Eva

I was a bit disappointed with this one. Interesting, but not a page-turner like The Ropemaker.

I first read thsi as a teenager and it really stuck with me. I read it again fairly recently and I still found it thought-provoking and moving.

Interesting and thought provoking. I like books where speculation and ethics meet head on.

At first I thought that my reading was going to be spoiled because I knew that Eva had been placed in a chimp's body - but this story is so much more than a medical mystery story - when Eva integrates into Kelly's body, what is she, an ape or a person? More importantly, who owns her?
This is a

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fantastic story - the plot pulls you along, eager to now what happens next, but it also throws out fascinating questions about identity, responsibility, the rights of animals, and the definitions of an individual. Eva's choices are daring, but we are so close to her thoughts that she is always a sympathetic character, even when her actions forever separate her from the human race.
I'd give this to any reader interested in identity, in animal rights, in science fiction, or in an example of excellent, boundary breaking, YA literature.

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Eva is an interesting story; it approaches the tendency to sensationalize situations to the detriment of people’s lives, the tendency to destroy nature, and the tendency to be less than human when it comes to empathy. While the sociological implications of putting a young girl’s mind into a

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chimp’s body is an interesting concept, , the story tends toward being too preachy and may lose some appeal to younger readers.

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A challenging and thought provoking story. While I appreciate the merit of this novel, and the themes and ideas it presents, I really had to push myself to get the end.

Eva is the story of a teenage girl who is in a car accident and undergoes a procedure to enable her to keep living. The first part of the book concentrates on Eva awakening and adapting to her new self and is excellent. Teens will definitely identify with her feelings of separation and her

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frustration at her lack of control. They may also learn from her strong will and unfailing attitude.

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Well, that was different from Sirius. Far less of a 'wah, I can never fit, this is a tragedy' and more of a 'I am not what I was, but if I cannot learn to be happy with what I am I am nothing, and I will shape the world to make a place for me'. Not sure if that makes it the more realistic book, but

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definitely different.

The way Eva gets her chimp body and then goes to live with the chimps and saves them is a bit Great White Man, Lowly Native, though.

Themes include 'the media are quite evil', 'mankind will drift away in a TV watching distopia until we all just give up', and 'sometimes your parents just don't Get you'. Also 'you have to make the best of what you are', 'you are what your body makes you, not seperate from it', but 'you can affect the future in other ways than just passing on your genes'

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A story of a young girl, Eva, who awakens from a coma after a terrible car accident, to discover that her mind, has been transplanted into the body of a female chimpanzee. Eva’s body was so seriously damaged that the only way doctors can save her life is to do surgery and transplant her mind into

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the body of Kelly, a chimpanzee.
When Eva wakes up in the hospital bed, she can’t move and can only watch the shaper, a futuristic TV, or look out the window. She had to learn how to use the chimp’s body to move and communicate with other chimps.
Eva’s father is a research scientist of captive chimps with whom Eva was raised and grew up. Her operation and recovery were sponsored by a manufacturer of commercial products, in a way exploiting her to advertise their products.
As Eva recovers and adjusts to her new life, she begins to identify with the chimpanzees, leading her to resist her handlers, her parents and manufacturers, for greater autonomy for herself and her fellow chimps.
REVIEW
Peter Dickinson takes us to a fascinating journey of a young girl, told through the eyes of Eva, the main character. The plot is set in the future, in a world where scientists have highly advanced technology
The relationship between humanity and nature, destructive exploitation of animals, are the primary themes of the book. It raises all kinds of existential issues. Issues about animal rights, and our responsibilities to nature and the environment.
The author reveals the plot of the story slowly, focusing more on the relationships and the feelings of Eva. An unbelievable but thought-provoking book in today’s world of cloning and organ transplants. A good book to stimulate discussion of medical ethics, animal rights, euthanasia, and the influence of media.

AWARDS
Boston Globe-Horn Award for Outstanding Book, 1989
Phoenix Award in 2008
Pacific Northern Library Association for Young Reader’s Choice Award

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While it does take a degree of blind faith in the setting, as it is a bit outlandish, if you can extend that much there is a fair amount of satisfaction in this book.
The story itself is done without being too preachy on the subjects of how we play gods to the world around us and to each other

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without taking much responsibility for the results of those actions, but it does give a gentle nod to those themes.
There's also an underlying theme of how humanity is something that extends past human and at times is the last pace the trait can be found; between the lines the story is a bit harrowing when it comes to the fight Eva has to suffer in herself to pin down just what humanity really comes down to.
The ending was entirely what I wanted it to be, an ending and a beginning done tastefully; overall something I would come back to later on to read again.

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I first read this over 20 years ago and it's stuck with me ever since. It still has that same deep visceral impact. I suppose that's the mark of a great book.

I read this a long time ago and remember that it left me with a bit of a creepy feeling.

This started off kind of strange and remained different from books I have read before. It made you think about so many different things without realizing it, such as how far a parent or parents would go to keep their child around no matter what. The book, as unrealistic as it seemed, didn't end on

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a happy note or even seem to wrap up. It just left things hanging for the reader to conclude, which I thought was an excellent idea.

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Exciting sf for young people. Thought-provoking and recommended - but I can't say more for fear of spoiler.