We know you are here, our brothers and sisters . . .
Pressia barely remembers the Detonations or much about life during the Before. In her sleeping cabinet behind the rubble of an old barbershop where she lives with her grandfather, she thinks about what is lost—how the world went from amusement parks, movie theaters, birthday parties, fathers and mothers . . . to ash and dust, scars, permanent burns, and fused, damaged bodies. And now, at an age when everyone is required to turn themselves over to the militia to either be trained as a soldier or, if they are too damaged and weak, to be used as live targets, Pressia can no longer pretend to be small. Pressia is on the run.
Burn a Pure and Breathe the Ash . . .
There are those who escaped the apocalypse unmarked: Pures. They are tucked safely inside the Dome that protects their healthy, superior bodies. Yet Partridge, whose father is one of the most influential men in the Dome, feels isolated and lonely. Different. He thinks about loss—maybe just because his family is broken; his father is emotionally distant; his brother killed himself; and his mother never made it inside their shelter. Or maybe it's his claustrophobia: his feeling that this Dome has become a swaddling of intensely rigid order. So when a slipped phrase suggests his mother might still be alive, Partridge risks his life to leave the Dome to find her.
There are those who escaped the apocalypse unmarked: Pures. They are tucked safely inside the Dome that protects their healthy, superior bodies. Yet Partridge, whose father is one of the most influential men in the Dome, feels isolated and lonely. Different. He thinks about loss—maybe just because his family is broken; his father is emotionally distant; his brother killed himself; and his mother never made it inside their shelter. Or maybe it's his claustrophobia: his feeling that this Dome has become a swaddling of intensely rigid order. So when a slipped phrase suggests his mother might still be alive, Partridge risks his life to leave the Dome to find her.
When Pressia meets Partridge, their worlds shatter all over again.
PARTICULARS OF THE BOOK :
Publisher: Grand Central Publishing/Hachette
Pages: 431
Genre: YA/Dystopian
Author: Julianna Baggott
Find the author here: Baggott Website
WHAT PEOPLE ARE SAYING ABOUT "PURE" :
Fox 2000 has acquired film rights to PURE, Baggott's post-apocalyptic novel!!!!!!
What people are saying about PURE ...
"Baggott's postapocalyptic world is realized to stunning cinematic effect..."
–– The New York Times Book Review
"... gorgeous ... You will be swept away."
-- Justin Cronin, New York Times Bestselling author of The Passage
"... extraordinary ... an important book ... by one of our finest writers."
-- Robert Olen Butler, winner of the Pulitzer Prize
"... startling and addictive ... Breathtaking and frightening, I couldn't stop reading PURE."
-- Danielle Trussoni, New York Times bestselling author of Angelology
"... glorious ... full of wonderful weirdness, tenderness, and wild suspense. If Katniss could jump out of her own book and pick a great friend, I think she'd find an excellent candidate in Pressia."
-- Aimee Bender, New York Times bestselling author of The Particular Sadness of Lemon Cake
ABOUT THE AUTHOR :
Critically acclaimed, bestselling author Julianna Baggott also writes under the pen names Bridget Asher and N.E. Bode. She has published seventeen books over the last ten years. Film rights for her forthcoming novel PURE have been acquired by Fox 2000. The Provence Cure for the Brokenhearted, written under pen name Asher, was published in spring 2011. There are approximately 50 foreign editions of her novels to date.
Julianna began publishing when she was twenty-two and sold her first novel while still in her twenties. After receiving her M.F.A. from the University of North Carolina at Greensboro, she published her first novel, Girl Talk, which was a national bestseller and was quickly followed by Boston Globe bestseller The Miss America Family, and then Boston Herald Book Club selection, The Madam, an historical novel based on the life of her grandmother. She co-wrote Which Brings Me to You with Steve Almond, A Best Book of 2006 (Kirkus Reveiws) optioned by producer Richard Brown and adapted by Keith Bunin with Matthew Warchus set to direct.
Her Bridget Asher novels include The Provence Cure for the Brokenhearted, The Pretend Wife, My Husband's Sweethearts. More info can be found at her Bridget Asher blog.
