"If one of us falls, we all fall.”
A young boy with the name of Todd Hewitt has lived in Prentisstown all his life, all 13 years and 12 months of New World years. A New World, where every man knows what other men are thinking due to a Noise germ, which is what they call the thoughts of men. Noise, with a capital N. Todd is told that he needs to leave Prentisstown immediately, although he has no idea why, and runs off with a dog named Manchee. On the way, Todd discovers a girl on his way – which isn't so strange, but considering all the other females were killed by the Noise germ, well. Todd was left with questions that no one around him could answer. Did I mention Manchee can talk, as well as give off his own Noise?
Patrick Ness has a extremely unique writing style, and I say this with the utmost respect I could ever give. Although it takes some getting used to in the beginning, it's definitely worth it. In my opinion, it really helps to build tension in many scenes, which is another thing the author is fantastic at. Right before there's a climax, Ness builds up the tension by using run-on sentences because there's no period in the middle to stop you from reading. There's so many things happening in the book that it's hard to say one thing without leading to something that spoils the entire book. There's way too many things to talk about, but I guess one thing I really want to mention is the growth of the relationship between Todd and Manchee. The first few sentences in the book starts with Todd mentioning Manchee, and how Todd never even wanted him in the first place. As Todd's departure from Prentisstown becomes longer and longer, Manchee shows his usefulness and loyalness to Todd. The fact that Manchee could even talk helps increase the bond not only between Todd and Manchee, but also with the readers. Although the setting of the story itself (a new world to escape from the old one) is a bit cliché with most dystopian books, Ness makes it completely original by adding complicated stories and concepts to this world. The unique physical visuals of the words themselves help visualize the text in the reader's head, along with Ness' extremely descriptive writing. There are many heartbreaking moments in the book, especially near the ending, where things happen and it's unavoidable. As mentioned before, there's an immense amount of tension throughout the book, to the point that it just keeps you at the edge of your seat, just giving you the feeling that something is going to happen sooner or later. I also really liked the symbolism of the knife that was mentioned within the book.
If someone were to ask me if I would recommend this book, my answer would be a definite yes.
Patrick Ness has a extremely unique writing style, and I say this with the utmost respect I could ever give. Although it takes some getting used to in the beginning, it's definitely worth it. In my opinion, it really helps to build tension in many scenes, which is another thing the author is fantastic at. Right before there's a climax, Ness builds up the tension by using run-on sentences because there's no period in the middle to stop you from reading. There's so many things happening in the book that it's hard to say one thing without leading to something that spoils the entire book. There's way too many things to talk about, but I guess one thing I really want to mention is the growth of the relationship between Todd and Manchee. The first few sentences in the book starts with Todd mentioning Manchee, and how Todd never even wanted him in the first place. As Todd's departure from Prentisstown becomes longer and longer, Manchee shows his usefulness and loyalness to Todd. The fact that Manchee could even talk helps increase the bond not only between Todd and Manchee, but also with the readers. Although the setting of the story itself (a new world to escape from the old one) is a bit cliché with most dystopian books, Ness makes it completely original by adding complicated stories and concepts to this world. The unique physical visuals of the words themselves help visualize the text in the reader's head, along with Ness' extremely descriptive writing. There are many heartbreaking moments in the book, especially near the ending, where things happen and it's unavoidable. As mentioned before, there's an immense amount of tension throughout the book, to the point that it just keeps you at the edge of your seat, just giving you the feeling that something is going to happen sooner or later. I also really liked the symbolism of the knife that was mentioned within the book.
If someone were to ask me if I would recommend this book, my answer would be a definite yes.
Accelerated Reader Book Level: 4.4