Todd Hewitt lives in a community peopled only by men, and has one month left until he too becomes one. All the men are afflicted with something called “the Noise”, meaning they can hear each other’s thoughts, all the time, all over town. There were women in the community once, but they didn’t survive the infection that brought the noise. Todd’s mother was one of the last women to die, while Todd was still a baby. While Todd and his dog, Manchee, are out walking […]
I’m not crying, you’re crying
Patrick Ness is a stupid dumb-dumb. Who does he think he is, writing beautiful, meaningful, dark fairy tales for kids that work just as well on adults? I hated this stupid book and its stupid story with its stupid, stupid little boy of a main character. I hated how well thought out and tender it was talking about death and feelings and coming to terms with stupid, stupid things like grief. Connor is a thirteen-year old boy living alone with his very sick mother. He’s […]
When not reading plot synopses bites you in the ass
I saw a book with a monster in the cover. I saw a book with “monster” in the title. I saw a book that was popular. And I never bothered to find out what it was about. “I should be more open”, I said. “Try new things,” I said. “Expand your horizons,” I said. Oh yeah. Read the kinds of books I never would have had I not joined this wonderful community. Which has been a largely successful modus operandi in my three years, here. Even […]
WTF did I just read? A spoiler-filled rant.
I’ve read a whole bunch of reviews of More Than This over the past few years, but none of them ever really say what that book is about. Everyone talks about how much they like Patrick Ness, and that he really nails the voice of a troubled teen. But nobody mentions the plot of this book. For good reason, I’ve learned. I just finished reading this and I’m going to be spilling some spoilers. So really, don’t read this if you ever plan on picking […]
When a Monster Knocks at the Door of Your Soul
Okay, someone else really needs to start picking out books for me to read. First, I started reading The Mandibles shortly after the last election and had to set it aside because the dystopian view of the United States being reduced to a Third-World Nation was hitting a little to close to home at the time. And now, on one of the most depressing days that I can remember*, other than the days my mother and father died, I finished reading A Monster Calls. I’ve mentioned before that […]
“Stories are the wildest things of all”
This one packs a wallop in a short amount of time. I have been lucky that, even as an adult, I don’t have a lot of experience watching a loved one suffer for a long time from cancer or any other illness. In a Monster Calls thirteen year old Conor O’Malley, unfortunately, doesn’t have that blessing; his mother has been suffering from some form of cancer for an indeterminate amount of time. His grandmother comes to visit because it has been decided, since Conor’s father lives […]