About the Author

Julianna Baggott is the author of numerous novels, including Pure, which was a New York Times Notable Book in 2012. Her poems have been reprinted in Best American Poetry, and her essays have appeared in the New York Times Book Review, the Washington Post, the Boston Globe, and on NPR's All Things Considered. She teaches at the College of the Holy Cross and in Florida State University's College of Motion Picture Arts.

Reviews

"A boiling and roiling glorious mosh-pit of a book, full of wonderful weirdness, tenderness, and wild suspense. If Katniss could jump out of her own book and pick a great friend, I think she'd find an excellent candidate in Pressia."
--Aimee Bender, author of The Particular Sadness of Lemon Cake

"A great gorgeous whirlwind of a novel, boundless in its imagination. You will be swept away."--Justin Cronin, New York Times bestselling author of The Passage

"Baggott's highly anticipated postapocalyptic horror novel...is a fascinating mix of stark, oppressive authoritarianism and grotesque anarchy...Baggott mixes brutality, occasional wry humor, and strong dialogue into an exemplar of the subgenre."--Publisher's Weekly (STARRED review)

"From the first page on, there are no brakes on this book. It's nearly impossible to stop reading as Baggott delves fearlessly into a grotesque and fascinating future populated by strangely endearing victims (and perpetrators) of a wholly unique apocalypse. And trust me, PURE packs one hell of an apocalypse."--Daniel H. Wilson, New York Times bestselling author of Robopocalypse

"PURE is a dark adventure that is both startling and addictive at once. Pressia Belze is one part manga heroine and one part post-apocalyptic Alice, stranded in a surreal Wonderland where everyone and everything resonates with what has been lost. Breathtaking and frightening. I couldn't stop reading PURE."--Danielle Trussoni, bestselling author of Angelology

"What lifts PURE from the glut of blood-spattered young adult fiction is not the story Baggott tells but the exquisite precision of her prose...discomfiting and unforgettable."--The New York Times Sunday Book Review

In a creepy dystopian future, the detonation of nanotechnology bombs causes people to fuse with whatever was near them during the explosion-animals, other people, or, sometimes, objects. Since the blast, the unaffected "Pures" live inside the Dome in isolation and under rigid control. In swirling ash and constant fear, the misshapen "Wretches" live outside, eking out meager existences, hiding from the local militia, and plotting to attack the Dome. Partridge the Pure wants to find his mother and the truth about his past. Pressia the Wretch seeks safety and salvation. When the two meet, they find something else entirely. Baggott's imagery is matchless in this freakish and compelling tale of love and revolution. A full-cast narration (Khristine Hvam, Joshua Swanson, Kevin T. Collins, and Casey Holloway) transports the listener thoroughly into Baggott's imaginative and substantial details. VERDICT A sure hit for fans of Suzanne Collins's The Hunger Games and Stephenie Meyer's The Host. [The Grand Central pb will publish in December.-Ed.]-Terry Ann Lawler, Phoenix P.L. (c) Copyright 2012. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.