Pure by Julianna Baggot

Description: 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...


Epic Wins:

• The world- Post-detination, the setting is scary. A bomb that somehow caused things to fuse together. People fused to people, animals fused to people, and even people fused to people. There are unimaginable horrors in this world making it an intense setting, perfect for a story. 
• Pressia- Describing Pressia is hard. She's grown up in a world, in a time where everything is different. She's smart, quick on her feet, and strong. She owns who she is. 
• Partridge- Sheltered, brave, and clueless (to Pressia and Bradwell's world anyway). His story is about opening your eyes and a taking a chance even though it might be dangerous.
• Bradwell- Knowledgeable, fierce, and opinionated. He isn't afraid to speak his mind. 
• Fusing- This was odd to me at first but as I read it became clear just how utterly weird it was. Yes weird but slightly awesome. A bomb that caused object/people/animals to fuse together in such a way that they became a part of one another. Genius, but weird.  
• Pures VS Wretches- This society (or should I say these societies) is in a unique position. One is protected beneath the dome while the other fights for survival in a desolate land but both have issues with in there society and are stuck on the same planet. 
• Message 1: Our scars are our trophies. They scream "I SURVIVED" (not to be confused with "I WILL SURVIVE!") In a way they are like those t-shirts you get at Disneyland that say "I survived (insert ride name)". 
• Message 2: Sometimes out assumptions about life, the world, or people can be DEAD wrong. Question everything. 
• Message 3: Memories are our most prized possessions, spend them well. 

Overall: A painfully real look into one of many possible futures. This book offers courageous characters, a desolate world, and a slight hope for the future. 

just sayin, 
-Kare