Author: Julianna Baggott
Publisher: Grand Central Publishing
Release Date: February 19, 2013
Pages: 463, Hardcover
Goodreads Rating: 4.21 stars
My Rating: 3.5/5 stars
Fuse, like its predecessor Pure, is a gritty, post-apocolyptic YA novel that doesn't hold back. Baggott has created a detailed, intriguing world where no one is safe and where anything can happen. It makes for exciting reading because you're never sure what is going to be lurking around the next corner.
Release Date: February 19, 2013
Pages: 463, Hardcover
Goodreads Rating: 4.21 stars
My Rating: 3.5/5 stars
Summary from Goodreads: When the world ended, those who dwelled within the Dome were safe. Inside their glass world the Pures live on unscarred, while those outside—the Wretches—struggle to survive amidst the smoke and ash.
Believing his mother was living among the Wretches, Partridge escaped from the Dome to find her. Determined to regain control over his son, Willux, the leader of the Pures, unleashes a violent new attack on the Wretches. It’s up to Pressia Belze, a young woman with her own mysterious past, to decode a set of cryptic clues from the past to set the Wretches free.
An epic quest that sweeps readers into a world of beautiful brutality, Fuse continues the story of two people fighting to save their futures—and change the fate of the world.
MY TAKE
Fuse, like its predecessor Pure, is a gritty, post-apocolyptic YA novel that doesn't hold back. Baggott has created a detailed, intriguing world where no one is safe and where anything can happen. It makes for exciting reading because you're never sure what is going to be lurking around the next corner.
This book picks up right where Pure left off, with Pressia and Bradwell struggling to uncover the mystery of their parents' lives and to find the elusive formula which may hold the key to a cure (both for those inside and outside of the Dome). Meanwhile, Partridge and Lyda face an uncertain future, struggling to determine their places in the world - whether it be inside or outside the Dome.
Fuse is driven by character development and we are taken on a journey with each individual in the book - Bradwell, who needs to unlock the secrets of the past in order to justify his parents' death. Pressia, who is torn between doing all she can to help those in the present and recapturing a past she can't remember. Partridge, who struggles with the knowledge of what his father has done and wonders if he can be the leader that the Resistance is looking for. Lyda, who grows from a scared Pure who does what is expected of her to a young woman who makes her own choices. El Capitan, who finds himself vulnerable in ways he had never expected. Baggott doesn't leave any of her characters satisfied with the status quo.
So, why did I give the book 3.5 stars instead of 4 or 5? It basically comes down to the pacing of the first half of the book. I found it hard to stay engaged at first. To be fair, I think this might have been alleviated somewhat if I had re-read Pure before reading Fuse. I spent a lot of the beginning of the book struggling to remember the details of Pure. I would highly recommend re-reading at least the end of Pure before diving into Fuse. 3.5/5 Stars
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