mollie_isabel's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
hopeful
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.75
alice_digest's review against another edition
5.0
While this book may have teenage protagonists and be aimed at the young adult audience, that should not put off older readers. It is incredibly compelling and fast paced. Patrick Ness never ends a chapter without giving you the need to immediately start the next one! I read half of this book in one evening, and it was difficult to put it down and go to sleep! It is also resonspible for one of the handle of times that I have had actually cried real tears when reading. Not just teared up eyes.. but real, big tears down my cheeks.
The premise was on that I found extremely intereting. Imagine a world where Men's thoughts were constantly project out so that everybody could hear them all the time, in a constant unending noise (or rather, Noise)? It would be unbearable. And on top of that, this occurance only effects males.. women can keep their thoughts to themselves. Ideas about gender and power at the heart of this novel, as well as colonisation, group mentalities and the difficult choices that must be made when you are reaching adulthood.
Todd is the protagonist and narrator. He has grown up in a small, isolated town populated exclusively by men. He is the last boy in the town, a month away from his fourteenth birthday when he offically becomes a man. A year in Prentisstown is 13 months, Todd is 13 years and 12 months old. This is only of a number of perversions about Prentisstown. We soon learn that everything that Todd thought he knew was a lie.. and that he must now run for his life.
Some people may be irked by the writing style that Ness employs; in places he mispells works like "thru" and "atenshun." This is because Todd is telling us this story and he is only semi-literate, something that is quite important to the plot. I personally didn't have a problem with this and I think it only added to the charm of Todd. Todd, because of his upbringing in an isolated town that he believes to be the only one on the planet, and where books are illegal, isn't the sharpest tool in the shed. He is often very slow to catch onto things that the reader has probably worked out pages before. This again might be annoying but I actually found it endearing, such is the strength of Ness's powers of characterisation. I feel that Viola (the strange girl he meets in the swamp)is having the same frustrations, she comes across as intelligent enough to have worked out much of what Todd doesn't immediately understand (all of this through Todd's gaze), but if she can be patient with him so can I! I also really enjoyed his relationship with Viola and it developed very sweetley.
One device that really had me turning the pages, and I did become frustrated with.. was the book that Todd carries with him. It is his dead mothers diary written after he was born and before she died. Because he can't read very well (barely at all) Todd is reluctant to open it, and is embarassed to ask Viola to read it for him. We as the reader know that most of Todd's (Viola's, and the our) questions are likely to be answered by the diary! This certainly made me read on, the rich world of New World is full of unanswered questions! (Not least, what happened to the Old World?). Viola has the patience of a saint just on the strength of not snatching that damn book out of his bag and giving it a good read!
Even by the end of this installment I don't think that we know a fraction of what has really transpired and I want/need to know more! This book has much more depth than your average YA, there are some big themes to chew over (some of them certainly VERY dark, and there is a lot of bloody violence). Fans of the Hunger Games would want to give this a go.
I can't wait to get into Chaos Walking Book 2: The Ask and the Answer.
Also, Manchee is the BEST dog in fiction. Even better than Timmy. Manchee rules.
The premise was on that I found extremely intereting. Imagine a world where Men's thoughts were constantly project out so that everybody could hear them all the time, in a constant unending noise (or rather, Noise)? It would be unbearable. And on top of that, this occurance only effects males.. women can keep their thoughts to themselves. Ideas about gender and power at the heart of this novel, as well as colonisation, group mentalities and the difficult choices that must be made when you are reaching adulthood.
Todd is the protagonist and narrator. He has grown up in a small, isolated town populated exclusively by men. He is the last boy in the town, a month away from his fourteenth birthday when he offically becomes a man. A year in Prentisstown is 13 months, Todd is 13 years and 12 months old. This is only of a number of perversions about Prentisstown. We soon learn that everything that Todd thought he knew was a lie.. and that he must now run for his life.
Some people may be irked by the writing style that Ness employs; in places he mispells works like "thru" and "atenshun." This is because Todd is telling us this story and he is only semi-literate, something that is quite important to the plot. I personally didn't have a problem with this and I think it only added to the charm of Todd. Todd, because of his upbringing in an isolated town that he believes to be the only one on the planet, and where books are illegal, isn't the sharpest tool in the shed. He is often very slow to catch onto things that the reader has probably worked out pages before. This again might be annoying but I actually found it endearing, such is the strength of Ness's powers of characterisation. I feel that Viola (the strange girl he meets in the swamp)is having the same frustrations, she comes across as intelligent enough to have worked out much of what Todd doesn't immediately understand (all of this through Todd's gaze), but if she can be patient with him so can I! I also really enjoyed his relationship with Viola and it developed very sweetley.
One device that really had me turning the pages, and I did become frustrated with.. was the book that Todd carries with him. It is his dead mothers diary written after he was born and before she died. Because he can't read very well (barely at all) Todd is reluctant to open it, and is embarassed to ask Viola to read it for him. We as the reader know that most of Todd's (Viola's, and the our) questions are likely to be answered by the diary! This certainly made me read on, the rich world of New World is full of unanswered questions! (Not least, what happened to the Old World?). Viola has the patience of a saint just on the strength of not snatching that damn book out of his bag and giving it a good read!
Even by the end of this installment I don't think that we know a fraction of what has really transpired and I want/need to know more! This book has much more depth than your average YA, there are some big themes to chew over (some of them certainly VERY dark, and there is a lot of bloody violence). Fans of the Hunger Games would want to give this a go.
I can't wait to get into Chaos Walking Book 2: The Ask and the Answer.
Also, Manchee is the BEST dog in fiction. Even better than Timmy. Manchee rules.
bee_a_friend's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
funny
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.5
erinrocha1981's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
funny
hopeful
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.5
piingy's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
mysterious
fast-paced
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
2.25
What the heck did I just read?
Content Warnings
Graphic: Gun violence, Violence, Animal death, Grief, War, Animal cruelty, Blood, Death, Murder, and Vomit
Moderate: Colonisation
Spoiler
Abuse of pet and then death of petmarmaria's review against another edition
5.0
This one would actually get 4,5 stars if that was possible. I really loved this book and getting to know the world and the characters. The pace was nice in my opinion though the character descriptions didn't always help me to really imagine the people and the location descriptions were hard to understand sometimes.
graememeyer's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
tense
fast-paced
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
shamsaaa's review against another edition
5.0
I wanted to delay reading this book because I didn’t know what to expect (I didn’t even read the blurb). Now I just want to run to the store and grab the second book. I loved this book.
daphneg's review against another edition
Not an entertaining read
Depressing, almost emotionally manipulative. I'm unsure if I'll continue to the next book. I need to read something with puppies and happiness next.
Depressing, almost emotionally manipulative. I'm unsure if I'll continue to the next book. I need to read something with puppies and happiness next.
torilyndy's review against another edition
5.0
What a thrill to read. I had to limit myself to when I could pick this book up so I wouldn't neglect anything. I get lost in the narrator's voice, questions about the myserious world he lives in, and the tension as he goes on this journey. It's one of those books that makes you rethink something you've always taken for granted. I was completely gripped, and I'm absolutely going to read the rest of the series.