Once We Were by Kat Zhang

Author: Kat Zhang
Title: Once We Were
Series: The Hybrid Chronicles #2
Publication: September 17, 2013
Publisher: HarperCollins
Source: Netgalley

"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.

I picked this up because the idea of two souls living in one body intrigued me. I liked the thought of all the possible complications that this could cause when they would begin to explore feelings of love and it's interesting to see a little of that in this book. Addie and Eva both experiment with going under to give the other more freedom and privacy but Addie's at first reluctant but embraces it when she becomes interested in a boy seems to change her mind and I'm sure other things, she eventually gets over her discomfort. I think their exploration of alone time messes up what the girls have and distrust and secrecy starts to creep in.

I actually like Eva more in the first book and Addie a bit in this one towards the end. She seems more cautious than Eva, who is still adjusting to having control of their body. Eva's learning the world as she goes and like most teenagers wants acceptance among her peers, so when Sabine and her friends invite then into their fold she jumps at the chance. She begins to become involved in a dangerous scheme to show the world that hybrids are here and willing to fight back to stop the institutions from experimenting on them. Eva falls so deep that she becomes blinded by her want to please her friends that she stops listening to Addie and loses sight on what's right and it's too late as events start to escalate beyond her control. 

I'm curious how the romance will unfold in the next book and how the girls will progress. They can't seem to stay out of trouble. There is one thing I want to know...what was on the tape that Kitty felt was so important to retrieve and give to Addie? Overall, the girls are realistic, especially Eva, with her need to experience everything for herself, no longer content living in the shadows but out front and making decisions. Addie's anger, fear and wanting make it easy to connect with her as well. I think readers that enjoyed the first book will enjoy the girls’ struggle being independent and separate people.