She also writes bestselling novels for younger readers under the pen name N.E. Bode as well as under Julianna Baggott. The Anybodies trilogy was a People Magazine pick alongside David Sedaris and Bill Clinton, a Washington Post Book of the Week, a Girl's Life Top Ten, a Booksense selection, and was in development at Nickelodeon/Paramount; The Slippery Map (fall 2007), and the prequel to Mr. Magorium's Wonder Emporium (2007), a movie starring Dustin Hoffman, Natalie Portman, and Jason Bateman. For two years, Bode was a recurring personality on XM Sirius Radio.
Julianna's Boston Red Sox novel The Prince of Fenway Park (HarperCollins), was published in spring 2009. It is on the Sunshine State Young Readers Awards List for 2011-2012.
The Ever Breath (Random House) was published in December, 2009.
Baggott also has a highly acclaimed career as a poet, having published three collections of poetry and having been published in the best literary publications in the country, including Poetry, The American Poetry Review, and Best American Poetry in 2001, 2011 and 2012.
Baggott's work has appeared in over a hundred publications, including the The New York Times, The Washington Post, The Boston Globe, Glamour, Ms., Real Simple, and read on NPR's Here and Now, All Things Considered and Talk of the Nation. Her essays, stories, and poems are highly anthologized.
She is an associate professor at Florida State University's College of Motion Picture Arts.
In 2006, Baggott and her husband co-founded the nonprofit organization Kids in Need - Books in Deed, that focuses on literacy and getting free books to underprivileged children in the state of Florida.
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Audio Book Summary
THE BOOKISH DAME REVIEWS :
Well certainly, this is one of the best written post-apocalypse novels to arrive on the bookshelves ever. Julianna Baggott is a seasoned writer with a vivid imagination. She is a genius of an author with incredible vision. Her imagery is stark and unique. This is a book that rushes up to grasp your attention at the most worrisome levels. What would happen if there were a "detonation" of epic proportions that left mankind changed into hybrids of the rarest sorts? I was blown away by this book! Consider what would happen if an elite group decided to rid the world of over-population...
This is in the headlines today, if one is interested enough to pursue the question.
Not only has Ms Baggott created a world of believable inhabitants mutated in extraordinary ways: half mechanicals/humans blasted in the detonation and melded with animals, birds, tools and toys; but, she's created a world of ash and destruction inhabited by survivors barely holding on to their humanity. Memories are fragile and fragmented, relationships are shallow, and elders are few and far between. This is so well-conceived. Horrifyingly realistic.
Baggott's characters; Pressia, Bradwell and Partridge are symbolic of the survivors we might hope to find in such a post-apocayptic world. Brave and strong of heart and mind...fighting against the status quo, wise beyond their years. Even the anti-hero, El Capitan is a victim of his times and somewhat sympathetic. Her rendering of such well-wrought peoples (others not mentioned here) adds depth in a way that made me devour this book like few others.
This novel would be perfect for college studies. Rich in detail, beautifully written, strong in characterization and symbolism for today's world. It's a warning of a world gone haywire. It's a hope for survival. A unique and worthy read.
5 stars Deborah/TheBookishDame
Happily there is a sequel coming soon! It's called "Fuse" and will be debuting on February 19th, 2013!
Here's a quick synopsis: 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.
GIVEAWAY!!!!!
COPY OF "PURE" TO BE GIVEN AWAY
Enter by: Leaving your email
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***DRAWING WILL BE HELD OCT. 31ST
US and Canada only, please! Sorry....
Find your copy of "Pure" here : http://amazon.com or http://barnesandnoble.com
5 comments:
This would be a great movie! However, it would be difficult to pull off correct. Thank you for the giveaway.
wendyrailey@yahoo.com
GFC - Wendy
@daizymoon
I would die to see the movie!! I think anyone would love it. We could all use a wake up call in the world!
Sounds like a great book! Thanks for the giveaway.
thelitbitch@me.com
And I follow you on Tiwtter (@thelitbitch)
I've been looking for more post-apocalypse books to try and this sounds like a good one. World-building is what interests me about this genre and I like that the imagery is so vivid. I'd like to be transported to such a world.
GFC: Na
@fieryna
Cambonified(at)yahoo(dot)com
I absolutely loved this novel (I got it from NetGalley last year), and it is by far one of the most well-written young adult novels I've ever read. Fantastic review! *hugs*
Being as I don't have this book yet (and want to read it again before Fuse's release!), I'm throwing my name in the running. ;-)
GFC: Kayla Beck
Twitter: @kaylabeck
pherlaithiel@gmail.com
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