Pure by Julianna Baggott – Review

Pure
by Julianna Baggott
Publisher: Grand Central Publishing
Publication Date: February 8, 2012
ISBN: 9781455503063
448 Pages
Fiction: Post-Apocalyptic

Amid the plethora of post-apocalyptic stories that have been published in recent years, Pure is a story of uncommon originality. I could also describe it as odd, weird, hard to believe, and in some cases hard to stomach.

There are some elements of the story which push to the outer edges of believability and plausibility. I had to ignore the voice in the back of my head saying, “But that’s physically impossible!” and just take the story for what it is. In some ways though this departure from reality can be seen as a positive because it takes the story to places where others in the genre haven’t gone.

There are two storylines in this book. Partridge is considered one of the “pure” and lives in the dome, while Pressia is one of the unlucky people who were outside of the dome during the detonations.  The story switches back and forth between Partridge’s and Pressia’s points of view.

Inside the dome life is not so peachy either, although everyone outside thinks that the “pure” are living the high life. Instead those in the dome have been fed a distinct propaganda as those in charge try to mold them into the perfect citizens.

*Minor spoilers ahead*

The story of those outside of the dome is where the weirdness comes in. When bombs went off years before there were also nanobots and nanotechnologies present in and around everyone. When the bombs exploded people were melded and fused to whatever they were near. Pressia’s hand, for example, melds with a doll’s head. The nanobots supposedly helped with the healing. What remains outside the dome is a population of freakishly adapted people, fused bodies, and monstrous beings of all shapes and forms. Many of these beings have a “kill or be killed” attitude and it is a very dangerous place to exist.

This sets up a kind of zombie apocalypse type of story that beggars belief at times. If you can get past that and appreciate it for the other mysteries and action in the story, then you will probably like this one a lot.

I have to say that Pure was a stretch outside of my comfort zone, making me feel queasy at times because of the weird creatures and fusions, but the story was highly engaging otherwise and I did appreciate the creativity.

I will definitely remember this story long after I have forgotten many of the others of the same genre. Whether or not I will read the sequel? Well that is another story. I’m taking a wait and see approach to the second book.

Rating: 3.5/5

I received a free electronic copy of this book for review.

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