I should not exist. But I do.
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.
First of all, kudos to whoever did the cover. I don’t love it, but I feel like it really represents this book and the relationships between both sides of all the Hybrids. Very well done.
Now on to the actual story.
Mixed feelings on this book. First of all, there’s no denying the fact that Kat Zhang is talented. Bring able to balance everything about Eva and Addie’s characters is impressive enough. I mean–even without your two main characters being a part of the same body, it’s hard to make time for each of your main characters and develop all of them. But to keep track of everything that makes them them, that is truly amazing to me.
Not only that, but I loved the two of the them as they grew and as they began to show their true colors as each of themselves. Eva and Addie’s contrasting personalities make this story even more interesting and made the book a whole lot more readable than it would be if they had been similar. Zhang really hit the mark when she formatted her two mains the way she did. Even though Addie’s personality annoyed me at times, it made Eva look like a stronger character because of her kind and accepting nature. I really liked the relationship between the two of them, but I did feel like Addie was really unlikable and selfish at times.
The other characters were great. Not giving away anything, but the people that Eva and Addie meet and the things that they do really impacted the story and I loved Ryan and Lissa. In a way, I believe Zhang knew what she was doing when she formatted those three characters and their natures. If you look at the way they are and the way Addie and the crew are, they have more in common than you would think just looking at them from the outside.
As for the plot line, I can’t say I didn’t see some things coming. While the premise was original and fascinating to read about and while I did like it, a lot of the twists to this story I knew would happen eventually. So the premise was great, but the plot line–I felt–could’ve been stronger. I don’t know. Maybe Zhang is setting things up for the next book in this series.
I wasn’t a fan of the pacing either. I felt like the beginning was pretty good, but t got steadily slower and slower to the point where I was skimming whole chapters.
All in all, I did really enjoy this book. I feel like it can get a lot stronger, but overall it was a pretty great startup to a new series. There’s a lot of ways Zhang can go from here and I hope she utilizes that capability. I can’t wait to see how she and her stories grow from here on out. 3.8 stars.
pg count for the hardback: 352
Series: The Hybrid Chronicles
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