Book Review: Teardrop by Lauren Kate

 

**I received this book from Around the World ARC Tours for review**

Synopsis (from Goodreads):  Never, ever cry. . . . Eureka Boudreaux's mother drilled that rule into her daughter years ago. But now her mother is gone, and everywhere Eureka goes he is there: Ander, the tall, pale blond boy who seems to know things he shouldn't, who tells Eureka she is in grave danger, who comes closer to making her cry than anyone has before.

But Ander doesn't know Eureka's darkest secret: ever since her mother drowned in a freak accident, Eureka wishes she were dead, too. She has little left that she cares about, just her oldest friend, Brooks, and a strange inheritance—a locket, a letter, a mysterious stone, and an ancient book no one understands. The book contains a haunting tale about a girl who got her heart broken and cried an entire continent into the sea. Eureka is about to discover that the ancient tale is more than a story, that Ander might be telling the truth . . . and that her life has far darker undercurrents than she ever imagined. From Lauren Kate comes an epic saga of heart-stopping romance, devastating secrets, and dark magic . . . a world where everything you love can be washed away.

My Thoughts:  I have never read anything by Lauren Kate (even though I own the whole Fallen series) so I wasn't sure what to expect with this book.  I thought the book started out a little slow but it did pick up and kept my interest the rest of the time.

Eureka's mother was killed by a rogue wave, leaving Eureka to live with her dad and step-mom.  Eureka is dealing with survivor's guilt and has quite a difficult time with her mom's death.  She has alienated herself from everyone at school except her two best friends, Brooks and Cat.  She quit the cross-country team and is now forced to see a psychiatrist that her step-mom has picked out for her.  

Eureka meets Ander when he rear-ends her at stop sign.  Eureka has never seen Ander before but he tells her he is on the rival school's cross country team.  It doesn't take Eureka long to find out that Ander is not being completely honest with her.  Ander shows up unexpectedly most of the time and isn't able to be found the other times.  

While at the reading of her mother's will, Eureka is given three very interesting objects.  She is given a locket her mother always wore but that didn't open, a box with a rock called a "Thunderstone" wrapped in gauze in it and a book written in a strange language.  She takes the book to a pyschic who is the only person who can translate the book.  The psychic gives Eureka some information and warns her to not tell anyone about the book.  When something tragic happens to the psychic and her best friend, Brooks, starts behaving strangely, Eureka feels more alone than ever.   

I felt for Eureka because I cannot imagine losing my mom the way she did.   I cannot imagine not being able to cry and I can't imagine the will power one must have to keep from crying at a funeral or when feeling so alone.  There were a couple of times when I thought Eureka was a little...dumb or naive but I liked her character for the most part.  

Brooks was a very interesting character.  I wasn't sure what was going on with him at first but did figure it out before the end of the book.  There isn't a lot I can say about him without giving a lot away so I will just say he was a very interesting character and definitely has me wondering what will happen in the following books.

I did not like Eureka's dad at all.  I thought he was weak and I hated how he wouldn't really stand up for her with his new wife.  He just seemed to be in a rut of work and sleep until the end of the book.  I thought the step-mom was rather mean and lacked some serious understanding.  I didn't like her at all either.  

I enjoyed this book and the story of Atlantis.  It was a pretty quick read for me and I look forward to reading the other books in this series.