What’s Left of Me by Kat Zhang
Book #1 – The Hybrid Chronicles
Genres: Young Adult, Dystopia
Eva and Addie started out the same way as everyone else—two souls woven together in one body, taking turns controlling their movements as they learned how to walk, how to sing, how to dance. But as they grew, so did the worried whispers. Why aren’t they settling? Why isn’t one of them fading? The doctors ran tests, the neighbors shied away, and their parents begged for more time. Finally Addie was pronounced healthy and Eva was declared gone. Except, she wasn’t . . . For the past three years, Eva has clung to the remnants of her life. Only Addie knows she’s still there, trapped inside their body. Then one day, they discover there may be a way for Eva to move again. The risks are unimaginable-hybrids are considered a threat to society, so if they are caught, Addie and Eva will be locked away with the others. And yet . . . for a chance to smile, to twirl, to speak, Eva will do anything.
D.G.’s Rating – 4 skulls: B+
What’s Left of Me is a book with no easy answers. The first book in the Hybrid Chronicles series tells the story of Eva and Addie, two souls that share one body. According to the laws of their country, Eva – the recessive or “weaker” soul – should have disappeared in childhood but she’s held on, unbeknownst to her parents and society. She can’t control the body but shares her thoughts with Addie and witnesses everything that Addie does, even her dreams.
This book takes The Host to the next level but without an obvious solution. I was very conflicted as I read along because I could understand everybody’s point of view. I felt for Eva, who for all intents and purposes is a vegetable with absolutely no say in the actions of her body – I’d hyperventilate just thinking of not being able to move. I felt bad for Addie, who’s had one instance of privacy in her life – having to account for my actions every minute of every day would drive me bunkers. I felt bad for the parents, who wanted the best for their children but had to make a terrible decision. I even felt bad for the “villains” here. Are they ‘evil’ just for believing the status quo and the medical information of the day? I’m sure that people in the future will scoff at our over medicated society – just the way we do when we think of “blood-letting” or other primitive forms of medical treatment – but does that mean that doctors today are ‘evil’ for trying to solve every problem with medications?
Evolutionarily, having a world full of hybrids “fighting” with themselves doesn’t make much sense – any trait that makes it difficult for a being to survive will make it go extinct. Just imagine the number of suicides and accidents if you had two people fighting for control of a body! But the premise made me think a lot so I’ll waive my evolutionary concerns.
Ms. Zhang did a good job identifying the important characters so their personalities went beyond the physical and the hybrids were different enough that they felt like two people even if they inhabited the same body. Although Eva would always say who it was, the reader really got the impression there were different people when you heard about Ryan, Devon, Hally and Lissa. Addie was a little more indistinct – you just had an impression of unhappiness and conflict – so I really hope to learn more about her in the next book.
The most important lesson of this story is that it reminds the reader to question the status quo. My husband is a college professor and he despairs at how much his students just accept whatever they are told without questioning. It’s not easy to discover that things are not black and white, that good parents can be wrong, that the media has an agenda, that interest groups have more say in the happenings in government but if we don’t learn to think critically, things will never improve. Where would we be if the Founding Fathers hadn’t decided to buck the beliefs of a lifetime and challenge the King?
I don’t know how this will end up but I definitely want to find out.
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D.G.
I'm a very eclectic reader – I read pretty much everything - so I switch genres after every book. Besides reading, I spend a lot of time with my husband and watching sports (I firmly believe that watching strong men running around in tight outfits is one of life’s simple pleasures.)