What's Left of Me: The Hybrid Chronicles, Book One (edition 2012)

3.5/5 stars.

What's Left of Me is one of those books that I felt everyone but me had already read. Not only had they read it, but they'd raved about it so much it made me nervous to actually pick it up. And while I don't think I ultimately liked it as much as most folks have, once I got past a rather slow start, the book had nice flow, a unique plot, and intriguing characters that I did end up ultimately enjoying.

This book is told from a unique perspective, because for much of the book, Eva - the recessive soul who was meant to die away, but didn't - isn't in any kind of actual control of the body she shares with dominant soul, Addie. That set-up made for unique storytelling that was very much focused on Eva's feelings and Addie's actions. One thing I wish was explained in more detail is how the world came to be this way. Is this our world that's been changed in some way? Or is this a made-up world in which the way we live and are never existed in the first place? I didn't feel that this information was explicitly stated, and made for a lot of questions on my part, and one of the reasons I wasn't completely sold on the story at the start. There is a lot of talk about the scary dangerous hybrids (which Eva and Addie are, although they live in secret) and the effects they've had on the rest of the world, and there's talk about the Americas (which are North, Central and South America all rolled into one giant super-country), but no actual explanations of how it all came to be. I want explanations! Call it the part of me that loves history, but I just feel like it would have really grounded the story and made it more relatable. But then again, that could just be me.

Around the 20% mark, though, the book picks up in action, because Addie and Eva are shipped off to a rather frightening clinic due to a suspicion that they are indeed hybrid. The rest of the book is spent with them trying to figure out what's going on at the clinic, and trying to find a way to escape. There's also some romantic developments between Eva and Ryan, made all the more intriguing because Addie isn't at all interested in either Ryan OR his other soul, so she's definitely fighting Eva at every step, even if it's not intentionally. There's also the obvious give and take necessary as Eva becomes stronger, which adds tension to the girls' relationship and makes sharing a body even trickier. The sequel to What's Left of Me seems to focus even more on the girls' issues, so I'm looking forward to seeing how the author has taken that concept and expanded on it.

All in all, while I wasn't completely in love with What's Left of Me like most people seem to be, I did find the book compelling and unique in equal measures. Eva is a wonderful narrator, and I liked watching her growth and strength. She and Addie are definitely two totally different girls, so the fact that they have to share a body - and only one can be in control at a time - makes for interesting developments that you definitely don't see every day. I'm looking forward to reading the sequel and seeing how their journey progresses. ( )

I was left not sure how I felt about this book. On one hand, I enjoyed the premise even though I am somewhat burned out on dystopian books. On the other, after getting about halfway through, it seemed to be the same old dystopian style story. Government controlling the masses, lies, etc., etc....

In this world children are born with two souls, a dominant and recessive. After spending most of their childhood attempting to make the two work together, the recessive soul fades away leaving the dominant soul alone. When this does not happen, they are considered hybrids which the government have deemed dangerous. As the government tries to fix the hybrids (medication, therapists, surgery?) many hybrids attempt to make a life for themselves.

Eva and Addie are hybrid and even though they have taken the medications (where does this medication come from? and what is the rest of the world really like?) nothing seems to work. She ends up in a 'hospital' with other hybrids and the typical dystopian story follows.

Perhaps I am burned out, but I just felt it was OK. Not great, not bad, just okay. ( )

good concept...very slow...just didn't care after 40% ( )

This was a case of a good book but at a bad time. I've been on a huge contemporary, mainly new adult contemporary, binge lately and I can't get enough. When What's Left of Me came in for me at the library after being on hold for weeks, I new I had to read it now or risk never giving it a chance again. I had also just filled my e-reader with a ton of fantastic looking new adult contemporaries that I'm super anxious to break into! All of those factors combined, I felt rushed and forced to get through this book and was never quite able to get fully immersed into the story. However, I honestly feel that if I would have picked up What's Left of Me before my current contemporary addiction, I would have really loved it.

