review: dark eden by patrick carman

Teenager Will is paralyzed by fear. He can’t even attend school because of his phobias. His parents send him to a therapist who promises Will can be cured if he goes to Fort Eden along with six other teens. The teens don’t know each other, but Will knows everything about them because he’s copied all of their therapy sessions onto an electronic device he’s cobbled together. Immediately after arriving at Fort Eden, Will panics and runs. That’s when he discovers there’s something more than a little strange about what’s to happen at Fort Eden. Hidden inside a bomb shelter (where Will decides to set up camp) is a wall of monitors that allow Will to see the others. He’s horrified at “the cure” provided by Rainsford, who is a little creepy. Will is determined not to be cured, but he has no idea what tricks Rainsford will pull to meet his goal.

Dark Eden was such a thrill. The compelling plot kept me on edge as I raced through each chapter desperate to know Will’s fate. Making this book even creepier is that you can actually interact with it via an app available through iTunes and the Android Market as well as taking The Fear Test with a promotional DVD. (If you want to take The Fear Test on the DVD, just send me an email [mybookviews at gmail.com] with your address and I’ll get one out to you.) The one part I didn’t enjoy so much was the long exposition explaining everything about Rainsford. There are some things that just don’t need full explanations.
5/5
ARC Review
Review copy provided by the publisher, Katherine Tegen Books.