What's Left of Me: Summary and book reviews of What's Left of Me by Kat Zhang, plus links to an excerpt from What's Left of Me and a biography of Kat Zhang.
What's Left of Me The Hybrid Chronicles, Book One
by Kat Zhang
Hardcover: Sep 2012,
352 pages.
Paperback: 13 Aug 2013,
336 pages.
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.
I believe readers 13 and up, will enjoy this book, which is more than just a tense, edge-of-your-seat adventure; it is also a moving and thought-provoking drama, with broad appeal. Its exploration about the meaning of identity and a focus on gender issues will bring many interesting discussion topics for the classroom or for a book club. (Reviewed by Cindy Anderson).
Kirkus Review
A thought provoking first installment in a series that unflinchingly takes on ethically challenging topics.
Booklist
Despite some predictable story elements and the occasionally confusing use of collective and individual pronouns, this debut offers an intriguing depiction of sibling relationships and the challenges of learning to live as distinct, though not physically separate, individuals.
Publishers Weekly
Starred Review. Addressing issues of identity, ethics, and choice, Zhang's concept is original and provocative; the deep bond between Eva and Addie ... and the mystery about why their society is so desperate to 'fix' hybrids are riveting.
Dystopian themes have appeared in literature throughout history, but the first use of the word is credited to John Stuart Mill. In 1868, during a speech to the British House of Commons, he played upon the well-known word, "utopia" (adding "dys," which is derived from a Greek word meaning "bad") and used it to criticize legislators who supported a policy with which he disagreed. He said that they were "dys-topians" because they were supporting a policy that was "too bad to be practical."
As to the word "utopia," it would have been familiar to Mill's audience because it had been around for over 350 years, having been coined by Thomas More (the Renaissance humanist and writer) who combined the Greek words for "good place" (eutopia) and "no place," (outopia) for the title of his 1516 book about an idyllic island society. His Utopia was not the first of its kind, however....
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Kirkus Review
Dystopian themes have appeared in literature throughout history, but the first use of the word is credited to John Stuart Mill. In 1868, during a speech to the British House of Commons, he played upon the well-known word, "utopia" (adding "dys," which is derived from a Greek word meaning "bad") and used it to criticize legislators who supported a policy with which he disagreed. He said that they were "dys-topians" because they were supporting a policy that was "too bad to be practical."
