by Julianna Baggott
Release Date: February 8, 2012
Pages: 448
Source: Netgalley
Format: e-book
★★★★★
Goodreads Synopsis:
Pressia barely remembers the Detonations or much about life during the Before. In her sleeping cabinet, she thinks about what is lost--how the world went from amusement parks, movie theaters, birthday parties, fathers and mothers . . . to ash and dust, scars, permanent burns, and fused, damaged bodies.
My Review:
Wow…….that was not
what I was expecting. And that’s not a bad thing.
Pure is dark. Its raw and dangerous and twisted. This
has got to the one of the darkest dystopians I’ve ever read. Most other
dystopian books at least have a bit of fluff, but not Pure. Its nothing but
death, destruction and carnage and I loved
it. Though I warn you now, if you can’t handle that stuff, do not read it. You have been warned.
Pure takes place
after a bomb, also called the Detonation, is set off in America. This harmed
everyone in some way, except for those that made it to the Dome before the
Detonations. This book takes place between two main POVs. There is that of
Pressia who was outside the Dome, and Partridge who was inside the dome.
Those outside the dome are called wretches, someone who was
fused with something because of the detonations. Yes, you read right: fused. These detonations, if they didn’t
kill you, caused you to fuse with whatever you were touching at the time,
whether it be an animal or a toy or even a stone. It was absolute destruction.
There were even those that fused with the earth, called Dusts. However, those
that were inside the Dome came away unscathed.
What I really
enjoyed about this book was the fact that it really digs into human nature.
This book is a story of survival and what people are willing to do in order to
live. Each character reacted to the Detonations differently. You have Pressia
who is resigned to what happens and tries to see the beauty even in the
destruction. Although she lost so much, she doesn’t become a savage. She does
whatever it takes to take care of her grandpa. Then there is Bradwell who is a
conspiracy theorist who believes that it is easier to survive when alone.
However, he is incredibly intelligent, strong, tough and may just prove to be
right. You have Partridge who was fed lies in the dome. Who loves his mother so
much that he decides to do anything he can to find his mother who didn’t make
it to the dome. El Capitan who has to carry the weight of this brother. Who is
resigned and goes with the group that seems to be winning.
Each
of these characters reacts in their own way. This book really takes “survival
to the fittest” to a whole new level. Its shows such a stark reality that
really makes you think. We’d all like to think that we’d still be ourselves if
such a thing happened but would we? Morals and values tend to disappear when
your fighting for you life. People are willing to do whatever it takes to
survive. Only the strong remain.
However, it
wasn’t only the characters that were interesting, but the story itself. I can’t
say to much without giving stuff away but I will say that there are parts that
will shock you and there are twists. It also shows that people can be plain awful. Actually that doesn’t even do the
villain justice. He’s crazy, sick, twisted,
desperate…I just had a hard time believing someone could do that.
However, although I loved this book, there were a few things
that bugged me.
1. where exactly did the bomb go off? I’m assuming somewhere
in the middle of the US because if they were at the center, it would have
disintegrated them. However, since they still lived but were still fused, I
assume they were on the edge of the bombs radius.
2. Pressia, actually all of them, are rather smart for having
hardly any education. The detonations happened when they were all in
elementary.
3. What about the other countries? I assume they know what happened but have they sent no help? Is there any communication? Or are they part of it? I'd just like to know a bit about how the rest of the world, specifically our allies, reacted.
4. a few other inconsitancies but nothing drastic (and at this
moment I can’t think of any specifics so they must not have bothered me to
much!)
However, although there are some things that bugged me, the rawness and starkness completely blew my mind making me forget about these small things.
I'm a little more than halfway through this one, so I didn't read your review yet. But I will keep it marked as unread in my google reader so that once I'm done I can come back and read it! ;)
ReplyDeleteYay! I really hope you enjoy it. I actually ended up loving it (and I just realized I forgot to put up rating stars!). Its definitely one of the darkest post-apoc/dystopians I've ever read and I loved it! I can't wait to see your review of it!
DeleteI finished and my review is up so now I'm able to read your review! Our reviews are a lot alike! We mention some of the same aspects and themes. Great minds thinking alike, right? ;)
DeleteI really enjoyed the book but I did have a few issues with it as well. As far as the things that bugged you:
1. I'm not sure where it went off, that really wasn't explained, was it?
2. I didn't even think about that! She really was rather intelligent, wasn't she? I guess her grandfather taught her? Bradwell was the the one who was iffy for me - I wasn't sure how he happened to know a lot of the things he knew. It was a bit too convenient at times.
3. I think they mentioned the lack of communication with other countries near the end. Maybe we'll see more of that in the next book?
Great review! ;)
Sorry for the late reply!! yes! great minds sure do :D
DeleteI loved your review!! It was really in depth and I noticed a few things that I didn't mention in mine! Although I had some issues with this book, I really loved the darkness and bluntness of it all. It definitely overpowered my questions. Hm...perhaps your right in the fact that the sequel will explain more. You can't expect everything to be explained in the first :D lol
Thanks for stoppin by!