Dark Eden by Patrick Carman

Title:  Dark Eden 

Author:  Patrick Carman

Genre:  Young Adult

Publisher:  HarperCollins

Format:  Kindle

Release Date:  November 2011

Will Besting suffers from phobia, a phobia so crippling that his parents and doctor feel they must send him away to be cured.  So Will joins six other teenagers in the mysterious Fort Eden where they will all face their fears, led by the mysterious Rainsford. Facing their fears will embolden the teens in ways they never imagined, but what will it cost them?

Patrick Carman deftly weaves an interesting tale, combining current social issues with a subject usually found in paranormal stories. There is no lack of intrigue in this story, it keeps you constantly guessing at the motivations of all the characters; you never know who can be trusted. Dark Eden also shows a side of phobias that is not always explored—the fact that those phobias can strike even the young. Carman keeps the reader guessing right up until the end, pushing the reader to solve the mystery themselves.

While I found Dark Eden to be an interesting read, it was not an appealing story to me. I am sure this is in no way a reflection on Carman, but rather on my particular tastes.  I also figured out a couple of things early on, leaving no mystery for me to solve.  That kind of took the excitement out of the ending for me. While Dark Eden is a good book, it just wasn’t the book for me.