"All These Things I've Done" by Gabrielle Zevin

354 pages

It's the year 2083. Sixteen-year-old Anya lives in New York City, which is now raked with crime and poverty. Chocolate and coffee are outlawed by the strict government, and there's a shortage of almost everything, including paper and water. Anya has a lot on her plate for a teenager: she lives with and takes care of her dying grandmother and two siblings. She's been responsible for her family since her father--a notorious crime boss--and mother died a few years ago. Things are finally starting to look up for Anya when a new cute new guy at her school seems interested in her. But then her ex is accidently poisoned by the chocolate her family manufactures and the police consider her the prime suspect. Suddenly, Anya finds her self unwillingly drawing the attention of her mafia family.

I had high expectations for this story because I love the other Gabrielle Zevin books I've read. I enjoyed this one, but not as much as her "Memoirs of a Teenage Amnesiac" and "Elsewhere." The dystopian society featured here just doesn't ring true to me. The things the government restricts seem really arbitrary, which makes it look like the author just put those laws in there to facilitate the story without making sure that they made sense. I know, I know, it's silly to nitpick these things in a science fiction novel because so many things are being speculated anyway, but I still want the speculations to be logical. Anyway, the first part of the story was too slow for me, but I did enjoy it more where it picks up in the middle. I also like how it ends, though the conclusion is a bit predictable.