MFA Greensboro Alum Julianna Baggott Reviewed, "Pure"

Book Review: Pure by Julianna Baggott

And now for a book review about one of my favorite subjects- end of the world disaster survival. Pure is a YA sci-fi written by Julianna Baggott and published by Grand Central. It is set to hit shelves Feb. 8, 2012.

First off, this book is told from the voice of an omnipresent narrator. It felt very confusing at first, characters being referred to by their names and not in the first or third person. There is a small prologue that starts off the story and just from the voice used there, it feels like it is somebody that knows Pressia well, perhaps her grandfather, but then later on, I figured I was wrong and never did figure out who was telling the story.

I have to caution that this book is not for young readers. The author does a wonderful job at descriptions and settings, but the vividness they portray is creepy. The way people are fused to objects kept spinning around in my thoughts, the images are freaky, but the use of them by the author is way cool.

I enjoyed the puzzles in the story too. Several of the subplots end up intertwining and you have to follow clues to figure them out. The ride the author took me on was entertaining and thoughtful. It definitely shows a side to nuclear bombings that I’d never thought of. In fact, the author points out the hope that readers will find their way to non fiction books about the atomic bomb and the horrors that resulted.

Read the full review here: http://dorinewhite.blogspot.com/2011/12/book-review-pure-by-julianna-baggott.html

Find out more about the MFA Writing Program here:http://mfagreensboro.org