Hardcover: 448 pages
Publisher: Grand Central Publishing (February 8, 2012)
Language: English
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.
My Thoughts...
To say that this book didn't creep me out would be a lie, but while yes it was, it was still pretty great. On one side of life you have Pressia who is a wretch she lives outside the dome and has a doll head fused to her hand. On the other side you have Partridge who does live in the dome, is getting an education and has access to medicine and comforts the wretches can only dream of. When Partridge decides to escape the dome in search of his mother he has no clue how this will effect the lives of many. From the girl who was the last person to see him before the escape to Pressia herself. When these two meet it starts them on a journey that will forever change them.
Now lets take a second and look at our characters. Pressia is a survivor, she wants to take care of her grandfather and survive. After meeting Partridge things become more complicated she is thrust into situations she doesn't understand but still manages to survive. Partridge can barley remember life outside the dome, before the detonations, but is willing to brave the unknown to find the truth about his mother. I loved both these characters they really came to life for me.
The world we enter in this book is creepy with all the fusions, and mutations, but they added a realness to the setting and story. I can't wait to see where we will go next with this story, but I can't wait to be creeped out and enthralled all at the same time. I give this one 4 stars and a huge recommendation to all dystopain fans.
