Review: What's Left of Me by Kat Zhang

Title: What's Left of Me

Author: Kat Zhang

Reviewed by: Cassie

Summary (from Goodreads.com)

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 others. And yet... for the chance to smile, to twirl, to speak, Eva will do anything.

Have you ever been to an ice cream shop, and you didn't know what to choose because there were so many tantalizing flavors whispering your name? (Of course you have.) And then you choose one, one that looks really good and the name is practically demanding you choose it, right here, right now? And then you have the spoon of ice cream in your mouth, and instead of going mmmmm you sit there confused and wonder why it looked so good but tasted so blah?

Well, that's like what happened to me with this book. I read so many glowing reviews, and I thought this must be pretty darn amazing for that to happen. But then I cracked it open, and I just couldn't get into What's Left of Me.

The premise is extremely promising; I couldn't get these sentences out of my head. A girl trapped in a body, experiencing things she can't control and might not want. A horrible nightmare. And if you liked The Lost Girl by Sangu Mandanna a lot, this sort of had the same vibe. Except it wasn't as emotional.

I feel like this was sort of a warmer-upper for the future books, where a rebellion may or may not happen in the name of hybrids, but I'm just not interested enough to find out.

The characters were mediocre; not bad, not good. The plot was also mediocre; there wasn't much action. The idea was amazing, and hopefully Kat Zhang will pound action into her next book. Because if Eva had a little more spunk in her, a little sass, then I would have probably found myself unable to put down the book. Unfortunately, Eva isn't spunky and none of the characters are, so I found them boring. If you don't care about sassy characters, I'm sure you'll find this book intriguing and probably like this. This just wasn't my cup of tea, so I found it boring. :(

Thanks for stopping by!

Cassie