DOUBLE REVIEW! “Pure/Fuse” by Julianna Baggott {with thanks to Headline}
Title: Pure/Fuse
Author: Julianna Baggott
Genre: YA/A – Dystopia
Release Date: June 7th 2012 / Feburary 19th 2013
Published by: Headline Publishing Group UK
“PURE”
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.
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.
“FUSE”
We want our son
returned. This girl is proof that we can save you all. If you ignore our
plea, we will kill our hostages one at a time.
returned. This girl is proof that we can save you all. If you ignore our
plea, we will kill our hostages one at a time.
To be a Pure is
to be perfect, untouched by Detonations that scarred the earth and
sheltered inside the paradise that is the Dome. But Partridge escaped to
the outside world, where Wretches struggle to survive amid smoke and
ash. Now, at the command of Partridge’s father, the Dome is unleashing
nightmare after nightmare upon the Wretches in an effort to get him
back.
to be perfect, untouched by Detonations that scarred the earth and
sheltered inside the paradise that is the Dome. But Partridge escaped to
the outside world, where Wretches struggle to survive amid smoke and
ash. Now, at the command of Partridge’s father, the Dome is unleashing
nightmare after nightmare upon the Wretches in an effort to get him
back.
At Partridge’s side is a small band of those united against
the Dome: Lyda, the warrior; Bradwell, the revolutionary; El Capitan,
the guard; and Pressia, the young woman whose mysterious past ties her
to Partridge in way she never could have imagined. Long ago a plan was
hatched that could mean the earth’s ultimate doom. Now only Partridge
and Pressia can set things right.
the Dome: Lyda, the warrior; Bradwell, the revolutionary; El Capitan,
the guard; and Pressia, the young woman whose mysterious past ties her
to Partridge in way she never could have imagined. Long ago a plan was
hatched that could mean the earth’s ultimate doom. Now only Partridge
and Pressia can set things right.
To save millions of innocent
lives, Partridge must risk his own by returning to the Dome and facing
his most terrifying challenge. And Pressia, armed only with a mysterious
Black Box, containing a set of cryptic clues, must travel to the very
ends of the earth, to a place where no map can guide her. If they
succeed, the world will be saved. But should they fail, humankind will
pay a terrible price…
lives, Partridge must risk his own by returning to the Dome and facing
his most terrifying challenge. And Pressia, armed only with a mysterious
Black Box, containing a set of cryptic clues, must travel to the very
ends of the earth, to a place where no map can guide her. If they
succeed, the world will be saved. But should they fail, humankind will
pay a terrible price…
I read Pure way back when I hadn’t been reviewing for very long, and when the lovely people at Headline sent me Fuse, I thought…why not make this a DOUBLE review?!
The UK cover says; love Hunger Games, love Pure, so I right away knew that if a book is already being compared to another brilliant series, then there’s a huge chance it’s just as amazing. And Dystopia books are right there on my shelf with my other favourites, so I knew I was going into this with knowledge that it was going to be loved, regardless.
*NO spoilers are included*
As soon as I started reading Pure, and hearing some feedback from other Bloggers alike, it seemed it was a love or hate book among them. For me, it was definitely a love book. Maybe it was the way the plot just seemed so uniquely gripping and in Dystopia–a HUGELY favourite genre of mine and has been for months now.
Darkly disturbing and with a premise so addictive, Pure had more imagination and twist than I’d read in a Dystopia world before. With a doll head for hand, Pressia; our main character, was gritty and fascinating in herself, along with her story. I love that her back-story was thoroughly explained throughout the novel so that as a reader, I could have more insight on the destructed Post-Apocalyptic world. It’s ways of telling the plot are very older YA appropriate with it’s more darker and sophisticated way of being told, though nevertheless appealing to a whole range of age groups through YA to Adult. Pure had elements that were alike Hunger Games, though they weren’t similar in any crucial ways and couldn’t really be compared to each other as the plots are completely unique and captivating in their own ways.
I thought that the multiple POV’s were perfect for the novel, in the way that it gave an overall look at the Pure world and not just from one person’s POV.
The alternative reality that Pure had was stunning, and the connection with the characters was steady and instant. Inside Presia’s head were many struggles and battles along the way, and feeling a connection with her made the story all the more attention-grabbing.
Fuse was incredible, and when I received a copy from Headline, I was just so excited to get reading the second book in the series! *NO spoilers are included in this review as well! (otherwise I’d get so carried away..)*
Darkly disturbing and with a premise so addictive, Pure had more imagination and twist than I’d read in a Dystopia world before. With a doll head for hand, Pressia; our main character, was gritty and fascinating in herself, along with her story. I love that her back-story was thoroughly explained throughout the novel so that as a reader, I could have more insight on the destructed Post-Apocalyptic world. It’s ways of telling the plot are very older YA appropriate with it’s more darker and sophisticated way of being told, though nevertheless appealing to a whole range of age groups through YA to Adult. Pure had elements that were alike Hunger Games, though they weren’t similar in any crucial ways and couldn’t really be compared to each other as the plots are completely unique and captivating in their own ways.
I thought that the multiple POV’s were perfect for the novel, in the way that it gave an overall look at the Pure world and not just from one person’s POV.
The alternative reality that Pure had was stunning, and the connection with the characters was steady and instant. Inside Presia’s head were many struggles and battles along the way, and feeling a connection with her made the story all the more attention-grabbing.
Fuse was incredible, and when I received a copy from Headline, I was just so excited to get reading the second book in the series! *NO spoilers are included in this review as well! (otherwise I’d get so carried away..)*
There are four POV’s in Fuse, and let me tell you…Fuse topped Pure almost halfway through reading. It took me a while to get to book two after reading Pure, so after reminding myself of the world I got so lost in before, Fuse was all the more inviting and alluring. The plot lingered around in my mind even after I had put it down for a while (which only happens with books I am MASSIVELY loving…).
I got caught up the protagonists from where we left of in Pure, and Pressia is still with Bradwell who she’s actually figuring out she has these feeling for, though she’s not sure about them or what they entail. She’s also found out some news about her father that’s shocking and is in a saddened state about her mother, too. Not to mention how Partridge–a pure–is linked to her in a way she never knew. All the twists and turns really make Fuse vividly UN-put-down-able. I felt sorrow for the world that is broken and the way that Julianna described it was so realistic that I could see it every time I read the pages, as if it were a pop-out book.
There is nothing like Pure, and nothing like Fuse out there. It was so intuitively perfect and truly two of the best and most amazing reads I’ve had the chance of reading. They are hugely and undeniably five-star worthy.
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Happy reading!
