All These Things I’ve DoneAuthor: Gabrielle ZevimPublisher: Farrar, Straus and Giroux, 2011
In 2083, chocolate and coffee are illegal, paper is hard to find, water is carefully rationed, and New York City is rife with crime and poverty. And yet, for Anya Balanchine, the sixteen-year-old daughter of the city's most notorious (and dead) crime boss, life is fairly routine. It consists of going to school, taking care of her siblings and her dying grandmother, trying to avoid falling in love with the new assistant D.A.'s son, and avoiding her loser ex-boyfriend. That is until her ex is accidently poisoned by the chocolate her family manufactures and the police think she's to blame. Suddenly, Anya finds herself thrust unwillingly into the spotlight--at school, in the news, and most importantly, within her mafia family.
My Review:
First of all, I love love LOVE the cover under the dust jacket.
Chocolate Book! Yum!
This is the story of Anya Balanchine, daughter of a Leonyd Balanchine, deceased chocolate mafia crime boss. The story is told in first person, as if were writing it down for us. For example, there are some instances where she even does an aside, or a note to self. She is writing us the story about all these things she’s done! I so love that it’s done this way.
The year is 2083 and the world is very much changed. New York is very much altered, and every important landmark is almost unrecognizable. There are many things that are prohibited and controlled, one of them is chocolate. After Anya’s father died the family business has stayed afloat thanks to her uncle. But there is unrest! And the last chocolate batch was poisoned! Anya just wants to stay as far away as possible from the family’s business, but maybe it’s time she took the reins and accept her birthright. That scene towards the end where Anya sits with her mafia family, speaking like the Godfather in her school uniform…Epic, just epic!
Suddenly it all becomes more complicated when Anya starts falling for the DA’s son! Anya is a hard core girl; she is practical, calculating and not romantic at all (sometimes coming off as cold). I guess it comes with growing up in such a hard world and under the hard circumstances of her life. But she needs to learn to love and trust more, and that is where Win comes in. Anya has these huge concrete walls around her heart, but soon with Win’s perseverance you see them crack a little as she lets him in. Win is such a sweetie! He is all sorts of fun and sexy and caring bundled up into a very sweet package. I really enjoyed seeing their relationship grow. Anya might have used every opportunity to keep love away, but her heart ultimately knows better. The ending was nice is a sort of bitter sweet way. I’ll certainly be waiting for the next chapter in Anya’s life.
Favorite Quotes:
“What? Being the daughter of a celebrated criminal doesn’t count as an extracurricular activity?”
“No,” Scarlet said. “A case could be made for poisoning your ex-boyfriend however.”
~
Win had taken off his tie and rolled up his sleeves, and I guess he must have been a bit hot from performing, because his short hair was curled into ringlets around his ears in a way I had never seen before. I don’t know why, but I found those ringlets to be ridiculously sweet and irresistible.
~
I could barely pay attention because she kept touching Win a lot. I mean, a lot. One moment, her hand was on his hand. The next, it was on his shoulder. The next, she was brushing his hair behind his ear. It was all I could do not to reach across the table and strangle her with my bare hands. I took a deep breath and coaxed myself back from the dark side.
