In this world all children are born with two souls in one body. One of those souls is expected to be recessive and to settle – basically fading away to nothingness. But when the norm doesn’t happen they’re called Hybrids and society considers them to be a very dangerous thing and force them to go through medical testing and counseling until the dominant soul is the only one left.

This is what Addie and Eva have gone through and come out the other side – but with a secret. Eva, the recessive soul, has survived. They consciously work daily to ensure that no one suspects this, not even their family.

“But understanding a thing and accepting it are so very different things.”

When they meet another Hybrid everything changes. Eva is given a chance to have a voice again and while Addie wants to stick with the status quo, for once Eva won’t let her. It’s incredibly dangerous and if anyone finds out they could be institutionalized or worse.

From the very beginning Kat Zhang’s prose grabbed me and pulled me into this world and into Addie/Eva’s head. The book is told from Eva’s point of view which is in stark contrast to her world, where she literally has no voice. Eva’s experiences were heartbreaking and very well expressed.

As the book progresses and there are more and more decisions to make we get to hear Addie and Eva’s internal monologue on how to deal with these new challenges. Addie has been used to being the dominant soul and letting go of that is hard for her but she still wants to give Eva the chance to not be hidden anymore.

I would highly recommend this book, it’s a different take that I’ve ever seen before and I am super excited to review the second book What We Were in a few weeks when it comes out!

5 stars

~Clio

Buy it Now What’s Left of Me: The Hybrid Chronicles, Book One