Review: Fuse by Julianna Baggot

Fuse

Author: Julianna Baggott
Series: The Pure Trilogy, Book Two
Publisher: Grand Central Publishing
Genre: Young Adult Dystopian
Format: Hardcover, 480 pages
Release Date: February 19, 2013
Source: Mid-Columbia Libraries

Synopsis: 
  
Partridge has escaped the prison of the Dome. But now his father is unleashing horrors on the all the wretches living outside the Dome in order to get his son back. Partridge resists the Dome along with Lyda, a fellow Dome escapee; Bradwell, a wretch who is obsessed with the past; El Capitan, the leader of the new and improved militia group, OSR; and Pressia, a woman whose life is completely intertwined with Partridge’s. A plan was made in the past that could destroy the Earth. Only Partridge and Pressia can stop it before it’s too late. In order to do this, Partridge must return to the Dome and face his worst fears. Pressia must follow a mysterious Black Box across the world to find the solution that could save millions of lives. Will Partridge and Pressia be able to battle their demons and unravel the secrets of the past in time?

My Review: 
So most of you have probably read my review of the first book in this series, Pure. I was not a fan of that book. So as you can imagine, I was dreading picking this one up. However, I was pleasantly surprised. This book really picked up. I think I enjoyed this book because I had a better grip on what was going on. The first book was very confusing to me, but this one I understood. This book was action packed with many twists and turns. I loved the mystery this book had in it. It was almost like a game reading it. The author gives all these clues along the way that you, as the reader, are trying to figure out. She weaves the tale in such a way though, that you can’t figure out how it’s going to end. At least I couldn’t.

Pressia was stronger in this book than the first one. She really comes into herself. She is determined to unravel the clues that the Black Box gives her. I still wasn’t a huge fan of her character though. She can’t admit her feelings for one of the characters which drove me crazy. She had the attitude of it’s not worth it to love someone that you might lose. I find that cowardly. She does prove to be very courageous in other pursuits though. She is willing to do whatever it takes to stop this awful plan from coming to fruition. I admired that in her.

I still loved Partridge in this book. He is still passionate and strong and truly cares about the important people in his life. He strives to be a better person than his father is. He wants to be able to change the world without hurting anyone. Even though that will be nearly impossible and is a somewhat juvenile idea for him to hold, I admire him for his integrity and staying true to himself.

Bradwell, I’m not a huge fan of. He is very focused on the past and is pretty judgmental of Pressia for wanting to be Pure. He is extremely opinionated and I got the idea that he thinks his opinions are the only right ones. He’s also not a huge fan of Partridge and I love Partridge so that’s another strike against him. He is, however, extremely smart. Pressia never would have figured out the clues without his help. He has a huge knowledge base and uses it to help in their attempt to save the world. Guess he can’t be that bad then, huh?

Lyda is so strong. She is like a bird to me. In the Dome, she was trapped in a cage, but now that she is outside, she has learned to spread her wings and fly. Being outside the Dome has really changed her. She knows who she is and what she wants. She gives up everything she has ever known for a life full of hardship because she knows that what the Dome is doing is wrong. She stands up for what she believes in and I really respected her for that.

El Capitan is probably my favorite character in the book. He has a tough exterior and seems cold and distant at first, but then we started to see other sides of him. He says that there are times when he hates his brother who is fused to his back, but I don’t think he ever really does. He loves his brother and knows that they will always be together. They will always be there for each other just like they always have in the past. He has a tender, romantic side. When we see this side of him, he seems so vulnerable. It was touching and beautiful to me.

Overall, this book impressed and shocked me. I was gearing up for another book that I wasn’t going to like and that I was going to have to struggle through. I really got into this one though. The plot was amazing and drew me in. There were twists that I didn’t see coming. The characters developed more. One of my biggest complaints in the first book was that there were too many characters that the author had highly developed. I still think that some of these characters were over-developed, but I also think that with a plot this complex, they may have all been necessary. I am glad that I decided to read the second book and truly look forward to the third and final book in the series which I could not find a release date for. Let me know if you guys hear anything on the third book!   

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