Eden Newman must mate before her 18th birthday in six months or she'll be left outside to die in a burning world. But who will pick up her mate-option when she's cursed with white skin and a tragically low mate-rate of 15%?
In a post-apocalyptic, totalitarian, underground world where class and beauty are defined by resistance to an overheated environment, Eden's coloring brands her as a member of the lowest class, a weak and ugly Pearl. If only she can mate with a dark-skinned Coal from the ruling class, she'll be safe.
My Thoughts:
Eden lives in a post-apocalyptic world, where her light skin makes her vulnerable to sunlight and it's harmful radiation. In this world, the darker you are, the safer you are.
Eden is a blue-eyed blond, which makes her undesirable in this new world. Called "Pearls", Eden and others like her cover themselves with a coating of Midnight Luster, to hide their white skin and light hair and eyes. If they don't, they risk dying from a condition called The Heat. Not 100% sure what that is, but that's what killed Eden's mother and it sounded painful.
Eden's father is a brilliant scientist who is on the verge of a major discovery. Eden unwittingly jeopardizes his experiment and they have to live with the consequences.
I found myself losing patience with Eden at times, as she sometimes acted a little self-centered and childish. Had to keep reminding myself that she was a teenager, who grew up in a society that treated her as a second-class citizen. She actually behaved like a teenager, not the usual supergirl of YA fiction. I grew to really like Eden because of this!
Just have to mention the cover of this one, as normally I ignore covers since they have little or nothing to do with the story (how many times has the cover model had the wrong color hair? hmm?). At first, I thought the girl's face was half in shadow, but after reading the book, I realize that this is what Eden looks like both with and without the Midnight Luster coating! Brilliant! A cover that actually has something to do with the story! Even the big cat behind her makes sense! Kudos to the cover artist!
Gave this one a 4/5 as I really enjoyed the story. Had interesting characters, was well-written, and I even liked the characters who weren't all that likable and who annoyed me. Looking forward to the sequel, as I want to see what happens next for Eden and her new friends!
Review copy received from the publisher in exchange for an honest review (and a special thanks to Shellie at Layers of Thought, for spreading the book love!)
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