Monday, January 28, 2013

What's left of me by Kat Zhang

It is normal to have only one soul, but everyone has two souls when they are born, it is only as they grow from child to teenager one of the souls fades away and the body settles with only the dominant soul left behind.  It is the way things are, any body that fails to settles and leaves the two souls intact is considered an abomination that must be fixed - the person is labelled a hybrid and the government will stop at nothing to make sure the hybrid is cured. 

Because Addie and Eva failed to settle at the normal time they were watched closely, subjected to tests, and were only left to settle in their own time because their parents begged for them to be left alone until they were ten years old.  It was a plea that worked because Addie finally settled, with Eva fading away into nothing - the general consensus was better late than never.  Three years later and the family is settled in their new home, away from the stigma of being the family with the child that settled late, the child that was a danger to all those around them.  Addie is enjoying being normal, except for the little voice only she can hear - the voice of Eva who is hidden away rather than gone.

Addie is the dominant soul, the one with control of their voice and body, the one that everyone sees and hears.  The only person who can hear Eva is Addie, and while most of the time they are content, Eva does dream of more sometimes.  When they meet another hybrid it seems as though the dream Eva never dared dream, the hope she never dared to hope for has come true - this hybrid has dual control of their body, both souls can use the same body and speak with their own voices.  But now Addie and Eva are in danger, danger that they may not be able to escape without paying a terrible price.

If you like this book then you may also enjoy The hunger games by Suzanne Collins, XVI by Julia Karr, Variant by Robison Wells, and Eve by Anna Carey.

~ Reviewed by Elspeth Sweetman

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