Dark Eden by Patrick Carman {Review}

Publisher: HarperCollins Children's Books

Publish Date: November 1, 2011

Source: Library

Fifteen-year-old Will Besting is sent by his doctor to Fort Eden, an institution meant to help patients suffering from crippling phobias. Once there, Will and six other teenagers take turns in mysterious fear chambers and confront their worst nightmares -- with the help of the group facilitator, Rainsford, an enigmatic guide. When the patients emerge from the chamber, they feel emboldened by the previous night's experiences. But each person soon discovers strange, unexplained aches and pains...What is really happening to the seven teens trapped in this dark Eden?

Dark Eden was quite the ride. I was constantly on the edge of my seat and I couldn’t flip the pages fast enough.

But.

Yes, but. Something about the story and the writing was just off. Sometimes it was as if Will made the perfect assumption about whatever was going on. Instead of cycling through different possibilities to a scenario, he jumped to the correct conclusion automatically. It was just too perfect and always had me feeling a little off balance – like something jump out from behind the curtains at me.

That aside, I really did enjoy Dark Eden. It was definitely creepy. It was completely unique and I definitely didn’t see that end coming. Although, come to think of it, it’s very rare that I ever see an end coming…

I really enjoyed the creepy setting of the old, rusted fort in the middle of the woods. It set the perfect atmosphere for the story.

One other minor annoyance: Will and Marisa. Their relationship was odd and sprouted out of nowhere. It made me feel slightly uncomfortable.

The Nutshell: Despite my complaints, Dark Eden is a solid read overall. The setting is perfectly creepy and there’s a good chance you can identify with one of the fears. Chances are you enjoy a good scary book that gets your heart racing every once in a while if you’re even considering reading Dark Eden and it most definitely achieves that. Though the writing felt a bit awkward at times, this is certainly worth the read (taking into account that last statement) and I really look forward to the rest of the series.

Pages: 336

Series: Dark Eden #1

Rating: 3.5 stars