Review: All These Things I've Done by Gabrielle Zevin

 

Title: All These Things I’ve Done
Author: Gabrielle Zevin
Publisher: Pan Macmillan
Publishing Date: September 6th 2011
Pages: 354
Genre: YA Mystery/Crime Thriller
Series: Birthright #1
Source: Hardcover

Goodreads Summary:
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...

Review:
I have had my eye on this one for a while. The synopsis and the title really grabbed me. I enjoyed the book very much but it wasn’t at all what I expected.

The story is centered around a 16 year old girl, Anya, who is the daughter of a mob boss in the year 2083. Things are illegal that were once an everyday item, such as chocolate and caffeine, which are treated as drugs and alcohol today. Anya’s father was a mob boss that ran an illegal chocolate distribution ring. He has recently passed which left Anya, her older brother, and younger sister with their frail grandmother. Anya’s older brother has had a brain injury in the past and it has left him incapable of running the business or taking care of the family. This has now fallen on Anya, who is not sure she wants anything to do with the business. Once the funeral has passed it seems that the play for power among the mob has begun. Anya finds herself and her family in the center of a very dangerous game. And with all of that going on, she happens to befriend the son of the new D.A.

The story is a very old story of mob bosses, crime families, and a forbidden love, but it is done in a fresh way. I love the futuristic world that the author has created for us. I had a very hard time wrapping my head around some of the details, like caffeine is illegal, I WOULD DIE!!!!! Kids going to parties to get a chocolate fix and a caffeine buzz. How bizarre. It really did blow my mind. And the entire time I was thinking, oh now this can never happen in my world.

I really enjoyed the different characters in this book. Anya was a smart girl, trying to be good in a world that works very hard to make it impossible. She tries to make the right choices, like stay away from the D.A.’s son and take care of her brother, sister, and dying grandmother. She wants a good life outside of the mob.

Win is lovable. He is from a family that lives with high expectations and is in the public eye quite often. He tries to make his own decisions and not allow who is dad is to run his life. He just happens to fall for the wrong girl. I couldn’t help but love Win, he feels so genuine and honest. Something that Anya is really not used to.

The other characters were great too. Lots of family, friends, and enemies. It was hard to know who could be trusted. The character development met my expectations and kept me involved.

The story is full of mystery, deception, thrills, murder, and romance. I can’t wait until the next installment is released.

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