GoodRead - Fuse

Over the break for New Year (where I had no internet or 3G as I was in the MIDDLE OF NOWHERE!), I read Pure by Julianna Baggott and, while enjoying it, got quite creeped out with it (I still think it's one of the most scary post-apocalyptic novels I have read. Ever!). When I was sent this, the lovely Ben from Headline sent me an ARC of the sequel, Fuse. And, after some time recovering from Pure, I started to read it, though at arm's length (as I feared that if I read it close to my face, a Groupie or one of the Mothers would come out and try to kill me!)

With the world divided into those in the Dome - the Pure - and those outside the Dome when the bombs went off - the wretches, things are dark and morbid. When Partridge - a Pure - escaped from the Dome and met Pressia, a wretch, their worlds get turned upside down and he end is no where in sight. 

And now, the Dome wants Partridge back. At whatever cost. Snatching children wretches and making them "Pure", even though the enhancements are no way suitable for children so young, and all they can say is one message: "We want our son back. This girl is proof hat we can save you all. If you ignore our plea, we will kill our hostages one at a time." To save lives, Partridge has to go back into the Dome and into the clutches of the Dome's ruler, his father. 

Meanwhile, Pressia, Bradwell and El Capitan must decode secrets that could set the wrecthes free from the fusing safely. 

But how far will those fighting Willux go to stop him? Over land? Over sea? Over body? Or mind? 

Now, I'm going to admit this here and now: I am very much torn over this book. I do like it and yet, at the same time, I have issues with it. Well, one issue, mainly. 

Let's start with the pros. The writing is wonderful. It's Julianna's writing that kept me going. It's so lyrical. It just works. And for character development. The characters - all the characters - change so slowly and carefully that, by the time you get to the end of the book, you are surprised that the characters changed so much. You don't see the changes in an instant. The changes are subtle. 

The plot and the ideas Julianna put forward are quite scary. I said earlier in the review and in my review for Pure that this series is one of the scariest post-apocalyptic series I have come across. And, while this book didn't have me as scared as Pure (because I had no idea what Pure was about), Fuse sets up ideas which are frightening and set me on edge while reading as these ideas seem possible. The whole world that Julianna writes is very much in the realm of possible and that's why I see these books as dark and scary. 

Cons. *sighs* I have one huge con and one little con. Let's start some. This book is DARK. And morbid. There will be times where, if you're not in the right frame of mind, where you will go "Why am I reading this?!" You have to be in the right frame of mind. If not, this book/series is going to be a struggle for you. 

My second con is length. Yes, I know that I said the character development is subtle and that is due to the book's length, but there were times over the two week course I read this where I honestly thought "Is this chapter REALLY important to the point?". I honestly thought a good 50 or so pages could have been cut out. I found it hard to keep my bounce on reading this when I would look at what I had left and think "I'm never going to finish this."

But finish this I have. And I still don't know how I feel about this. I think this book will be one of those books I will be thinking about for a while so my instant reaction might be clouded. But I do know I want the third and final book in the trilogy (it's been announced that it will be called Burn) and I am getting excited over movie news to this series. But I'm still on the fence with this at time of writing this. 

GoodRead - Pure

When Ben from Headline (hi Ben!) asked if I had heard of Pure and its sequel (out on Valentine's Day, FYI)  by Julianna Baggott, I was honest: no, I hadn't. When he asked if I wanted to read both of them, I said yes with no real idea of what the books were about (probably a wise decision) but when I agreed, I did very little information hunting and discovered the following:

1. This book has received a lot of praise
2. This book was described as dystopian/post-apocalyptic read
3. It had the line "If you liked The Hunger Games, you'll love Pure" (A statement I dislike - but we'll talk about why on a later date, shall we?)
4. When I got the ARCs of both books, my other half called it "The Naked Book" as there was NOTHING on the cover. It was a blank white cover.

After the dropping of the Detonations, the world is split into two groups of people: the Pures and the Wretches. The Pures, who live inside the Dome, safe from the effects of the Detonations. And the Wretches, who felt the effects of the Dentonations and were fused into whatever was closest to them; wherever that was a doll, birds, a handheld fans, the pavement, other people (friends, strangers, your children), the list goes on...

Pressia lives outside the Dome, a Wretch with a doll head instead of a hand, trying to survive. Partridge, a Pure inside the Dome, knows he's not as perfect as the other Pures. And when Partridge's father says something about his mother, Partridge and Pressia's lives are thrown together in a way that no one, not even they, could imagine.

I am going to state this now and will say it again at the end of the review: Pure is the most frightening post-apocalyptic read I have read in a very long time, if not EVER!

I feel I should explain this statement. In most, if not all the dystopian novels I read, I want there to be a grain of truth. A feeling that what the book is suggesting COULD happen if we're not careful. This is why, I think, The Hunger Games trilogy, the Matched trilogy, Divergent, Chaos Walking, Under the Never Sky trilogy and the Delirium trilogy have hit a nerve with us readers. It could happen if we're not careful. But Pure is the most frightening as we're almost there. It's not years in the future, but it's frighteningly close to us. The idea that the atom bomb having side effects (and yet, how many countries have their own nuclear weapons?) is terrifying so the ideas the author put forward aren't as implausible as you first think...

This book is very dark, very morbid and violent (though Julianna never glamorised the violence. She merely states it). This is not a book for the faint-hearted. You can't go into this, thinking it's a light read. If you do, I give you a matter of two or three pages before you realise your mistake.

The writing caught me up and, while there were times I wondered why I was reading this as it was so dark, I kept me turning pages, desperate for more.

There are faults (don't I always?). I might be alone with this but it took a while to connect to the characters. I did by the end of the book (hence me going "WHERE DID I PUT THE SEQUEL?!") but for a while, I didn't connect with the leads. But I think the author did this on purpose. This isn't a book you can jump straight into. You have to invest in this book.

The second thing is that this book is SO morbid. It is very morbid and dark. This will turn some of you guys off, I know this hence why I am telling you. At times, I was wondering why I was reading this dark, when the tiny moments of happiness and joy last mere pages. But again, I think the author did this on purpose. In a world that she is writing, a world that is so harsh and cruel, when you discover a tiny moment of beauty, you cling to it with everything you have because you don't know if you're going to have another moment like this...

As I have said earlier, this book is the most frightening post-apocalyptic novel I think I have ever read (and the fact that the film rights to Pure have been bought and will produced by one of the lead producers of the Twilight Saga just boggles my brain as to HOW they are going to bring it to the big screen). I do have EVERY intention to read the sequel, Fuse, but am scared to at the same time... Wish me luck!