Actual rating: 3.5 starsAddie and I were born into the same body, our souls' ghostly fingers entwined before we gasped our very first breath. Our earliest years together were also our happiest. Then came the worries––the tightness around our parents' mouths, the frowns lining our kindergarten teacher's forehead, the question everyone whispered when they thought we couldn't hear.Why aren't they settling?We tried to form the word in our five-year-old mouth, tasting it on our tongue.Set-Tull-Ling.We knew what it meant. Kind of. It meant one of us was supposed to take control.Eva and Addie live in a world where everyone is born with two souls. During childhood, these two souls live in harmony. But once a child grows older, one of the souls becomes dominant and the other soul gradually fades into non-existence. This is a process called "settling." But Eva and Addie never settled. When they turned 13, Addie was declared the dominant and only remaining soul. What no one knows, however, is that Eva is still there. And no one can ever find out––because those with two souls, called "hybrids," are considered dangerous. In the vast sea of YA dystopian novels, I found What's Left of Me to be very refreshing. The premise is a bit reminiscent of The Host by Stephenie Meyer––what with the idea of two beings existing in one body, but that's about where the similarities end. I don't think I've read anything quite like this book before, and I found the idea really intriguing.I love Kat Zhang's writing style. From the very first few paragraphs (posted above) I was instantly pulled in, and her writing kept me hooked throughout the book. The words flow beautifully and the descriptions are unique and vivid. There were times when I found the narration a little confusing. This was because the book is from Eva's point of view, while Addie is the one who has control over their body. It switched a lot between singular first-person point of view ("I") and multiple first-person point of view ("we"), and that took some getting used to. Sometimes it felt a little inconsistent. But after a while it wasn't as confusing to me and I thought it was an original style.The story was a little slow at first, but once the story got rolling I was hooked. It's not really an "action-packed" story, but I found it very psychologically thrilling. Over all, I found Eva to be a likable narrator and someone I could root for. Zhang makes her struggle very clear, how difficult it is to be constantly trapped in a body where you have no control. The bond between Eva and Addie is very strong, and I could feel their deep attachment to each other. I would have liked to see more of a difference in their personalities; I didn't feel Addie's characteristics were as clear. However, I was able to believe in the strong connection they share. I also think the other characters could have been stronger. I liked Hally/Lissa. But I didn't feel like Devon/Ryan were very distinguishable from each other; I only knew the difference between them when I was told who was in control at the moment, but I didn't see much of a change in their personalities. Thus, I didn't find the romance to be completely developed. Over all, I found this book very hard to put down. It was addicting, well-written, and had a memorable premise. I would like to see more character development and a bit more action in the plot, but hopefully that's something that improves in the sequel, [b:Once We Were|16109664|Once We Were (The Hybrid Chronicles, #2)|Kat Zhang|http://d.gr-assets.com/books/1369195302s/16109664.jpg|21991652]. ----------You can also find this review on Flying Kick-a-pow! Reviews.
Flying Kick-a-pow!
Hi people! I'm Brigid, a college student and lover of all things book-related--writing them, reading them, reviewing them, biting them ... Yeah. I mostly read YA but I'm open to pretty much everything.
Actual rating: 3.5 starsAddie and I were born into the same body, our souls' ghostly fingers entwined before we gasped our very first breath. Our earliest years together were also our happiest. Then came the worries––the tightness around our parents' mouths, the frowns lining our kindergarten teacher's forehead, the question everyone whispered when they thought we couldn't hear.Why aren't they settling?We tried to form the word in our five-year-old mouth, tasting it on our tongue.Set-Tull-Ling.We knew what it meant. Kind of. It meant one of us was supposed to take control.Eva and Addie live in a world where everyone is born with two souls. During childhood, these two souls live in harmony. But once a child grows older, one of the souls becomes dominant and the other soul gradually fades into non-existence. This is a process called "settling." But Eva and Addie never settled. When they turned 13, Addie was declared the dominant and only remaining soul. What no one knows, however, is that Eva is still there. And no one can ever find out––because those with two souls, called "hybrids," are considered dangerous. In the vast sea of YA dystopian novels, I found What's Left of Me to be very refreshing. The premise is a bit reminiscent of The Host by Stephenie Meyer––what with the idea of two beings existing in one body, but that's about where the similarities end. I don't think I've read anything quite like this book before, and I found the idea really intriguing.I love Kat Zhang's writing style. From the very first few paragraphs (posted above) I was instantly pulled in, and her writing kept me hooked throughout the book. The words flow beautifully and the descriptions are unique and vivid. There were times when I found the narration a little confusing. This was because the book is from Eva's point of view, while Addie is the one who has control over their body. It switched a lot between singular first-person point of view ("I") and multiple first-person point of view ("we"), and that took some getting used to. Sometimes it felt a little inconsistent. But after a while it wasn't as confusing to me and I thought it was an original style.The story was a little slow at first, but once the story got rolling I was hooked. It's not really an "action-packed" story, but I found it very psychologically thrilling. Over all, I found Eva to be a likable narrator and someone I could root for. Zhang makes her struggle very clear, how difficult it is to be constantly trapped in a body where you have no control. The bond between Eva and Addie is very strong, and I could feel their deep attachment to each other. I would have liked to see more of a difference in their personalities; I didn't feel Addie's characteristics were as clear. However, I was able to believe in the strong connection they share. I also think the other characters could have been stronger. I liked Hally/Lissa. But I didn't feel like Devon/Ryan were very distinguishable from each other; I only knew the difference between them when I was told who was in control at the moment, but I didn't see much of a change in their personalities. Thus, I didn't find the romance to be completely developed. Over all, I found this book very hard to put down. It was addicting, well-written, and had a memorable premise. I would like to see more character development and a bit more action in the plot, but hopefully that's something that improves in the sequel, [b:Once We Were|16109664|Once We Were (The Hybrid Chronicles, #2)|Kat Zhang|http://d.gr-assets.com/books/1369195302s/16109664.jpg|21991652]. ----------You can also find this review on Flying Kick-a-pow! Reviews.
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