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A review by ihateprozac
Pure by Julianna Baggott
5.0
Pure is genuinely the most unique, interesting young adult dystopian novels I’ve read since Neal Shusterman’s Unwind series. It’s set in a post-apocalyptic America where some of the lucky elite live in a dome, sheltered from the effects of a cataclysmic nuclear blast. For the rest of the world it’s survival of the fittest, with the “wretches” (survivors) having melted and fused with their environments at the point of impact. This results in a protagonist with a melted doll’s head for a hand, and a boy with a flock of living birds fused to his back. It’s strangely beautiful, and yet your jaw will drop open in disgust every time the author describes a new character.
I don’t want to give away much of the story, but it basically entails a boy trying to escape the Dome, and a girl trying to understand the Dome. We’re initially told that the Dome was built with good intentions, but being a dystopian young adult sci-fi story, we know that’s not really the case. The leadership have nefarious motives, and death is just a cover story for a larger operation….
The mythology in this series is nothing short of amazing. I’ve never seen anybody build a world like this, where people fuse with objects, animals, and with each other. The Dusts were terrifying, the Beasts horrifying, and the Groupies just too sad and disgusting for words. The image of El Capitan having to carry around a malformed brother who “isn’t all there” for his whole life is so upsetting. And while “the boy with the birds in his back” is a beautiful image and turn of phrase, it’s tragic to think that these creatures are stuck and that Bradwell has never actually been able to see what type of birds they are. Then there are Pressia’s mother and Ingership’s wife, who are like something straight out of American Horror Story.... *shudders*
I’m so damn glad to find a young adult dystopian series that doesn’t have a love triangle at its core. I’m tired of authors trying to inject drama using that old chestnut, leave it to brainless mush like The Vampire Diaries. Spend enough time crafting your world and mythology so that your story doesn’t need to resort to cheap tricks to add conflict.
I don’t want to go into detail on my hopes for the next novel, because I don’t want to spoil it for everyone. But there are a lot of people I’m hoping aren’t as dead as we’ve been led to believe, and I’m excited to see more of what goes on behind the scenes in the Dome. I want to learn more about Willux’ state and Pressia’s family. I want to know if Helmud is secretly incredibly intelligent and just flying under the radar, or if his one moment of heroism was a complete fluke. I also want to learn more about Freedle and other creatures who were caught in the blast, because I spent the whole novel wondering if he was alive, or simply a wind up toy….
Overall: This is the most disturbing, creative and beautiful mythology I’ve seen in a dystopian novel since I read Neal Shusterman’s Unwind series. If you’re sick of love triangles and generic “let’s overthrow the totalitarian government” storylines, give this a shot. I can’t get enough of it.
I don’t want to give away much of the story, but it basically entails a boy trying to escape the Dome, and a girl trying to understand the Dome. We’re initially told that the Dome was built with good intentions, but being a dystopian young adult sci-fi story, we know that’s not really the case. The leadership have nefarious motives, and death is just a cover story for a larger operation….
The mythology in this series is nothing short of amazing. I’ve never seen anybody build a world like this, where people fuse with objects, animals, and with each other. The Dusts were terrifying, the Beasts horrifying, and the Groupies just too sad and disgusting for words. The image of El Capitan having to carry around a malformed brother who “isn’t all there” for his whole life is so upsetting. And while “the boy with the birds in his back” is a beautiful image and turn of phrase, it’s tragic to think that these creatures are stuck and that Bradwell has never actually been able to see what type of birds they are. Then there are Pressia’s mother and Ingership’s wife, who are like something straight out of American Horror Story.... *shudders*
I’m so damn glad to find a young adult dystopian series that doesn’t have a love triangle at its core. I’m tired of authors trying to inject drama using that old chestnut, leave it to brainless mush like The Vampire Diaries. Spend enough time crafting your world and mythology so that your story doesn’t need to resort to cheap tricks to add conflict.
I don’t want to go into detail on my hopes for the next novel, because I don’t want to spoil it for everyone. But there are a lot of people I’m hoping aren’t as dead as we’ve been led to believe, and I’m excited to see more of what goes on behind the scenes in the Dome. I want to learn more about Willux’ state and Pressia’s family. I want to know if Helmud is secretly incredibly intelligent and just flying under the radar, or if his one moment of heroism was a complete fluke. I also want to learn more about Freedle and other creatures who were caught in the blast, because I spent the whole novel wondering if he was alive, or simply a wind up toy….
Overall: This is the most disturbing, creative and beautiful mythology I’ve seen in a dystopian novel since I read Neal Shusterman’s Unwind series. If you’re sick of love triangles and generic “let’s overthrow the totalitarian government” storylines, give this a shot. I can’t get enough of it.