Review --- Fuse by Julianna Baggott

Summary (courtesy of Goodreads):    When the world ended, those who dwelled within the Dome were safe. Inside their glass world the Pures live on unscarred, while those outside—the Wretches—struggle to survive amidst the smoke and ash.

Believing his mother was living among the Wretches, Partridge escaped from the Dome to find her. Determined to regain control over his son, Willux, the leader of the Pures, unleashes a violent new attack on the Wretches. It’s up to Pressia Belze, a young woman with her own mysterious past, to decode a set of cryptic clues from the past to set the Wretches free. 

An epic quest that sweeps readers into a world of beautiful brutality, Fusecontinues the story of two people fighting to save their futures—and change the fate of the world

And here's what I thought:   This is the sequel to Pure, which I had read a while back, and which I just re-read (in anticipation for a book group meeting which, as it turned out, I couldn't go to after all).    I was glad that I had just re-read Pure, because I was able to dive right into Fuse without losing where the storyline had ended.  

Part of what I like about this book is that the author continues the smooth prose that she had in the first book.  There are varied characters, all of them interesting, and while there is a main storyline, there are some storylines that branch out from it.   There's tension, and a steady pace, so I found that I was turning the pages  pretty quickly, and I was absorbed into the story.   I found all of the characters compelling, and so I wanted to know what was going to happen to them.

Another thing I like about the author's writing is that she isn't one to shy away from ugliness.  What I mean is, in this world that she has created, there are ugly things --- and as a reader, you face them head-one.  Like one of the characters, you accept that they are there, and part of the world, and without them, there wouldn't be much of an interesting world, at all.   The post-apocalyptic elements in this world are part of what drive the story, but they aren't the entire story.

All in all, the book didn't disappoint.  The only tricky thing now is that I'll have to wait for the third book (and probably will re-read this one before, so I can find my place again).

First lines:   Lying on a thin coat of snow, she sees gray earth meeting gray sky, and she knows she's back.  The horizon looks clawed, but the claw marks are only three stunted trees.  They stand in a row like they're stapling the ground to the sky.

Challenge accepted!  This book weighs in at 463 pages, so qualifies for the Chunkster Challenge I signed up for!