Review: Once We Were by Kat Zhang

Title: Once We Were
Author: Kat Zhang
Series: The Hybrid Chronicles, book #2
Publisher: HarperCollins
Publication Date: September 17, 2013
Source: received from publisher via Edelweiss
Purchase: Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Audible

"I'm lucky just to be alive."

Eva was never supposed to have survived this long. As the recessive soul, she should have faded away years ago. Instead, she lingers in the body she shares with her sister soul, Addie. When the government discovered the truth, they tried to “cure” the girls, but Eva and Addie escaped before the doctors could strip Eva’s soul away.

Now fugitives, Eva and Addie find shelter with a group of hybrids who run an underground resistance. Surrounded by others like them, the girls learn how to temporarily disappear to give each soul some much-needed privacy. Eva is thrilled at the chance to be alone with Ryan, the boy she’s falling for, but troubled by the growing chasm between her and Addie. Despite clashes over their shared body, both girls are eager to join the rebellion.

Yet as they are drawn deeper into the escalating violence, they start to wonder: How far are they willing to go to fight for hybrid freedom? Faced with uncertainty and incredible danger, their answers may tear them apart forever.

When I read What's Left of Me last year, I thought it was a great addition to the dystopian sub-genre, which was rife with tedium and copy-cat novels.  It was completely unique to the subset and added in a hint of sci-fi that seemed to be missing from other similarly themed novels.  And I still think the sheer humanness of this series sets it apart from all the others.  But for one reason or another, I felt that this sequel lacked the same impact of the previous installment, that je ne sais quoi that compelled me to continue reading.

I realize that not much time has elapsed in this series overall, but I still feel that Eva's a little too naive at this point.  Her sister soul Addy, on the other hand, seems to have matured exponentially.  I empathize with both of their plights, but both souls need to be on the same page if they're ever to accomplish anything.  I do love the bond these girls share, that when push comes to shove, they trust each other above everyone.  I just wish it didn't come to pushing and shoving for them to realize that.

There's really just one major storyline running through this sequel, with an awkward romantic quadrangle thrown in for good measure, but I'll get to that in a minute.  Both of these situations, however, I found utterly predictable, despite the fact that the characters were completely shocked by the turn of events.  The rebellion is all that is discussed in this book, and yet we only really hear from one faction of it, the one willing to risk it all to make a difference.  I'd liked to have seen more of Peter's group and learn what they were doing to subvert Jenson's attempts to cure others like they did Jamie in the first book.

The romance in this series is bound to get squicky...two souls in one body, both vying for the attentions of two completely different entities.  Is it a love triangle...or a quadrangle?  There are four souls involved but only three bodies.  If nothing else, it's messy.  Eva and Addy try to give each other privacy by fading out of existence at times, but they're not quite in control of that faculty yet, and awkward situations are aplenty.

I missed the nuances of the changes between souls that came so naturally in the first book.  I felt that I was being told a lot more instead of being shown who was in control of whose body at any given time.  Maybe it was because the characters have been around each other long enough and grown accustomed to each other that they no longer have to decipher who is who...it's just so obvious.  But this time around, it felt more like the Matrix-y shifting of Mr. Smith than the subtle shifting I observed in What's Left of Me.


This was a solid sequel...it just wasn't what I'd been expecting.  I think the first book was full of heart, whereas this book brought the action, the betrayal, and the heartbreak.  I'll definitely still pick up the next installment, though, especially since I have no idea what to expect from it now.

About the author:

Kat Zhang spent most of her childhood tramping through a world weaved from her favorite stories and games. When she and her best friend weren't riding magic horses or talking to trees, they were writing adaptations of plays for their stuffed animals (what would The Wizard of Oz have been like if the Cowardly Lion were replaced by a Loquacious Lamb?). This may or may not explain many of Kat's quirks today.

By the age of twelve, Kat had started her first novel and begun plans for her life as a Real Live Author (she was rather more confident at twelve than she is even now). Said plans didn't come into fruition until seven years later, when her agent sold her trilogy, The Hybrid Chronicles, to HarperCollins. The first book, WHAT'S LEFT OF ME–about a girl with two souls–will released September 18, 2012. Book 2 in the series, ONCE WE WERE, will be released September 17, 2013.

