∎ Read Free Pure Julianna Baggott Books

Pure Julianna Baggott Books

Download As PDF : Pure Julianna Baggott Books

Pure Julianna Baggott Books

Pure is highly original in what might be the most popular trend of novels these days - young adult dystopian. Unlike most YA dystopians, the world isn't full of pretty people who are just a bit hungry or living under the strict rule of a less-than-moral authority. Pure contains a world of mutants - the Fused - whose bodies were forever altered by the things they came into contact with during a nuclear explosion. People have scars and burns, but also limbs made of metal, gears and items stuck halfway through their bodies, mothers permanently stuck to their now-unaging children. They isn't a pretty dystopian world with just a few smears of dirt across the cheeks of supermodel actors - it's ugly and the majority of the characters are disfigured in a significant way.

There's an untouched caste, of course - the titular Pures, who were hidden away in self-contained Domes during the nuclear war. The Dome is a far more typical dystopian society, but thankfully the majority of the novel is taking place outside.

The novel isn't a quick, easy read. There's a lot of information about the world, about the history and science behind it, that is given. Maybe a little too much? I feel like it could have been edited down some - one of the characters in particular is fond of giving these long speeches about the truth behind the nuclear blast and the science and politics of it. While the other characters react in believable fashion to him (often writing him off as preachy or judgmental of anyone who doesn't think the same or know as much), I feel a similar effect could have been given while making it a little easier on the reader.

Apart from the world building, the other standout feature of Pure is the characters. We swap third person point of view between five main narrators. To my great surprise, I liked all of them. I found even the characters whose POVs appear later in the book very interesting and complex, when most authors would be resting on more cliche motivations and personalities for their 'secondary' characters. Lyda, for example, comes across as having a great internal strength, where a lesser author could have simply made her a reactive pawn, rather than someone who could earn my respect. The main male protagonist, Partridge, could be quite whiny in the early half of the book, but always had moments of strength-of-character to counter that, keeping me from writing him off. In fact, all the characters had their weak moments - not weakly written, but proper flaws and times when they gave in to the easier option of complaining or not being as proactive or brave as they could be. It made them much more realistic.

Overall, the novel could have been condensed slightly. It is that (and the large amount of history/science information given) that keeps me from giving Pure a full five stars. I highly recommend this novel. It's a truly original and confronting novel in a sea of YA dystopian novels.


Tags : Amazon.com: Pure (9781455503063): Julianna Baggott: Books,Julianna Baggott,Pure,Grand Central Publishing,1455503061,Science fiction.,AMERICAN SCIENCE FICTION AND FANTASY,Action & Adventure - General,Children's Books - Young Adult Fiction,Dystopian,FICTION Dystopian,FICTION Science Fiction Action & Adventure,FICTION Thrillers General,Fiction,Fiction-Science Fiction,GENERAL,General Adult,Science Fiction,Survival; Dystopias; Post-apocalyptic society; Good vs. evil; Revolutions,United States

Pure Julianna Baggott Books Reviews

The market is flooded at the moment with dystopians and post-apocalyptic novels, especially in the YA genre, partly due to market forces and partly due to anxieties in the society at large. These are two of my favorite sub-genres for decades but even I have been disappointed with the cookie cutter nature of some of the offerings and really hate the trend of using a dystopian or apocalyptic world as an excuse for a romance or a love triangle. Pure bucks the trend and does so in some very interesting ways.

Pressia is a survivor of a nuclear holocaust. Survivors in this world have been fused to objects that were either close to them at the time of the blasts or airborne, making for some interesting fusions of people and both live and inanimate objects. Pressia is fused to the doll she was holding, as she was a child at the time of the blasts. She is now sixteen and is dreading being taken by the police force that may or may not work for the Dome, an environment built to save people from disasters and preserve humanity.

Partridge is a privileged child of the Dome, but the safety and secrecy and rigidity of life in a society that is essentially waiting to live again grates. Partridge's mother was outside the Dome, trying to get people to the safety of the Dome is the official story, when the blast came and Partridge gets hints that his mother may in fact be alive and that his father and the other leaders of the Dome may be hiding more than Partridge ever dreamed. Thus Partridge comes to escape the Dome and meet Pressia.

The thing that sets Baggott apart in this crowded genre is first and foremost her writing and her ability to take a conceit, the fusions, that could have been either gross or silly and make it believable. Baggott's writing is both poetic and flowing, combining the best of lyrical and readable. The writing is also aimed at a level higher than the usual YA pulp prose and even though the characters are young people I would classify this as an adult novel for that reason.

Pure is the opening salvo in the ever present trilogy and Baggott takes her time setting up her world and her characters, however the novel does stand alone and the reader isn't left hanging off the side of a cliff. I love series and linked novels and serials, but I hate the current trope that leaves the reader unsatisfied at the end of a book. Linked and serial novels must both stand alone and be part of the larger arc and Pure does this.

My one criticism is character development. The writing is beautiful the world is interesting and rises above the usual genre cliches, but the characters are fairly standard. That said, I just received Fuse and believe that Baggott will deepen her characters, her story and her world in the second novel. I believe that the Pure trilogy will buck the usual trend of the first novel being the best and improve with subsequent entries. Baggott is a writer well worth reading and her entree into the post-apocalyptic genre is haunting.
Pure is highly original in what might be the most popular trend of novels these days - young adult dystopian. Unlike most YA dystopians, the world isn't full of pretty people who are just a bit hungry or living under the strict rule of a less-than-moral authority. Pure contains a world of mutants - the Fused - whose bodies were forever altered by the things they came into contact with during a nuclear explosion. People have scars and burns, but also limbs made of metal, gears and items stuck halfway through their bodies, mothers permanently stuck to their now-unaging children. They isn't a pretty dystopian world with just a few smears of dirt across the cheeks of supermodel actors - it's ugly and the majority of the characters are disfigured in a significant way.

There's an untouched caste, of course - the titular Pures, who were hidden away in self-contained Domes during the nuclear war. The Dome is a far more typical dystopian society, but thankfully the majority of the novel is taking place outside.

The novel isn't a quick, easy read. There's a lot of information about the world, about the history and science behind it, that is given. Maybe a little too much? I feel like it could have been edited down some - one of the characters in particular is fond of giving these long speeches about the truth behind the nuclear blast and the science and politics of it. While the other characters react in believable fashion to him (often writing him off as preachy or judgmental of anyone who doesn't think the same or know as much), I feel a similar effect could have been given while making it a little easier on the reader.

Apart from the world building, the other standout feature of Pure is the characters. We swap third person point of view between five main narrators. To my great surprise, I liked all of them. I found even the characters whose POVs appear later in the book very interesting and complex, when most authors would be resting on more cliche motivations and personalities for their 'secondary' characters. Lyda, for example, comes across as having a great internal strength, where a lesser author could have simply made her a reactive pawn, rather than someone who could earn my respect. The main male protagonist, Partridge, could be quite whiny in the early half of the book, but always had moments of strength-of-character to counter that, keeping me from writing him off. In fact, all the characters had their weak moments - not weakly written, but proper flaws and times when they gave in to the easier option of complaining or not being as proactive or brave as they could be. It made them much more realistic.

Overall, the novel could have been condensed slightly. It is that (and the large amount of history/science information given) that keeps me from giving Pure a full five stars. I highly recommend this novel. It's a truly original and confronting novel in a sea of YA dystopian novels.