Review – What's Left of Me

Title: What’s Left of Me

Author: Kat Zhang

Publisher: HarperCollins

Publication Date: September 18, 2012

ISBN-13: 978-0062114877

Available at: Amazon – Kindle – Barnes and Noble

From Goodreads:

I should not exist. But I do.

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.

Review:

In an America where the citizens are born with twin souls, Eva and Addie should have settled into one soul by the time they were twelve. But Eva doesn’t want to fade. She wants to see a thousand sunsets, experience a first kiss, and watch her little brother grow up. So Addie and Eva keep Eva’s presence a secret.

The relationship between Addie and Eva is special. They’re closer then sisters by necessity and by love. They help each other in ways too many to enumerate. When they do argue the silence between them afterwards is hard for Eva to bear. There are problems in their relationship as you can imagine. Eva can’t move or speak but she never once takes it out on Addie. The danger of being found out is a strain on both of them. I always got the feeling that Addie only started letting Eva try to move and speak reluctantly. It was as if she was forced to relinquish control and didn’t think there was ever a real possibility of Eva gaining it.

Ryan and Devon, on the other hand had a much different relationship. While Devon was dominate, Ryan was still able to control the body when he wanted to. There was no fighting for the use of the body. They were in much better harmony.

The America that Addie and Eva lived in wasn’t a friend to hybrids like themselves. In fact, it systemically weeded out hybrids as much as possible. Hybrids were public enemy number one. The Great World Wars were with other countries that allowed hybrids freedom. This America stood on its own against those countries.

There wasn’t a moment in this book when the action let up. It was pretty much non-stop. There was always something happening in rapid succession. I thought this was a good thing though. It kept things exciting and I loved it. I didn’t think the pace of the book was too fast or too rushed.

I really liked how complete this book felt. There was no cliffhanger to contend with. Everything wrapped up nicely enough within one book yet there was enough of an opening for another. This is book one in what I hope is a series but is most likely a trilogy. I can’t wait for the next book, but I’ll just have to wait!

Advertisement