The Murder of Adam and Eve

In this uneven tale, two modern teens are selected by aliens to travel back in time to prehistoric Africa, in order to protect the ancestors of the human race—the genetic Adam and Eve—from premature extinction. Picked seemingly at random, 16-year-old Nick Brynner and Eleanor Terrell must decide whether mankind is worthy of its existence, or if the powerful Xu should alter history to give a different species the chance to take its place. As they journey across the Africa of 50,000 BCE in what’s essentially a needle-in-a-haystack mission, they struggle to survive while engaging in lengthy debates about humanity’s good and bad moments, and its ultimate impact on the Earth. Dietrich (the Ethan Gage series) eschews subtlety in this environmentally minded tale, which contains poetic passages about the pristine beauty of the untouched, savage savannah, while condemning humans for our modern excesses and behavior. The plot’s potential is lost in a sea of logistical oversights, mild racism (the teens decide to call the first African caveman they meet “Boy”), and a gotcha ending. Ages 12–up. (BookLife)