Eva

by Peter Dickinson

Eva used to be a normal 13 year old girl.  The key words being 'used to.'  After a car accident leaves her close to dead, a groundbreaking surgery is preformed, transferring the essence of what is 'Eva,' into the body of a 5 year old chimpanzee named Kelly.  As Eva learns to use and understand her new body, to meld being a chimpanzee in body but a girl in mind, she grapples with issues far beyond what anyone expected when the surgery was suggested.  In a world where there are few animals left in their natural habitats, Eva becomes a figurehead for a conservationist movement.  And becomes the biggest hope for the future of her species, both human and chimpanzee. 


Eva is a powerful book about the potential consequences of human actions, especially when we think science and modernization can cure all evils.  The book provokes some intense discussion and thoughts on what a life is really worth, and whether a human life is really worth more than an animals.  It issues a warning about overpopulation and the effects it can and may have on the earth and all it's other inhabitants.  Above all though, it is a book about how one girl was ultimately stronger than anyone else and was able to protect her new species from eventual destruction.  The book can be a bit unsettling, but is ultimately worth the read as it presents its concepts and storyline incredibly well.

Genre: Dystopian Fiction
Grade Level: 7th Grade