Book Review: Knife of Never Letting Go by Patrick Ness

I was so excited the morning I woke up and found that Patrick Ness had won the Carnegie for his young adult book Monsters of Men.  It was the final book in his Chaos Walking series.  The coolest thing (at least to me) is that all three of the books, including the middle book The Ask and the Answer, in this series has been nominated and made the short list for the Carnegie.  It was almost like a Peter-Jackson-Lord-of-the-Rings-at-the-Oscars kind of moment.  Because of his win, I felt it necessary to read the trilogy again and so started with the first book Knife of Never Letter Go. 

In this first book, Ness introduces us to a new world along with his two main characters, although the book is told in first person by Todd Hewitt.  Todd and his dog, Manchee, are out for a stroll in the swamps to collect apples when they come across a void in the Noise.  Noise is the thoughts of all living creatures, except for female humans.  Every animal and male human can hear the thoughts of every other animal and male human.  It is a huge cacophony that is surely maddening. 

Todd is the last boy of his town.  His town has no women, no girls and now no other children.  He is just a few weeks shy of becoming a man and he is counting the days down when he will be Mr. Hewitt and not just Todd.  He's excited, but finding this silence has caused Todd a problem.  There shouldn't be a silence in the swamp or anywhere.  Suddenly Todd is having his bags packed by his surrogate parents and thrust out the door with the instructions to read his mother's diary and get to the next settlement.  Armed with just a hunting knife, Todd sets out to find something he didn't even know existed.  As he travels he realizes that so many things he had been told are lies and that becoming a man means joining in on those lies. 

And then he meets Viola, who can't possibly exist and the lies start unravelling to expose the truths behind them.  And now Todd and Manchee have Viola join their escape. Together the three face horrors that neither could imagine existed.  Todd learns what it means to love someone and at the same time becomes a man in his own fashion, facing the realities that have plagued his childhood village and understand the corruption that can come when selfishness and greed are the building blocks of your society.

The only thing that bothered me in this book was the spelling and grammar.  Because this books is narrated by Todd and he has been given limited education, his grammar and spelling reflect that.  Words are spelled phonetically and in dialect.  This normally drives me up the wall and makes me want to scream, "What happens to grammar and spelling in post-apocalyptic societies?" For some reason this book didn't cause this immediate knee-jerk reaction.  (I had to quit reading The Road by Cormac McCarthy due to lack of sentence structure.)  I actually found the grammar more endearing than annoying.  It is well worth the read and I encourage everyone to read this fabulous young adult book written from a young man's perspective in a language that both male and female readers can comprehend.

Currently Reading:  The Invention of Hugo Cabret by Brian Selznick and Neverwhere by Neil Gaiman

Book Review: Switched by Amanda Hocking

First let me say that I really love this story.  No matter what I say in this review, remember that I love this story.  I think that Amanda Hocking is a brilliant story teller and she is very bold for self-publishing.  (Although Amanda has recently had a series bought by St. Martin's Press.)  I'm going to start with the "worst things I found in the book" and then move on to the "best things I found in the book."  The worst thing I found is that the book seemed to lack a professional polish.  Perhaps this is due to not having an editor when Amanda first decided to self-publish. (I do not know that she didn't have an editor.  I am completely assuming she didn't.)  I found the book littered with over used words ("just" being the top of the list), over-repeated words (using the same word over and over in the same sentence, paragraph or page), and incorrectly used words (rod for wrought).  They all seemed to be common errors that an editor would have easily caught and corrected.  Not surprisingly, the biggest problem I ran into was that I was reading this on my Nook and I couldn't make editing notes in the book as I do with my paper copies.  (That's the former editor in me that insists that I can't leave a mistake unmarked.  I've even corrected grammar and spelling in a Tom Clancy novel - ooooooooo.  It happens.  Even to the best. But this is an e-reader issue, not Miss Hocking's issue.) 

Now for the best parts.  This is a wonderful story.  It is fresh, alive and unique.  The story moves you quickly through what is happening and Amanda doesn't let you forget about things left behind.  I was fascinated by her use of imagery and could easily envision the details in the book.  As I was reading I wasn't given unimportant information that didn't relate to the story.  So many times I am given far too much detail in a book and wondering why I needed to know that there was a bowl of grapefruit on the coffee table.  What does it mean?  Why grapefruit?  Amanda never once did that.  Every detail she offered was relevant in the story even if you didn't come back to it for several chapters.  I also loved reading a new look at an old idea.  I've gotten tired of vampires and werewolves that all seem to have the same sort of story as to how the creature came to be, how they live and how they die.  So many young adult paranormal stories have turned into watered down romances that just happen to have a vampire in them.  Switched is completely different.  I like this world Amanda has created and I look forward to finishing this series and moving on to some of her other work. 

