YA Review: Once We Were by Kat Zhang

Title: Once We Were (The Hybrid Chronicles #2)

Author: Kat Zhang

# of Pages: 352

Publisher: HarperCollins

Publication Date: September 17th 2013

Source: BEA

Level: Young Adult

Rating: 4 Hearts

Synopsis

"I'm lucky just to be alive"

Eva was never supposed to have survived this long. As the recessive soul, she should have faded away years ago. Instead, she lingers in the body she shares with her sister soul, Addie. When the government discovered the truth, they tried to “cure” the girls, but Eva and Addie escaped before the doctors could strip Eva’s soul away.

Now fugitives, Eva and Addie find shelter with a group of hybrids who run an underground resistance. Surrounded by others like them, the girls learn how to temporarily disappear to give each soul some much-needed privacy. Eva is thrilled at the chance to be alone with Ryan, the boy she’s falling for, but troubled by the growing chasm between her and Addie. Despite clashes over their shared body, both girls are eager to join the rebellion.

Yet as they are drawn deeper into the escalating violence, they start to wonder: How far are they willing to go to fight for hybrid freedom? Faced with uncertainty and incredible danger, their answers may tear them apart forever.

My Verdict  

I was lucky enough to snag a copy of this book at BEA back in June. I hadn't even left Kat Zhangs autograph line yet and I was cracking this puppy open! For the rest of the day, whenever I was waiting in line for something I was reading this book. 

A lot of the time with series, I don't like the sequel, but in this case I was pleasantly surprised. I didn't like it as much as the first but it's still a great continuation of the story and characters we grew attached to in book one. 

In the first book, Eva was fighting for her voice and slowly learning how to take control of their body. Now Addie & Eva slip in and out of control on a regular basis. Their body is just as much Eva's as it is Addies. Now living as part of the Hybrid resistance, Addie & Eva are starting to learn more about their kind. One of the biggest things they learn is how one of them can "sleep" to give the other privacy. This comes in handy for the romantic aspect of things, allowing Eva and Ryan's relationship to grow. However, it also brings about a whole new set of problems when the girls start keeping secrets from each other about how they're using that time. 

In the first book, I liked Eva a lot more than Addie. This time things completely flip-flopped. Eva was driving me nuts and Addie was the one I agreed with (most of the time). There were a few new characters that joined the picture: Sabine, Christoph, and Cordelia, all of which were well written; I just didn't like them. 

Overall this was a very enjoyable sequel that you don't want to miss!! If you haven't read the first book, WHAT'S LEFT OF ME,  go grab a copy, you'll breeze right through it and be back for this one.