Review:Pure-Juilanna Baggott

Title: Pure

Author: Julianna Baggott
Series: Pure Book 1
Release Date: Febuary 2012

Publisher: Grand Central

Genre: Young Adult

Rating: 5 Hoots

Reviewer: Frishawn

We know you are here, our brothers and sisters . . .

Pressia barely remembers the Detonations or much about life during the Before. In her sleeping cabinet behind the rubble of an old barbershop where she lives with her grandfather, 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. And now, at an age when everyone is required to turn themselves over to the militia to either be trained as a soldier or, if they are too damaged and weak, to be used as live targets, Pressia can no longer pretend to be small. Pressia is on the run.Burn a Pure and Breathe the Ash . . .

There are those who escaped the apocalypse unmarked. Pures. They are tucked safely inside the Dome that protects their healthy, superior bodies. Yet Partridge, whose father is one of the most influential men in the Dome, feels isolated and lonely. Different. He thinks about loss-maybe just because his family is broken; his father is emotionally distant; his brother killed himself; and his mother never made it inside their shelter. Or maybe it's his claustrophobia: his feeling that this Dome has become a swaddling of intensely rigid order. So when a slipped phrase suggests his mother might still be alive, Partridge risks his life to leave the Dome to find her.
When Pressia meets Partridge, their worlds shatter all over again. (Goodreads)


Review:
This book is so much more than it appears. Yes, it is dystopian and there is the usual "us versus them, survival of the fittest, kill or be killed" thing going on that is so common with books of this genre. However, with this book, there is so much more. There are characters like Pressia, Partridge, Bradwell, and El Capitan, who though young and often ill-equipped to deal with the seemingly endless hurdles thrown at them, still manage to hold on to hope, love and compassion.


So much if this book is a puzzle that you, as the reader, get to solve along with the characters in the story. Just when you think that you have things all figured out; you realize that a key component in the scenario has changed and you and the character are back at square one. There are no truly good or purely evil people in this tale. As a result, there is never a wrong or right side to be on as a reader.


This book is Christmas and the gifts just keep coming. If the thought of a provoking plot, well written and emotionally complex characters don't do it for you; the amazingly detailed scenery and supporting cast will blow you away. Julianna Baggot makes the desolation of the world that she has created leap from the page. Whether it's the pristine sterility of the Dome, the warped Desperate Housewives-esque Meltlands, or anywhere in between, you will live each moment as if it is your own. This is a wonderful story of life, love, and the inherent thirst for freedom that lives within us all.