In a post-apocalyptic world after The Detonations, survivors outside the Dome are known as 'wretches', their bodies fused with objects, animals, or other humans. The story follows characters like Pressia, who has a doll's head fused to her arm, and Partridge, a Pure raised inside the Dome. As they navigate this dark and brutal world, they form an unlikely alliance and uncover secrets that challenge everything they believe. The writing style of 'Pure' by Julianna Baggott is described as dark, detailed, and captivating, immersing readers into a world that is both terrifying and fascinating.
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Sensitive Topics/Content Warnings
Triggers may include graphic descriptions of violence, disfigurement, and other mature themes related to trauma and survival.
From The Publisher:
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.
Ratings (5)
Loved It (2) | |
Liked It (1) | |
It Was OK (1) | |
Did Not Like (1) |
Reader Stats (17):
Read It (5) | |
Want To Read (10) | |
Not Interested (2) |
2 comment(s)
What prevents this book from receiving a full five stars is my inability to connect emotionally with any of the characters. I'm not quite sure why, since the characters were pretty rich and with rather vivid stories. Yet there was something there that prevented me from fully engaging and it troubles me.
Everything else, however, was spot on. The author created a world that was believable, almost more real than reality, and it was vibrant. The writing itself propelled the reader through, so they wanted to know more and find out what was going to happen next.
There is another element that could have been fleshed out, though I expect that'll happen in
Fuse. It seems society was dystopian before the Detonation and yet, the descriptions of the "Before" are very vague. I'd like to know what precipitated the Detonations in greater detail, how Ellery Willux ascended to a position of power where he'd be able to manipulate things to create the Detonation, and more detail about the other scientists in their group.
Overall, the book is a bit drab and depressing, so it'll be good to move onto something less so. Though I expect, after reading such a shockingly realistic portrayal of post apocalyptic society, it'll be strange to return to a world like ours.
This has some interesting ideas but the thought of slogging through a trilogy was too much.
What can you read after
Pure?
About the Author:
JULIANNA BAGGOTT is the author of many books including national bestseller "Girl Talk. "Her work has appeared in dozens of publications, including "The New York Times, Washington Post, Boston Globe," "The Southern Review," "TriQuarterly," "Virginia Quarterly Review," "Poetry," "Glamour," "Ms. Magazine," and read on NPR's "Talk of the Nation."
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