“Most human beings have an almost infinite capacity for taking things for granted. That men do not learn very much from the lessons of history is the most important of all the lessons of history.” ― Aldous Huxley

I hesitated before deciding to review Pure by Julianna Baggott. It is not for the faint of heart even though it was originally written for the Young Adult (YA) audience. Many scenes are very disturbing. Not because they are graphic but rather because they portray horror almost but not quite beyond the imagination.

I decided to do it for two reasons. First, this novel illustrates what I love about being a writer. Julianna Baggott, the author of seventeen books, also writes as N.E. Bodie and as Bridget Asher. N.E. Bodie writes for preteens and Bridget Asher writes deliciously romantic women’s fiction. Clearly, Ms Baggott writes about what she wants to as the muse calls her, proving herself to be an incredibly talented and prolific writer. This, as you may have already guessed, is every writer’s dream.

The second reason is that buried deep in the acknowledgements – I know you don’t probably read them but trust me a writer always does – I found the following:

“The research for this novel led me to the accounts of the effects of the atomic bombs dropped on Hiroshima and Nagasaki…And I hope, in general, that Pure directs people to nonfiction accounts of the atomic bomb – horrors we cannot afford to forget.”

And now, on to Pure.

“A great gorgeous whirlwind of a novel, boundless in its imagination. You will be swept away.” — Justin Cronin, New York Times bestselling author of THE PASSAGE

Pure is a story about Pressia, a sixteen-year old girl living with her grandfather in the remains of a barbershop in post-apocalyptic America. She is one of the Wretches, survivors of a nuclear blast known as the Detonations. The blast left those who survived burned, mutilated and fused to whatever they were holding or standing near at the time it happened. Pressia’s grandfather has a fan embedded in this throat and Pressia’s right hand is now a plastic doll’s head. Shortly after the novel opens, she is forced to flee the dreaded OSR solders who are assigned to round up all children when they reach their sixteenth birthday.

Pure also describes those who were saved. Known as the Pures, they live an isolated life in the Dome. Partridge, the son of one of the leaders, escapes to try and find his mother said to have been killed when the bright light of the atomic blast took place.

This is the story of what happens when Partridge and Pressia collide in the desolate and dangerous landscape of the world outside the Dome. The plot has some very interesting twists; some you might expect to find if you read this genre and one amazing turn that will leave you breathless. It is the characters that grab you and won’t leave you: Bradwell, the boy with birds fused to his back, Lyda Mertz, El Captain and his brother Helmut, The Good Mother, Sedge and many more.

If you like pleasant and happy books, Pure is probably not for you. It is the first of trilogy. And the movies rights have been sold. Coming on the heels of the amazing success of The Hunger Games, we can most likely expect to see a lot more of Pressia.

One reason you might want to read this book is that your children and grandchildren probably already have.

Does anyone besides me wonder why these dystopian novels have such great appeal to the young adult audience?