Burn: The Final Pure Book

Burn finishes up the Pure trilogy, and like the other two, this one is well written and a page turner. This time we've got Pressia and her friends returning in the "borrowed" airship, only to find that their home is now burning and everything is coming to a head within the Dome, but they now have a possibility of bringing it all down. Partridge has returned to the Dome and is now in charge upon the death of his father, but he's confused and finding out that change isn't quite as easy as he'd thought it would be. Lyda's in the Dome as well, but there are still people in suspension, and Partridge discovers his father's left messages for him even after death. And there's so much more--El Capitan must deal with his feelings for Pressia, as must Bradwell, and people within the Dome aren't sure they even want to change. It's a page turning plot that made me realize how much I love these characters, flaws and all.

Biggest issue with Burn? The hanging plot threads that are never resolved. There are a lot of them, in fact. Not wanting to get spoilery, but a few plot points would be all right, but the amount of items left without resolution is pretty huge. I was surprised that we didn't get to see some big payoffs we'd been anticipating, and even more surprised when I got to the end and realized how many pages were actually spent on things that, in the end, didn't really matter all that much. As an aside, if there was ever a more irritating character than Iralene, I've yet to meet her.

Still, Burn is beautifully written and vivid. I totally love this awkward, warped, confused world and I would love for Ms. Baggott to consider more books in this setting. It's not a pretty book, but none of the three are. What it lacks in physical beauty, however, it more than makes up for in characterizations. When even a small black box can elicit emotional pangs from the reader, you know it's a special series.

~taminator40