Book Review: Teardrop

Author: Lauren Kate
Publication Date: October 22, 2013
Publisher: Delacorte Books for Young Readers
Series: Teardrop # 1

Never, ever cry...

Seventeen-year-old Eureka won't let anyone close enough to feel her pain. After her mother was killed in a freak accident, the things she used to love hold no meaning. She wants to escape, but one thing holds her back: Ander, the boy who is everywhere she goes, whose turquoise eyes are like the ocean.

And then Eureka uncovers an ancient tale of romance and heartbreak, about a girl who cried an entire continent into the sea. Suddenly her mother's death and Ander's appearance seem connected, and her life takes on dark undercurrents that don't make sense.

Can everything you love be washed away?

There were other things: Cold fear whenever she drove over even the shortest bridge. Debilitating sadness when she lay sleepless in bed. A heaviness in her bones whose source she had to trace anew each morning when her phone’s alarm sounded.

She grieved every day, all the time, with every atom of her body.

“There, now,” he whispered. “No more tears.”

This book was the first one I have ever read by Lauren Kate. I never got on the bandwagon when it came to the Fallen series; however, I have read many reviews on the books. I was intrigued and impressed with the premise of this particular story, especially when I learned that there might be an Atlantis type society involved. I love underwater fantasy stories. The book starts with Ander’s point of view, a boy from this ancient lost civilization that Eureka is somehow connected to. Readers soon learn that Eureka has just recently suffered the loss of her mother in a horrible freak accident.

Eureka was, at least at first, a strange character. I understood her being grief-stricken, but she seemed so closed and I begin to wonder how I was going to learn all that I needed to learn about her life and her back story if all her thoughts were not open to me. However, the more her life started to unfold I was able to connect with her and understand why she was the way she was. I immediately felt sympathy with her for her situation and just like Eureka, I did not care for her stepmother either.

I had so many questions about Eureka’s mother, Diana, this ancient society, the fact that Eureka wasn’t allowed to cry, and this strange boy named, Ander, that just shows up in Eureka’s life. I felt like some of my questions were left unanswered even by the end of the book. I am hoping that some of them will be answered in the second addition to this series. It was all very intriguing and interesting, but just left me wanting more and more.

Side note: I actually loved the love triangle in this book! It was one of my favorite things. Mainly because I loved both of the boys involved in Eureka’s life!

***A copy of this book was provided to me by the publishers at Delacorte Books for Young Readers in exchange for my honest review***