Kat is represented by Emmanuelle Morgen of Stonesong. She also performs as a Spoken Word poet and contributes to Pub(lishing) Crawl, a site for aspiring writers to talk about books, storytelling craft, and the publishing process. Kat has also had the pleasure of remote interning for a literary agent, specializing in Young Adult fiction.

When she is not exploring the world of her characters, she is exploring her own. To date, she's had the pleasure of visiting five countries, including more than half of the United States. She hopes to always keep writing and traveling.

Find Kat:

Website | Blog | Twitter | Facebook | Goodreads

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Labels: dystopian, harper-collins, kat zhang, reviews, the hybrid chronicles

Teaser Tuesday #74: Once We Were by Kat Zhang

Teaser Tuesday is a weekly bookish meme, hosted by MizB of Should Be Reading. Anyone can play along! Just do the following:

• Grab your current read
• Open to a random page
• Share two (2) “teaser” sentences from somewhere on that page
• BE CAREFUL NOT TO INCLUDE SPOILERS! (Make sure that what you share doesn’t give too much away! You don’t want to ruin the book for others!)
• Share the title & author, too, so that other TT participants can add the book to their TBR Lists if they like your teasers!

Here's what I'm teasing this week:

Title: Once We Were
Author: Kat Zhang
Series: The Hybrid Chronicles, book #2
Publisher: HarperCollins
Publication Date: September 17, 2013
Source: received from publisher via Edelweiss
Purchase: Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Audible

"I'm lucky just to be alive."

Eva was never supposed to have survived this long. As the recessive soul, she should have faded away years ago. Instead, she lingers in the body she shares with her sister soul, Addie. When the government discovered the truth, they tried to “cure” the girls, but Eva and Addie escaped before the doctors could strip Eva’s soul away.

Now fugitives, Eva and Addie find shelter with a group of hybrids who run an underground resistance. Surrounded by others like them, the girls learn how to temporarily disappear to give each soul some much-needed privacy. Eva is thrilled at the chance to be alone with Ryan, the boy she’s falling for, but troubled by the growing chasm between her and Addie. Despite clashes over their shared body, both girls are eager to join the rebellion.

Yet as they are drawn deeper into the escalating violence, they start to wonder: How far are they willing to go to fight for hybrid freedom? Faced with uncertainty and incredible danger, their answers may tear them apart forever.

    "I woke to the taste of someone else's mouth.
    I woke to an arm curled around my waist. Fingers I didn't recognize tangled in my hair. The warmth of some stranger's body.
    I tore away. I stumbled in the semidarkness.
    Eva, don't scream."

-- 57%, Loc 2368 of galley

This could get awkward -- and ugly -- real fast.  How difficult it must be to share a body with your sister. Things got heated between my sister and I growing up, and we only shared a room!  :P



What are you teasing this week?  Share it in the comments or leave a link so I can visit!

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Labels: dystopian, favorites, harper-collins, kat zhang, must-read, teaser tuesday, the hybrid chronicles

Waiting on Wednesday: Once We Were by Kat Zhang & OCD Love Story by Corey Ann Haydu

"Waiting On" Wednesday is a weekly event, hosted by Jill at Breaking the Spine, that spotlights upcoming releases that we're eagerly anticipating.

This week's WoW selection's are...

Title: Once We Were
Author: Kat Zhang
Series: The Hybrid Chronicles, book #2
Publisher: HarperCollins
Publication Date: September 17, 2013

Eva was never supposed to have survived this long. As the recessive soul, she should have faded away years ago. Instead, she lingers in the body she shares with her sister soul, Addie. When the government discovered the truth, they tried to “cure” the girls, but Eva and Addie escaped before the doctors could strip Eva’s soul away.

Now fugitives, Eva and Addie find shelter with a group of hybrids who run an underground resistance. Surrounded by others like them, the girls learn how to temporarily disappear to give each soul some much-needed privacy. Eva is thrilled at the chance to be alone with Ryan, the boy she’s falling for, but troubled by the growing chasm between her and Addie. Despite clashes over their shared body, both girls are eager to join the rebellion.

Yet as they are drawn deeper into the escalating violence, they start to wonder: How far are they willing to go to fight for hybrid freedom? Faced with uncertainty and incredible danger, their answers may tear them apart forever.

I loved the first book in this series.  The idea of a symbiotic relationship between two souls in one body was what drew me to the book, but the writing and the characters are what held my attention.  I cannot wait to read this sequel and see what happens to and between Eva and Addie, not to mention the people they've met along the way.  And I love these covers!

