Before I read What’s Left of Me, I have to admit that I had some reservations over the book. I wasn’t sure that it was going to be for me. But I am so happy to say that they were completely unnecessary. This book was incredibly compelling and not what I was expecting to read at all. It was an interesting dystopia with a really fresh idea, something that can be difficult to cultivate in a genre as wide and varied as this one. I read What’s Left of Me in one sitting, and now find myself impatiently awaiting its sequel to be released!First and foremost, What’s Left of Me made me really think. What would it be like to have two souls, to be connected to someone who I was closer to than two sheets of paper, and then have them fade away, leaving me alone? It would definitely feel like I’d have had half of myself ripped away, and that was why I desperately wanted Addie and Eva to stay together, no matter the cost.I preferred Eva over Addie, although I think this could be because the story is told from Eva’s perspective, so we only get her side of events and her take on Addie’s actions. I thought Addie was rather unlikeable throughout the entire book, but if I put myself into her situation, I’m sure I’d act a lot like she did, so her actions were understandable to me. I adored Hally as a character – I had an idea about her when we were first introduced to her, and I was rather pleased that my suspicions were correct (for once!), especially as it came at a point in the book where the action really amped itself up and the book became totally unputdownable for me. The action then exploded when Eva and Addie were sent to the institution, and I’m sure I was holding my breath through chapters because the anticipation was nearly too much to handle. I was interested to see how Zhang would tackle the love story that was slowly developing between Ryan and Eva, as it was in no way conventional! The love story doesn’t take over the plot, which I was really thankful for, and I thought it was done really well, particularly Addie’s reaction to Ryan and Eva. She wanted no part in them, but she didn’t have any choice in the matter. It was nice seeing Eva able to control Addie as the book progressed, because I felt that she made better decisions that Addie would have done in certain situations. What’s Left of Me was an extremely interesting book with enough questions left open to leave me desperately pining for a copy of the sequel. This was a totally different take on dystopia, and for me, it really, really worked.