What this book does have is uniqueness. The whole premise is very different from anything else I've read in the same genre this year and Kat Zhang does a very good job with it. To be honest, the setting of the book almost had me more interested than the actual story itself. I found myself very curious about the world it was taking place in and wanting to learn more. Unfortunately, information about this world was given only on an as needed basis. However, I can see where this would be refreshing for some readers. There's not as much set-up as there is in a lot of other books in the genre and we are able to get directly into the story a lot sooner.

The story is original and Kat Zhang's writing style is wonderful, but I did not find myself connecting with the characters. The closest I came to it was with Eva (who's point-of-view the story was told in). And I didn't like Ava very much at all. For me, this didn't detract from the story though. Whereas I didn't connect with the characters, I still enjoyed the storyline. I stayed curious about and interested in everything going on. Surprisingly, it was the last chapter that hooked me and ensured that I'll be reading the next book in the series.

Like I mentioned before, I don't think I can do this book the justice it actually deserves, only because of the circumstances surrounding my reading of it. If the summary sounds good to you and it's something you feel in the mood for, I definitely recommend it. ( )

Originally reviewed on A Reader of Fictions.

Often, as I'm reading dystopias, I am making a list of all of the elements borrowed from a prior dystopia. Having read so many, coming across a truly original idea is a bit startling and exceedingly impressive. Kat Zhang's book is like none I have read before. What's Left of Me is a story that questions what it means to be a human, to be a soul, and to be normal.

Author Lauren DeStefano is blurbed on the back of my ARC as saying, "A shockingly unique story that redefines what it means to be human." Usually, I ignore blurbs, because they often say so little, and they're often meaningless. This one I agree with wholeheartedly. That sentence captures the essence of What's Left of Me. This dystopia takes on philosophical questions and is one of the most thought-provoking books I've read this year.

In this world, a sort of alternate universe, two souls are born into every body. At the start of life, there are two people in each human frame. As time passes and the body grows, one of the personalities takes over, asserts dominance, and the other one dissipates, gone as though never there. By the age of ten, there should be just one soul where two used to reside; they should settle. Up until that point, the two souls trade off, so that body is sometimes the one and sometimes the other.

Some souls, though, do not settle. Neither soul goes away entirely. These people are called hybrids, and they are unacceptable. Hybrids are dangerous, unstable within themselves, thus unstable in society. The United States does not stand for this, because they are sick of the wars that hybridity brings, as evidenced by the war-torn, hybrid-filled, foreign nations.

Eva and Addie never settled. Eventually, Eva faded into the background and they pretended to be an I instead of a we, an us instead of a me. Eva can do nothing but watch and listen as her sister controls their body, can converse with no one but Addie, in their mental language. What does it mean to be a soul? To be a person? Is it Addie/Eva that's broken or society?

Told from Eva's perspective, What's Left of Me is daring in its storytelling. Never have I read a book written quite this way, just as I've never considered how different life would be with two people inhabiting the one body. Most of the story is told in first person plural, even though we're in Eva's 'mind' so to speak. This writing style never ceased being odd to me, but it always made sense.

Unlike a lot of dystopias, What's Left of Me does not have a ton of action, though there is some. The joy of this novel is philosophical and psychological. There isn't much romance at all, though there are some hints. Of course, how can you have a healthy relationship when your body doesn't belong just to you? Seriously, how crazy to think about is this?

Aside from Eva, and perhaps Ryan, I didn't get a great feel for most of the characters. Eva, our narrator, is so deep within her own thoughts that she doesn't necessarily have a great feel for anyone. I really didn't get a reading on Addie, except to wonder how she became the dominant personality. I suspect Eva probably should have been and may have faded back to save her Addie's soul, but that's all speculation.

The main issue that I had with What's Left of Me was that some things were too easy. When they're all trapped in the mental institution, they get out so simply. You know why? Because the freaking doors to the rooms weren't locked, so they could have late night powwows in the halls. The furniture wasn't nailed down. What kind of institution is this? If they think hybrids are dangerous and might try to escape, they're not going to have such weak security. Speaking of, the place wouldn't almost entirely empty of staff on some nights either.

For those of you that enjoy cerebral reads, What's Left of Me is not to be missed. I am truly in awe of Zhang's mind for coming up with such a creative, astounding idea. ( )