurus) explores what would happen if girls stopped being born for 50 years. Miracle baby Eve, 16, the only female born in over five decades, is expected to save humankind by procreating when she comes of age. Raised in a technological castle in the sky, Eve’s only companions are the “Mothers,” some of the Earth’s remaining women, and Holly, a hologramlike companion piloted by three young men, among them Bram. Eve has been promised to one of three carefully selected male suitors, but she is more interested in Bram-as-Holly. A chance meeting between them fosters attraction, and Bram—son to one of the most brilliant minds at the Extinction Prevention Organization (EPO)—breaks protocol when he falls in love with Eve. As Bram and Eve begin to question their roles, and that of the EPO, the lies they have been told fall apart. This fast-paced novel requires some suspension of disbelief (surely a society so technologically advanced would employ science, not an arranged partnership, to continue the species), but readers fond of a dystopian romance will enjoy Eve and Bram’s journey in this series starter. Ages 14–up. Agents: Stephanie Thwaites, Curtis Brown UK, and Hannah Ferguson, Hardman & Swainson.