Positively Pure Genius

Pure by Julianna Baggott

* Book will be released February 8, 2012
* ARC read via Around The World ARC Tours

5 out of 5 gnomes

I love this book because it just puts you through the ringer while reading it.  I swear your feelings will be all over the place as you read.

Full of darkness, heart, love, betrayal, and lots of crazy twists.

This is a book where different Points of View are used to very great effect.  Having these multiple characters gives you a more well rounded look at this world where nothing is as black and white as it seems.  Having these peeks into other characters gives them more depth and makes you root for everyone in the story to find the right answers and path that they're looking for.  It just goes to show you that every character can be important and just because they see the world differently doesn't mean that they can't change.

The world building in this book is just done so well.  You have the Dome on one side and the wretches on the other who don't exactly live a cushy life.  After the detonations you had those who were inside the Dome safe and sound and those left on the outside.  There are a myriad of scary situations to contemplate throughout the story.  The people and pretty much everything else in the outside world changed at a molecular level. 

The main character Pressia has a doll's head for a hand because it fused over her original hand, her differences are minimal compared to others in this world.  While reading I wondered what I would have fused with and thought I'd probably be fused with a book of some kind.  It's common to have metal, glass, etc fused to you if you're lucky.  Some though aren't lucky at all like her grandfather who has a fan fused in his neck and others who have fused with animals or other people.  Then there are the extreme cases of people that fused with the earth itself and loose their humanity in the process, these are called Dusts and they enjoy eating other people.

Pressia is a complex character because at first she seems content with how her life will turn out.  You can see sparks of rebellion in her though, especially through the small mechanical creatures she makes out of bits and pieces that she finds, like a butterfly that actually flaps its wings.  Through the people she meets and the things that she shes, Pressia starts to realize that the world is more complex than she ever imagined.

Partridge, a Pure from the Dome, has a mission that can only be done if he goes into the outside world.  His naive views almost get him killed a lot at first but he slowly grows into the type of character that you can care for and want to succeed. 

Mothers and parents are a running theme in the story with almost everyone searching for or looking for answers from a parent.  You'll also meet a group of mothers, let's just say that they're a group that you'll never forget.

Most of the character's goals are just to live through this whole ordeal and perhaps change the world for the better.  It seems that everyone is looking for answers or hiding a secret, this makes for quite an intriguing read.

The last chapters in this book are crazy intense.  You'd have thought you know how it's going to end but you'd probably be wrong.  There are more deaths than I thought possible and some extremely surprising relationships that are revealed and formed.  This is a definite must read for 2012 and a reread for every year beyond that.