Title: What's Left of Me
Author: Kat Zhang
Pages: 343
Audience: Young Adult
Source:library(Becky); library (Randi)
Rating: 4 I'd take this book for coffee
4.5 I'd take this book for an expensive seafood dinner
4.5 I'd take this book for an expensive seafood dinner
Goodreads Summary:
Eva and Addie started out the same way as everyone else—two souls woven together in one body, taking turns controlling their movements as they learned how to walk, how to sing, how to dance. But as they grew, so did the worried whispers. Why aren’t they settling? Why isn’t one of them fading? The doctors ran tests, the neighbors shied away, and their parents begged for more time. Finally Addie was pronounced healthy and Eva was declared gone. Except, she wasn’t . . . For the past three years, Eva has clung to the remnants of her life. Only Addie knows she’s still there, trapped inside their body. Then one day, they discover there may be a way for Eva to move again. The risks are unimaginable-hybrids are considered a threat to society, so if they are caught, Addie and Eva will be locked away with the others. And yet . . . for a chance to smile, to twirl, to speak, Eva will do anything
Our Thoughts
Becky in black. Randi in Blue
This was a very thoughtful concept. Loved it! And I'm really picky when it comes to sci-fi. There are so many possible ways to view the story, I would love to use it as a teen book-club read. That would be fun! One way to look at it is the struggle of introvert vs. extrovert. There was always a dominant, socially accepted personality and a submissive one "marked for death". In our society dominance is a sign of extroversion, and is a more prized personality. I didn't think about that as I was reading, but that's definitely an interesting viewpoint that I think would provoke active discussion. I also found it interesting to think about how not only each child was expected to kill off half of themselves, but parents were also supposed to support the murder of one of their children in the process. I don't feel like the blame is with the children, though. I feel like we're led to believe it's a "natural" progression. The only reason I didn't give this book five stars is because it is very light on visual description. I had a hard time picturing characters and settings. I thought the character visuals were good, especially when it came to Hally & Devon. I actually felt like the characters' looks were very well emphasized, mostly because Eva began to distinguish the differences between the two souls within a hybrid individual. While this idea isn't wholly original (eg- his dark materials daemons being cut away), I've never read it quite like this. I haven't read that one. I'm slacking. ;)
The characters felt familiar, especially Addie and Eva. They did! I enjoyed that aspect, though. They felt realistically portrayed to me. While they weren't especially complex or well developed, they were easy to slip into and replace with one's-self. Eeps. I hear that "good readers" place themselves into the main character...but I never do that and I don't know why. Oh well! I can see how readers who do slip into the MC would easily be able to do so in this story. I liked that Eva was the "lesser" personality, but she became so strong and self-reliant. You can really see them evolve from the beginning of the story until the end, and as a twin I found their struggle to be separate without losing one another poignant. I really liked that the story was told from Eva's point-of-view. I completely agree - I think we see character development in both Addie & Eva, but I think seeing things through Eva's mind was more interesting than it would have been through Addie. I'm excited to read the next book in the trilogy, but the ending didn't leave me hankering for the sequel as other series have done, and not in a bad way, but rather I didn't feel like the ending was a cliffhanger, so I'll wait patiently for book 2!
I'm also looking forward to recommending this book because I think the dystopia "genre" (if you could call it its own genre) is still really appealing to many readers.
The characters felt familiar, especially Addie and Eva. They did! I enjoyed that aspect, though. They felt realistically portrayed to me. While they weren't especially complex or well developed, they were easy to slip into and replace with one's-self. Eeps. I hear that "good readers" place themselves into the main character...but I never do that and I don't know why. Oh well! I can see how readers who do slip into the MC would easily be able to do so in this story. I liked that Eva was the "lesser" personality, but she became so strong and self-reliant. You can really see them evolve from the beginning of the story until the end, and as a twin I found their struggle to be separate without losing one another poignant. I really liked that the story was told from Eva's point-of-view. I completely agree - I think we see character development in both Addie & Eva, but I think seeing things through Eva's mind was more interesting than it would have been through Addie. I'm excited to read the next book in the trilogy, but the ending didn't leave me hankering for the sequel as other series have done, and not in a bad way, but rather I didn't feel like the ending was a cliffhanger, so I'll wait patiently for book 2!
I'm also looking forward to recommending this book because I think the dystopia "genre" (if you could call it its own genre) is still really appealing to many readers.
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