Review Detail

What I Liked:
Kat Zhang’s What’s Left of Me blew my mind with its creativity. The concept of the hybrids, of two souls inhabiting a single body, fascinates me with its complications. The fact that Zhang produced such a well-written, philosophically and emotionally complex novel before the age of 25 awes me and depresses me, because what the heck have I done? As such, I was highly anticipating Once We Were and, while I do not think it’s quite as enjoyable as the first book in the series, it’s a solid follow-up.

In Once We Were Zhang really dives into the day-to-day difficulties of sharing a body with someone. Addie and Eva are really close, both literally obviously and figuratively. Even so, they manage to keep secrets from one another, and there are definitely more tensions in their relationship now that they’re of an age to have romantic entanglements. As Eva and Ryan’s relationship heats up, borders need to be set and complications arise.

While it’s super awkward, I’m glad that Zhang really delved into all of this. If Addie and Eva like different guys, they’re going to both have to use the same body for physical affection, and it’s possible they might both be in there while it happens, kind of like the awkward love scenes in The Host. Conveniently, it is possible for one of the souls to kind of black out for a while, but there’s only so much control over how long they stay “asleep” and they could wake up to anything. Privacy is limited when you’re sharing a body.

Even though Addie and Eva are at odds through much of the book, their relationship is still a touching one. They care for and support one another so much. While to some degree sharing a body seems like a limitation, there’s the benefit of always having someone there to back you up and put you first. Sometimes romance is described as finding the person who makes you whole (not a description I care for personally), and it’s almost like the hybrids are already whole. Having someone with you would be really helpful. In a crisis, whichever of you is capable of facing it can take over. There are a lot of strengths to sharing too.

The plot doesn’t really pick up until halfway through the book, but it’s an interesting look at the ethics of the situation of the hybrids. Hunted and feared, how should the hybrids react? They’re currently in hiding, but that’s not safe. Do you fight back? Move to a country where hybrids are accepted? Keep moving around and lying low? Addie and Eva are faced with the choice between taking action and avoiding notice. It’s a tricky decision, especially when surrounded by peers pressuring you one way or another. I thought Zhang handled this in a really believable way for how young Eva and Addie are.

What Left Me Wanting More:
The opening of Once We Were was pretty confusing for me, because it has been about a year since I read the first book. Unlike with most books, there are two personalities to remember for each body, and putting together who was who and which ones I needed to care about took me a while. There’s a fairly large cast and a pretty slow pace, especially at the start. The pacing and how long it took me to piece together everything from the first book were the biggest detractors. Perhaps I would have done better had I read the series back to back.

The Final Verdict:
Once We Were moves at a slow pace, but continues to raise really thought-provoking concepts. Like the first, this is a great book for discussion, and an excellent choice for readers who enjoy speculative fiction.