Book review: Eve of Tomorrow by Michelle Lynn

“Eve of Tomorrow” is a sobering (and sometimes cruel) reminder that war can be just as devastating when fought by experienced, highly trained soldiers or a young, ragtag collection of freedom fighters.

When we first met the sister duo of Dawn and Gabby in book one “Dawn of Rebellion”, Dawn was a shy, insecure, but likable girl living under the large shadow that her popular, pretty sister casts upon her. For her part, Gabby was a mischievous, shallow, self-conceited girl that I honestly found hard to like at first.

By the end of their quest both girls have changed as much as one would expect, though, given all the trials and tribulations that they go through in their journey. Then again, after facing dangerous militias, drug cartels, having to rescue a young girl in a place called the Wastelands (from which no one is supposed to come back from), and more importantly, a weapon of mass destruction that could wipe out the world’s population if not stopped, it’d be impossible for anyone not to change.

Dawn, Gabby, Drew, Lee, Ryan, all characters major and minor, go through the inevitable growing pains and changes that inevitably come with the loss of innocence in a world that oft times is a violent, intense, painful reminder of how brutal and savage humankind can be.

What I liked about this book:

Like its two predecessors, “Eve of Tomorrow” is a fast-paced, action-ride written in short chapters that keep the story rolling along seamlessly, despite being told from different characters’ points of view and sometimes, at very different places as well.

Expecting the death of some characters in the conclusion of a brutal conflict was inevitable. Like her protagonists’ progression from innocent, unsuspecting teens to full-grown women and battle-hardened rebellion fighters, author Michelle Lynn manages to do an excellent job at depicting some of these tragic moments, some of them in the first person, which makes them even more gut-wrenching, but one of my favorite moments in the book, no doubt.

The mission to rescue a girl called Emily from the deadly Wastelands had a rather surprising twist that was also one of my favorite passages in “Eve of Tomorrow”.

What I didn’t like about this book:

I wish this would’ve been a longer series. I realize this is praise for Michelle Lynn’s brilliant work more than an actual complaint, but I really would have liked to get a larger glimpse at the characters, the situations and the dystopian, dangerous world that she created in this trilogy.

Conclusion:

I said it before and I’ll say it again: Although this is supposed to be the final act in a dystopian YA trilogy set in the not so distant future, like its two predecessors, the book is hard to categorize as such. In my humble opinion, a great tale of friendship, love, survival and hope starring younger characters thrown into some seriously dangerous and dramatic situations would be a more fitting description for Michelle Lynn’s outstanding trilogy.