Seth dies a brutal death, as his bones are crushed on the ocean floor. He remembers every detail of this death when he wakes up in a strange, desolate, but somewhat familiar place.
More Than This finds Seth trying to figure out where he is, and where is everyone else? He seems to be alone. He's back in his childhood home, but everything is abandoned -- dirty, dusty, broken, and in some cases burned.
Is this hell? Seth has reasons to believe he might be in hell, as he struggles with dreams about his past that serve as flashbacks. Seth does start to figure some things out, but with these revelations, he still doubts everything he thinks and feels.
More Than This will not appeal to the teen masses. It's messages about life and what it means to be alive are subtle, and as Ness is known for, we get very few answers. (I never read past book 1 in the Chaos Walking trilogy because I was SO ANGRY at the cliffhanger.) I spent most of this book eagerly anticipating the ending -- finding the solution to this big mystery -- but I was disappointed.
At almost 500 pages, More Than This reads surprisingly quickly. I'm not sure to whom I'd recommend More Than This. I could recommend it to some teachers for a classroom read. I think More Than This could generate some interesting discussions.
Published by Candlewick, September 10, 2013
ARC obtained from Library Media Connection
480 pages
Rating: 3/5
Great review. I wasn't exactly sure what this one was about. I think I may need to eventually check it out.
ReplyDeleteI've heard about this book but wasn't exactly sure what it was about. I'm sure it will win awards, I know I've seen it on mock Printz lists already but I agree with you, it's not really for the teen masses. I may pick this one up eventually, but I'm not in a rush to read it. Great review!
ReplyDeleteOh darn, I am such a Patrick Ness fan I was really hoping that this one would be good. I'm pretty sure that it had a few starred reviews from the likes of SLJ or Kirkus reviews. Guess I'll have to read it myself and find out.
ReplyDeleteYes, you should read it if you are a Ness fan especially. I saw the starred reviews too. Just not my kind of book.....
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