Pure: Volume 1

This book sat on my shelf for ages but the second I picked it up it pretty much fused its self to me (read the book, you'll understand). Pressia was a character I found myself relating too alot and I think the depth she was given helped with this. Normally i struggle with books that seperate the narrative by character as i always lean toward one character but the desire to discover both worlds over took my quick skipping fingers. I'm gutted the second one isn't out yet - im considering reading it over!

Julianna Baggott’s "Pure" is set in a post-apocalyptic endless wasteland of a world, populated by mutants who will stop at nothing to survive. They are scarred and deformed, often fused with other humans, parts of other humans, or objects which were nearby when the Detonations occurred. In contrast, inside this vast ruin is the Dome, in which a technologically advanced, tyrannical government has established a grim dystopia. “Pure” refers to those beings unscarred and undamaged who lived in the Dome at the time of the Detonations; for those outside, they are prizes to be hunted down and killed. Pressia, almost sixteen, is running out of time. Only seven when the blasts destroyed her world, she lives with her dying grandfather and copes with her own scars and deformities while struggling to eke out an existence. She is a survivor who must make some sense out of her environment and care for her dying grandfather. If it means scavenging among the ruins for treasures, which she can then make into trinkets to sell to other survivors, that is what she will do. Partridge is a Pure, who has grown up within the Dome, indulged and unaware of the destruction in the surrounding world. A product of the propaganda forced upon its students, he has a strained relationship with his father. He questions what he is taught and finds a way to escape. His goal is to find his mother. “Pure” shows us a fascinating, disordered world in which people and objects are often one and the same. It is a story of growth and change and self-discovery, in which the young protagonists must create their own future. The first of three books in this YA series, "Pure" is distinguished by the literary quality of its writing. The descriptions are vivid and disturbing in their clarity. The story is also disturbing, although compelling, because of its topic. There are four excellent narrators in this audio book: Khristine Hvam, Joshua Swanson, Kevin T. Collins, and Casey Holloway. Using a variety of male and female voices makes the characters more distinctive and moves the plot forward very well.

Would really recommend!