Title: OCD Love Story
Author: Corey Ann Haydu
Series: n/a
Publisher: Simon Pulse
Publication Date: July 23, 2013

When Bea meets Beck, she knows instantly that he's her kind of crazy. Sweet, strong, kinda-messed-up Beck understands her like no one else can. He makes her feel almost normal. He makes her feel like she could fall in love again.

But despite her feelings for Beck, Bea can't stop thinking about someone else: a guy who is gorgeous and magnetic... and has no idea Bea even exists. But Bea knows a ton about him. She spends a lot of time watching him. She has a journal full of notes. Some might even say she's obsessed.

Bea tells herself she's got it all under control, but this isn't a choice, it's a compulsion. The truth is, she's breaking down... and she might end up breaking her own heart.

Technically, I actually have a review copy of this book, but I'm so excited to read it.  Plus, Jen won't let me start it until I finish my current reads (boo!) so I really am waiting on it.  Lol.  I've always thought she was a bit OCD, so I'm sure I'll be able to relate to this character on some level.  :P





What are you waiting on this week?  Feel free to share it in the comments or leave a link so we can stop by!

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Labels: contemporary, corey ann haydu, dystopian, harper-collins, kat zhang, ocd love story, sci-fi, simon schuster, the hybrid chronicles, tough subject, waiting on wednesday (wow)

Review: What's Left of Me by Kat Zhang

Title:  What's Left of Me
Author:  Kat Zhang
Series:  1st book in The Hybrid Chronicles
Publisher:  HarperTeen
Publication Date:  September 18, 2012
Source:  galley from publisher
Purchase:  Amazon | Barnes & Noble

What's Left of Me tells the story of a fifteen-year-old girl fighting for her right to survive in a world where two souls are born into each body and one is doomed to disappear. Pitched as The Golden Compass meets Girl, Interrupted.

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.

So, it’s been awhile since I’ve read The Golden Compass and even longer still since I’ve seen Girl, Interruped, but I don’t think a cross between those is how I would pitch this novel.  No, I think the comparisons to Meyer’s The Host are more apt, and though I appreciated that book quite a bit more than I expected to after reading Twilight, I still think What’s Left of Me handles the symbiotic relationship between two souls in a more fascinating manner.  I’m not thumbing my nose at The Host by any means, though…I’m still as excited for the movie as the rest of you guys.  J

I think I expected What’s Left of Me to be slow and methodical:  a science fiction piece exploring the inner dialogue between two souls and the complexities that arise as they fight for control of one body.  And there was plenty of that.  But what I hadn’t expected was the external prodding to coexist that the two souls were faced with and where it came from.  And how they reacted to such prompting.  To say that there were lots of twists and unpredictable situations would be an understatement.

So…plenty of action, but also beaucoups of emotion, as well.  It was so difficult to read from Eva’s point-of-view. She was the lesser soul, the one who was supposed to fade as Addie’s soul grew more dominant.  To be trapped like that, inside your own body, and know that no one misses you…it’s unimaginable.  And yet that’s the fate that Eva has suffered for the last three years because no one but Addie even knows she’s still there, desperate to move of her own volition.

This book could cause one to have an existential crisis.  Dissociative identity disorder is a very real and very serious mental ailment.  But what if it were really the manifestation of two souls battling for domination over one mind?  Essentially, that’s what’s happening in Hybrids, where two souls remain past the age where one should have faded into nothingness.  When other Hybrids were around Addie/Eva, you would have thought it would be difficult to discern which soul was present, but I never found it confusing or distracting, as Eva would always remark upon the change.  And the way she described it was nothing like I expected, which was more like a person morphing into a Smith from The Matrix.  No, the shift in a Hybrid was very subtle, just a straightening of features, a crook of the mouth, or a glint in the eyes that marked the change.

This is very much a science fiction novel, full of government conspiracies, sterile labs, and barely legal medical testing.  If you read for romance, you might be slightly disappointed with this novel, because though the implications are there, the romance is hardly expanded upon and it takes a backseat to everything else in the book.  But in my opinion, the book is better for it.  How would you feel if the other entity living inside your head wanted to kiss someone you didn’t even really like?  Yeah…I thought so.

Rating:  1/2

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Labels: dystopian, harper-collins, kat zhang, post-apocalyptic, reviews, the hybrid chronicles