If you are looking for a good quick read for the summer, this is an excellent pick.  Plus, most of Amanda Hocking's books are available through Barnes and Noble or Amazon e-books for the low low price of $2.99 and even 99¢ each.  So not only are they good, they are also very affordable.  Go support independent literature!

Currently reading: The Knife of Never Letting Go by Patrick Ness

Book Review: Invincible Summer by Hannah Moskowitz

First let me say that I adore Hannah Moskowitz.  Break broke my heart (and squigged me out at the same time).  Sometimes I think this woman sees right into my very teenage soul.  I was hesitant to pick up her newest novel.  It's that fear that the Breakout Novelists Breakout Novel will be their One Hit Wonder.  I kept passing it in the Young Adult Contemporary section.  I think I was a tad put off by the cover as I was afraid that somehow Hannah had fallen into the genre of "Contemporary Teens Having Lots of Sex Books."  However, after reading countless Tweets about how wonderful her book was, I  picked up Invincible Summer.  I am so glad that I did.

Invincible Summer is the story of a family.  A quite broken and passive aggressive family.  Sort of resembled my own growing up (though with fewer siblings).  The story is told from Chase's point of view.  Chase is the second born and the second son.  He idolizes his older brother. He puts up with his younger sister.  He absolutely adores his little brother who is deaf. And he shares his birthday with his baby sister.  He loves them all.  He worries about them all and for all different reasons.  Each year this misfit family spends their summers at the beach with their seasonal neighbors, the Hathaways and their three children, Melinda and the twins, Shannon and Bella.  The McGills and the Hathaways.  The Hathaways and the McGills.  Every summer together. Every summer the same. Or at least that was the way it had always been.  But for the four summers of this book, each summer seems jarringly stepped apart from that sameness, held together only by the clever intertwining of Camus's quotes. 

I found myself understanding almost every character in the book at some point in my reading.  I identified with Chase because I always felt like it was my responsibility to worry and care and take care of the members of my family.  It was my duty to keep them all together.  I worked hard at that for many years.  I associated with Noah, the older brother, because I always wanted to run away.  I always wanted to leave.  It was easier to leave and forget than to stay and deal.  I even associated with young Gideon and completely understood how he felt to not be able to be understood even though he was always being heard.   I especially related to Melinda in a big way.  Being a rape survivor and acting out sexually in very unhealthy ways is not uncommon.  Each month for several years I was thankful I didn't get pregnant and when I was older I was even more thankful that I had never picked up any STD's.  I kept thinking if people made love to me then it would void the rape somehow.  I equated consensual sex with making love.  It took me a long time to understand how those things were different.  I hope that Melinda figures that out sooner than I did.

This book made me laugh.  It made me cry. It made me even blush.  It made me cry a whole lot more.  I loved this book and glad that it is part of my collection.  Thank you Hannah for opening your heart and pouring out those words for us so delightfully, so lovingly and so honestly raw.

Currently reading:  Switched by Amanda Hocking

Hunger Games/Catching Fire Review

Eight more days, folks. Eight more days. I'm going crazy waiting for Mockingjay (book three of the Hunger Games) by Suzanne Collins to be released and downloaded to my nook. I secretly keep checking to see if someone makes a mistake and sends it to me too early (although I would be good and keep it to myself). But in preparation for the release I went and re-read Hunger Games and Catching Fire (the first books in the series).

I will admit that this story line sickens me. For those who haven't read it, the premise is that in the future (this is a post-apocalyptic story) there are 12 districts that all answer (serve) The Capitol. Each year a boy and a girl (ages 12-18) are chosen from each district to fight to the death in the Hunger Games. The idea was that it was to remind the districts of a time when they were at war, but it has turned into a mockery and the only people who seem to enjoy it are the people of the Capitol (as their children will never have to be sacrificed to the games). Things seem to run their course until a player with a conscience enters the games and refuses to sacrifice her friend.

That's really all I'm going to say about the plot because I want you to read the books. They are fabulous and well-written. I was kept on the edge of my seat as I watched the story unfold. I feel for these characters and even though Collins doesn't give me a whole lot of descriptors I can see their faces, imagine the way the stand, present themselves and even smile. The world she has created if believable even if I find it frightening and repulsive. Maybe that was her point.

If you care to help me out a bit, I am using the Hunger Games for our homeschool co-op teen reading group next month and am collecting questions to ask to keep the conversation going. What questions would you ask teens (ages 14-18) about these books? This will be our first meeting for the year and most of the kids will not know each other. I think it will be interesting to see what their reaction would be if I were to tell them that in order to get out of the room they have to kill each other. I'll be sure to report back!