Once We Were Blog Tour: Kat Zhang Interview + Giveaway!

Welcome to my stop on the Once We Were blog tour! Today I'm please to have Kat Zhang here to answer a few questions about the next book in the Hybrid Chronicles and her writing life.

Welcome, Kat!!

•Eva and Addie are a little like siblings, a little like rivals, and both very different personalities. Which was your favorite to write? 
I don't know if I can say I have a favorite, haha! The series is from Eva's point of view, so that means I'm "in her head" more than I'm in Addie's, and the narrative sort of shares Eva's biases. They are definitely quite different, and I think they need each other, often, to balance themselves out.

•What’s Left of Me had a very unique style and mood to it---did you have a favorite place to write to help get in the mindset of the story?

I don't really have a favorite place to write--in fact, I don't life writing in the same place for too long, so I often pack up and move if I've been working for more than a few hours. My favorite times of day to write, though, are early in the morning and late at night. The "in-between" hours, so to speak, when the rest of the world is quieter, and real life seems less intrusive :)

 

•I’m sure Eva and Addie are up for many more twists in their story---do you already know how the series will end?  Do you think it will morph and change as you write it?

Well, considering I just finished the final major edits for Book3, yes, I do ;) I always had a general idea for the story's ending, but the path on how to get there morphed over time. Stories are always like that, I think--at least for me. 

•Is there anyone special, a teacher or mentor, who inspired you on your path to becoming a writer?

When I was twelve or so, I met a lady through an online writing forum who was the first person to tell me in no uncertain terms that I would be published one day. I'm sure for her it was probably just something nice and encouraging to say to a kid, but no one had ever told me that before (understandably-- "you will definitely be published one day" isn't something just thrown around!), and it really gave me a lot of hope.

When I finished the very, very first draft of WHAT'S LEFT OF ME, I let my crit partner, Savannah Foley, read it (we'd only just met back at the time, so we didn't even know each other that well). I'd never let anyone else read the whole thing (though some of my high school friends had read the first 1/2 or so while I was writing it my senior year). So when Savannah told me she thought it was really good, I was so thrilled and encouraged :)

•What kind of books did you love to read as a teenager?

Well, this is more during my pre-teen years, but fantasy and science-fiction, mostly. THE GOLDEN COMPASS, and ENDER'S GAME, and GREEN ANGEL are three that really encouraged me to start writing when I was like 12. I still read as a teen, but less, actually, than before. I was so busy reading books for school!

Fun questions:
•Favorite snack while writing?
 fruit. also cereal. :P

•Favorite movie?

oooh....hmm...I suck at picking favorites... Recently, I watched Atonement again, and I do like that movie. I dunno about favorite, though!

•Favorite color?

White!

•Favorite band and song right now?

Don't really have a favorite band. I find myself humming "Bruises" by Train a lot recently, haha. I like songs that tell a story, or hint at one.

•And everyone who visits Stories & Sweeties answers this one:  Do you like cupcakes? J  Frosting or cake better?

Yes, I do! And I like the cake part better ;)

Thanks for having me!

FIND KAT ZHANG ONLINE:

 Website  •  Twitter  •  Facebook

Enter below to win and ARC set of the first two books!
US only  •  Must be 13 or older  •  Ends 9/30/13

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Be sure to visit the rest of the stops on the Once We Were blog tour!  

9/9 Forever YA
9/10 Cuddlebuggery
9/12 The Midnight Garden 
9/13 The Book Smugglers
9/16 Finding Bliss in Books 

9/17Stories & Sweeties
9/18Lady Reader's Bookstuff

9/19I Swim for Oceans
9/20Birth of a New Witch 

Becky's View: What's Left of Me by Kat Zhang

What's Left of Me by Kat Zhang
♦publisher: HarperTeen
♦release date: September 18th, 2012
♦hardcover, 343 pages
♦intended audience: Young adult
♦series: The Hybrid Chronicles, book 1
♦source: trade show

I should not exist. But I do.

Eva and Addie started out the same way as everyone else—two souls woven together in one body, taking turns controlling their movements as they learned how to walk, how to sing, how to dance. But as they grew, so did the worried whispers. Why aren’t they settling? Why isn’t one of them fading? The doctors ran tests, the neighbors shied away, and their parents begged for more time. Finally Addie was pronounced healthy and Eva was declared gone. Except, she wasn’t . . .

For the past three years, Eva has clung to the remnants of her life. Only Addie knows she’s still there, trapped inside their body. Then one day, they discover there may be a way for Eva to move again. The risks are unimaginable-hybrids are considered a threat to society, so if they are caught, Addie and Eva will be locked away with the others. And yet . . . for a chance to smile, to twirl, to speak, Eva will do anything.

Review: In an alternate reality of our world, Addie and Eva are in danger.  Every human is born with two souls and right around age 10, the more dominant soul takes over and the other fades away; it’s called “settling”.  If one soul doesn’t die off, you are considered a Hybrid, with the potential for insanity and violence. 

All Hybrids in America are destroyed.
 
Addie and Eva never settle, a secret that they've learned to guard carefully. For years, Addie has acted as the dominant soul, while Eva stays hidden inside.  The story is told, uniquely, from Eva’s point of view.  While the story draws you in immediately, the writing style is stark and serious and it takes some getting used to. Because of the main character’s use of “we”, I don’t think I ever stopped being confused at first glance about someone else being present in the scene, when really they were just referring to the two souls in the same body.  It was a little hard to wrap my head around. 

It was a heartfelt story, a different kind of sibling relationship: both a strong bond and a rivalry.  They two souls struggle with each other---Eva’s wish to be more than just a voice in Addie’s head and the fact they will never be alone.  I loved how each girl’s personality was very distinct.  There weren’t many moments when you couldn’t tell which one was talking.  While I really liked them both, Eva was more hopeful and open, while Addie was very standoffish and cautious.   It was the same way with several of the characters: Hally and Lissa, Devon and Ryan---with twice the personalities, I’m surprised it wasn’t harder to remember who was who. 

What very slight romance there is in this story, I appreciated how slow-developing and secondary it was.  Once the girls are taken away to a horrible institution, there is so much danger and urgency, it would have been silly for them to be falling in love.  I thought it was perfectly timed to the story and woven in at moments where it made sense for any of them to be letting their guard down.  I also loved the conflict of how a relationship might work when there are two souls involved on either side.  I highly suspect an oncoming love triangle in book 2, but we’ll see.

I’m hoping for a little more background in Once We Were regarding why the Americas really destroy Hybrids and why the rest of the world doesn’t.  From what I can tell, Addie and Eva’s fight has just begun.  I’m excited to see the intensity of this series build even more.

Find Kat Zhang online: Website  •  Twitter  •  Facebook

Purchase What's Left of Me:  Amazon  •  BookDepository  •  Indiebound

Book Trailers: What's Left of Me, Adaptation, and Mystic City

It's been awhile since I've had time to prowl around the web for book trailers!  Here are few I came across today!

What's Left of Me by Kat Zhang
 

Adaptation by Malinda Lo


Mystic City by Theo Lawrence


 I think they did an amazing job with all three of these! I love when they almost look like movie trailers! :) What do you think? Are any of these on your TBR pile?