What's Left Of Me by Kat Zhang

This new author is young - not as young as Paolini of Eragon fame, but she's barely in her second year of college, and this book has been brewing in her head since she was twelve. What's Left of Me is the beginning of another young adult series called the Hybrid Chronicles, taking place in an alternate version of present-day Earth. The people in this universe are all born with two souls housed in the same body. Essentially, by the time a person is past their toddler years, a "dominant soul" is expected to take over the body, while the "recessive soul" fades away entirely. Children who don't completely merge are seen as hybrids, and are dangerous for reasons that aren't fully explained in this breakout novel; the main characters are actually two souls, Addie and Eva, both conscious in the shared body. Once again you've got teens on the run from the government, but as readers uncover the horrible medical and political secrets kept from the public, things get more intense than expected. Addie and Eva communicate through a form of thought/speak reminiscent of the familiars from Pullman's Dark Materials series and Applegate's Animorph series. Because it's two people in one body, it's like reading about a person with multiple personalities, except it's happening at the same time and while a girl is going through the tough teenage years. Seriously, characters in young adult novels have it beyond rough. Ages 13+

Reviewd by Robbin from Compass Books (Our Airport Store)