Book Review: All These Things I've Done

By: Gabrielle Zevin

Published by: Farrar, Straus & Giroux

Released on: September 6th, 2011

Source: ARC from publisher to review

3.5 stars- It's A Good Read

Purchase from: Macmillan| Amazon| Barnes & Noble

In 2083, chocolate and coffee are illegal, paper is hard to find, water is carefully rationed, and New York City is rife with crime and poverty. And yet, for Anya Balanchine, the sixteen-year-old daughter of the city's most notorious (and dead) crime boss, life is fairly routine. It consists of going to school, taking care of her siblings and her dying grandmother, trying to avoid falling in love with the new assistant D.A.'s son, and avoiding her loser ex-boyfriend. That is until her ex is accidently poisoned by the chocolate her family manufactures and the police think she's to blame. Suddenly, Anya finds herself thrust unwillingly into the spotlight--at school, in the news, and most importantly, within her mafia family.

This is a fun, exciting and at times thrilling read that felt like a cross between a dystopian and a contemporary book. There's a lot of things that Gabrielle intertwines into her story that captured my attention, and kept me invested in the over all story even when some things didn't quite come together for me. It's unique and refreshingly different from the normal YA books that have been released lately. I think YA fans will really enjoy it because of that.

Anya is a character I both admire and had a hard time really connecting with. Her greatest strength is her ability to do whatever it takes to protect her family, and stick to her guns when she believes in something. She's grown up in the shadow of her father, a notorious late mob boss which gives her a sense of no fear, she has to sort through her family's mob issues, make her relationship with Win work and try to stay out of trouble, which she lands in a few times. I like the way Anya was written and the way she tells her story. Her voice is really strong and unique, which made for a fast paced, exciting read, but one that I didn't connect with like I wanted to. She's a character who shows little emotion, which is understandable, but it made it hard for me to truly connect with her.

I really liked the romance in the story between Anya and Win, because they're from two totally different sides of the law. Anya hails from a family of well known mobsters and Win, the new kid is the new DA's son. Gabrielle Zevin does such a fabulous job at creating a believable romance between these two, because it's not all peachy with them. Anya's mobster ties and Win's dad cross paths one too many times, and that definitely has an effect on their relationship. Both characters have realistic strengths and weaknesses that together make their relationship work, while at the same time cast doubt into whether or not it can survive the latest proposition Win's dad offers Anya.

There's some great twists that liven up the plot and made me want to yell "GO ANYA", because just as things seem to go well for her something happens and she either has to deal with the consequences from it or figure out a way to fix the situation. There's action, romance, mob action, a ban on caffeine & chocolate (gasp who can live in a world where these things are banned), and a different approach on the true meaning of family that really make this book stand out. In terms of world building, I liked the feel of the world in which Anya lives in, but I was left wondering why there was a ban on things like caffeine and chocolate, and other things that are mentioned in the book. I wanted to know more about way there was a ban on these things vs being told there was and having to just accept it.

There's a lot of things that happen through out the story that truly make it an unique, good YA read. It's one I'd definitely recommend to YA readers 14 years & older. Don't forget to enter to win a copy of All These Things I've Done HERE.