All These Things I’ve Done is an amazing story about 16 year old Anya, agirl who has grown up in a mob centred world. She’s been brought up to be wery of everyone and their motives. While all she wants is a safe life for her family, Anya finds that the actions of her father, will forever control her future.

Anya is the middle child of a murdered mob leader. Her older brother has never really been able to take care of the family matters after being in a horrific accident that had also killed their mother. And so since the age of 9, after father had been murdered, family issues, decisions and the complete running of the household had fallen on to Anya. It is safe to say she isn’t your average, carefree teenager.

Enter Win, a boy who not only grabs Anya’s attention but also captures her heart. Soon Anya feels as happy as she had ever felt before. Almost carefree. That ism until his father offers her an ultimatum: Leave Win, or your family may be in grave danger.

As of late I have found myself reading a lot of dystopian novels. All These Things I’ve Done, was written so uniquely. I felt as if I was reading more oh an old school mobster book and I just loved every single word of it. Zevin has created a rather bleak world for Anya. Orphaned at such a young age, Anya has never really had the opportunity to simply just think of herself.

Win is a character I would love to know more about. His father describes him as being weak, but I sense that Win may hold more power then his father would give him credit for. He is so reliable, honest and caring, and yet I feel as if he may be more willing to get his hands dirty then others give him credit for.

Anya’s family are pivotal in this story. It isn’t just her immediate family that influences her every move and action. Anya’s extended family also play a large role in her life. After her fathers death, the family business was passed onto her uncle. While this was great for Anya as she wanted to be as far away from all that drama as possible, she finds herself always being dragged into issues surrounding the business.

Gabrielle Zevin’s bleak New York in 2082 is a captivating new world. The one thing that really grabbed me was that alcohol was available to everyone, but chocolate was the contraband. A world without chocolate? It seems imaginable. But that is only the beginning. Candles, paper even emails are all so pricey and restricted. This is a world that is so very different to our own.

All These Things I’ve Done is the first book in Zevin’s new Birthright series. This book will leave you hanging for more. I strongly recommend you give it a try, you wont regret it!