My review of All These Things I've Done

All These Things I've Done (Birthright #1) by Gabrielle Zevin
Release Date: March 29, 2012
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Sixteen year-old Anya becomes the head of a mafia family after her parents are both murdered by rival gangs. Although Anya is embroiled in the criminal world, she is determined to keep her brother and sister out of the mafia family, but her father’s relatives aren’t so keen to let them go. When Anya’s violent ex-boyfriend is poisoned with contaminated chocolate – chocolate that is produced illegally by Anya’s mafia family – she is arrested for attempted murder and sent to the notorious jail on Manhattan Island.

Eventually she is freed by the new D.A. in town, who believes she has been framed. But this D.A. is the father of Win, a boy at school to whom Anya feels irresistibly drawn, and her freedom comes with conditions. Win’s father wants to be mayor, and he can’t risk having his ambition jeopardized by rumors spreading that his son is seeing a member of a notorious crime family. Anya knows she risks the safety of her family by seeing Win again, but the feeling between them may be too strong to resist...

All These Things I've Done is a new take on the dystopian genre. In a world where chocolate is banned? Who wouldn't want to read about that? This is the first book in the Birthright series that you will either love or...not get along with.

Set in New York City, 2083, 16-year-old Anya is the one keeping her family together. Her parents died in a car crash. Her older brother is suffering from that accident. Her grandmother is dying. What does she do? She does the best she can to keep her family safe, but when her ex-boyfriend is poisoned by the chocolate that Anya gave him, she is an immediate suspect. A few weeks later she meets Will, a charming young boy who is genuinely interested in her, but Anya knows she can never make that feeling mutual. Win's father is the new D.A and he does not want Anya messing up his chances to be mayor by ruining his family's reputation. Can Anya take this risk?

All These Things I've Done wasn't anything like I thought it would be. The plot line was predictable, the main character was boring, and the list just goes on and on. I must say, I really liked the idea for the book when I read the blurb; the romance sounded interesting and, well, overall I just couldn't wait to get my hands on it! Sadly, the book did not live up to my expectations. 

I didn't enjoy the Gabrielle's writing style or the way she built up her characters, I probably skim read 3/4 of the book because I couldn't stand to read another word of Anya's thoughts. Okay, sure, the book wasn't entirely bad, I still found positive moments that I cherished for as long as humanly possible. One character in particular encouraged me to finish the book: Win. He was nice and, at times, funny. I thoroughly enjoyed his personality! And if you want me to be honest, I skim read the book just to find bits to read with him in it. I can't help it! The girl, Anya, drove me nuts. "No, sorry, I can't do this, I'm pure, I have to save myself!", WELL YOUR NOT DOING A GOOD JOB ARE YOU? FLIRTING WITH WIN ISN'T GOING TO HELP THAT PURENESS, IS IT?! The answer: NO.

I'm not saying you shouldn't try out this book, I'm just saying that I don't think that this book will satisfy reader's high expectations now-a-days. I'm going to read the sequel, not because I'm desperately aching to find out what happens, more along the lines of wanting to see if the series does get any better. So, give this a go and let me know!

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