Pure by Julianna Baggott - Revision history

Sue at 14:28, 14 March 2018

2018-03-14T14:28:09Z

Sue at 12:40, 30 January 2015

2015-01-30T12:40:27Z

Sue at 17:01, 10 October 2011

2011-10-10T17:01:15Z

Sue at 17:00, 10 October 2011

2011-10-10T17:00:43Z

Sue: Created page with '{{infobox |title=Pure |sort=Pure |author=Julianna Baggott |reviewer=Madeline Wheatley |genre=Fantasy |summary=''Pure'' is the first part of a trilogy exploring life in a post apo…'

2011-10-10T16:58:57Z

Created page with '{{infobox |title=Pure |sort=Pure |author=Julianna Baggott |reviewer=Madeline Wheatley |genre=Fantasy |summary=''Pure'' is the first part of a trilogy exploring life in a post apo…'

New review

{{infobox
|title=Pure
|sort=Pure
|author=Julianna Baggott
|reviewer=Madeline Wheatley
|genre=Fantasy
|summary=''Pure'' is the first part of a trilogy exploring life in a post apocalyptic world. The main survivors are divided between the Pure, who live in an uncontaminated dome, and the Wretches, who struggle to exist on the surface of a seriously polluted planet.
|rating=4.5
|buy=Yes
|borrow=Yes
|paperback=
|hardback=0755385489
|audiobook=
|ebook=
|pages=416
|publisher=Headline
|date=February 2012
|isbn=978-0755385485
|website=http://http://www.juliannabaggott.com/
|video=
|amazonuk=<amazonuk>0755385489</amazonuk>
|amazonus=<amazonus>0755385489</amazonus>
}}

A Hiroshima-like event called ''the Detonations'' has transformed life on earth. Shortly after the Detonations, when the survivors were still hoping for some form of help to arrive, a cloud of leaflets were released all bearing the same message:

''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.''

As time passes it becomes clear that the Dome is anything but benevolent, even for those who live in it. While the Wretches include mutated forms blended with objects, beasts or even fused into the earth itself, the Pure are subject to genetic enhancements that create their own problems. Several years after the event, the survivors outside the Dome struggle to breathe the ash laden air and have to cope with debris from the explosions embedded in their bodies. Sixteen year old Pressia was holding a doll when the Detonations happened, and now she lives with the doll's head fused to her wrist in place of a hand. Her life is presented in stark contrast to that of Partridge, a boy who lives inside the Dome. His actions transform Pressia's life and lead them both on a journey across the shattered landscape beyond the Dome.

While the twists in the tale that happen on that journey make the book a real page turner, what really kept my interest were the fantastic characters. Visually unique, often quite terrifyingly so, they are complex creations who continue to develop and surprise as the story unfolds. The prevailing mood of the story is very dark, so these vital characters were essential to keeping me reading.

''Pure'' is a young adult crossover novel, mining the same vein as [[The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins|The Hunger Games]] with resilient young characters fighting against overwhelming odds. A lot of what happens in ''Pure'' doesn't stack up very well if you try to assess it as science fiction. It's not magical realism either, so much as magical non-realism: an elaborate, nightmarish fantasy. I kept thinking how apt illustrations by Mervyn Peake or Clive Barker would be for the book, as there were certainly touches of ''Gormenghast'' and [[Abarat by Cllive Barker|Abarat]] in it.

At the very end of the book the author mentions how research for the novel led her to accounts of the atomic bombs dropped on Hiroshima and Nagasaki. She hopes that ''Pure'' will direct people to nonfiction accounts of these events which we cannot afford to forget. I found that this was exactly where I turned on completing ''Pure'' and suspect that I will not be the only reader who follows her suggestion.

Thank you to the publishers for sending a copy to the Bookbag.

Further reading suggestions:

[[The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins]]

[[Abarat by Clive Barker]]

{{amazontext|amazon=0755385489}} {{waterstonestext|waterstones=8584573}}

@@ Line 1: / Line 1: @@
-{{infobox
+{{infobox1
 |title=Pure
 |author=Julianna Baggott
@@ Line 13: / Line 13: @@
 |isbn=978-0755385485
 |website=http://http://www.juliannabaggott.com/
-|video=
+|cover=0755385489
-|amazonuk=<amazonuk>0755385489</amazonuk>
+|aznuk=0755385489
-|amazonus=<amazonus>1455503061</amazonus>
+|aznus=1455503061
 }}

@@ Line 1: / Line 1: @@
 {{infobox
 |title=Pure
 |author=Julianna Baggott
 |reviewer=Madeline Wheatley
@@ Line 9: / Line 8: @@
 |buy=Yes
 |borrow=Yes
 |pages=416
 |publisher=Headline
@@ Line 43: / Line 38: @@
 [[Abarat by Clive Barker]]
-{{amazontext|amazon=0755385489}} {{waterstonestext|waterstones=8584573}}
+{{amazontext|amazon=0755385489}}

@@ Line 31: / Line 31: @@
 While the twists in the tale that happen on that journey make the book a real page turner, what really kept my interest were the fantastic characters.  Visually unique, often quite terrifyingly so, they are complex creations who continue to develop and surprise as the story unfolds.  The prevailing mood of the story is very dark, so these vital characters were essential to keeping me reading.
-''Pure'' is a young adult crossover novel, mining the same vein as [[The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins|The Hunger Games]] with resilient young characters fighting against overwhelming odds.  A lot of what happens in ''Pure'' doesn't stack up very well if you try to assess it as science fiction.  It's not magical realism either, so much as magical non-realism: an elaborate, nightmarish fantasy.  I kept thinking how apt illustrations by Mervyn Peake or Clive Barker would be for the book, as there were certainly touches of ''Gormenghast'' and [[Abarat by Cllive Barker|Abarat]] in it.
+''Pure'' is a young adult crossover novel, mining the same vein as [[The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins|The Hunger Games]] with resilient young characters fighting against overwhelming odds.  A lot of what happens in ''Pure'' doesn't stack up very well if you try to assess it as science fiction.  It's not magical realism either, so much as magical non-realism: an elaborate, nightmarish fantasy.  I kept thinking how apt illustrations by Mervyn Peake or Clive Barker would be for the book, as there were certainly touches of ''Gormenghast'' and [[Abarat by Clive Barker|Abarat]] in it.
 At the very end of the book the author mentions how research for the novel led her to accounts of the atomic bombs dropped on Hiroshima and Nagasaki.  She hopes that ''Pure'' will direct people to nonfiction accounts of these events which we cannot afford to forget.  I found that this was exactly where I turned on completing ''Pure'' and suspect that I will not be the only reader who follows her suggestion.