Growing up in a small town somewhere in America (schools, family-themed restaurant, lots of cars, a bunch of huge churches, a Wallmart, a couple of multiplexes, so many trees), Mikey and his sister Mel (don’t call her Melinda) are just trying to get through their final year of high school, hoping that something so momentous happens that the indie kids have to blow up the school gym again. Who are the indie kids, you ask? The indie kids are the ones that all the YA […]
That Was Definitely Not What I Thought It Would Be
The progression of this story was pretty unexpected, and not entirely in a good way, to be honest. This YA novel begins in a slow-burning fashion, focusing largely on the main character, Seth, and his memories: very character-driven. Yet about a third of the way in, there is quite a twist, that changes the whole tone of the novel, and ultimately leaves more questions and confusion at the end of everything. There is the sense that Patrick Ness is trying to create an ambiguous ending for the reader […]
“Know yourself and go in swinging.”
I assumed Patrick Ness had written many, many YA books (because he’s really good at it) but I am so sad to find out that I’m terribly wrong — this is the last of his published works that I hadn’t read, and I’ve now read it. So cry a little tear for me. “You said we all want there to be more than this! Well, there’s always more than this. There’s always something you don’t know.” More Than This is one of those books where the main character […]
Tears and goosebumps in under 200 pages
This book is creepy and sad in equal turns, and I read through the whole thing without putting it down once. I was pretty much a wreck by the end. “There is not always a good guy. Nor is there always a bad one. Most people are somewhere in between.” Some neat backstory on this one: an author named Siobhan Dowd came up with the original concept, and discussed it with Patrick Ness. When her death prevented completion of the project, Ness took the idea […]