REVIEW: Pure (Pure #1) by Julianna Baggott

Pure by Julianna Baggott
Series: Pure #1
Published by Headline on 7th June 2012
Pages: 461
Source: *Received from Publisher in exchange for an honest review* Thank you!

We know you are here, our brothers and sisters. We will, one day, emerge from the Dome to join you in peace. For now, we watch from afar, benevolently.

Pressia Belze has lived outside of the Dome ever since the detonations. Struggling for survival she dreams of life inside the safety of the Dome with the 'Pure'.

Partridge, himself a Pure, knows that life inside the Dome, under the strict control of the leaders' regime, isn't as perfect as others think.

Bound by a history that neither can clearly remember, Pressia and Partridge are destined to forge a new world. 

This was a darkly imaginative, unique, thrilling, action-packed yet emotional novel where at one point you are happy then 'BAM!' your angry and sad. I am not a massive fan of the cover, though it is simple and I love the font, I feel like there needs to be something else there.

When a nucleur detonation hits America, civilisation is separated. Pures live inside the Dome whilst the Savages live outside in the contaminated surrounding. And they hate one another. However, the Dome is definitely not as perfect as it first appears to be, people are controlled and unable to break lose. But on the outside things aren't much better as they are herded like wild animals by OSR. But when the creator of the Dome's last son Partridge, and Pressia who is to be collected by the OSR, their pathways soon intertwine allowing secrets and history to become uncovered.

Pressia is a strong and independent character, she is driven to protect the ones she loves but also those around her. She is intelligent, though her judgement can seem to be clouded by others meaning she sometimes came across as a 'follower'. Her past, alongside both Partridge's and Branwell's was incredibly intriguing and helped to understand the causes of their personalities and characteristics; they were all very interesting and perceptive characters. Being able to explore the novel through the eyes of all four key characters was a brilliant bonus to the novel as you were able to explore different perspectives on the events, but also how someones actions can affect others.

The plot and concept of this novel was incredibly intriguing, the idea of how people are fused to the object or person they were with at the time of the detonations is very dark yet something that you want to learn more about. The world Baggott created is strange to encounter, where children do not know about 3D glasses and cinemas, it is strange to read about their elders explain to them what they are as they are something that is very normal in many of our lives.

This is a brilliant start to what I can imaging is going to be an emotional yet darkly captivating trilogy, but also with a huge amount of action and self discovery. I cannot wait to dive straight into the sequel, Fuse.