SPOILER FREE
I have never
read anything like this before. By the end of the first chapter I was already hooked, that's really all it took. You watch the main character die in the ocean from his perspective. With him you experience the freezing water, the absolute
terror as he tries to get his face above the water to take another breath, and then the pain from both the cold but then later from crashing into the rocks under the current. It’s shocking and poetic and a completely new experience, reading that first chapter.
The plot is
very murky. You spend a lot of time not
knowing what’s real and what is really going on. The main character woke up after his death in
what seems like the post apocalyptic world.
Is he in limbo? Hell? Is this the actual world? We spend most of the
book not having answers. For this reason I can't really talk about characters or specific scenes in the spoiler free portion of this review.
PACING & WRITING
Because of
the air of mystery, the pacing of this book was very quick; you just want to
know everything! I really
loved that the writing goes back and forth between the present, which is the
main character in the new unrecognizable world, and then back to the past,
showing important moments in the main character’s life. That’s where you get all the information in
the first third of the book.
Without giving anything away, all I can really say is that this is a definite must read. Patrick Ness is a god, and I can't wait to get my hands on another of his books.
********SPOILERS BELOW********
CHARACTERS
For the first 25 pages of the book, you are not even aware of the main character's name - Seth - and then it takes all the way up to Part II before you find out he's not alone in the new world he's woken up in.
Enter Regine and Tomasz, the unlikely duo who not only will finally make you laugh while you read this great book, but also finally help Seth and you get some fucking answers about what's going on! These two were the most heartwarming part of the story; after all without them what does Seth have to live for?
SCENES AND FAVORITES
In the early page 80's we get a surprising fact given to us about Seth before he died: he's gay, and part of the reason he killed himself was because of isolation after the whole school finds out about this. I was so disappointed that the love interest, Gudmund, wasn't a happy ending in his story from his life; I really rooted for them as I got bits and pieces of their relationship throughout the story.
I wasn't surprised that Seth had killed himself; I remember as I read his point of view of him dying in the ocean that it was a shitty way to choose to go. So when he then tries to kill himself again before he meets Regine and Tomasz, and then later when he admits it out loud, I was not surprised either time. But it made me aware of how he might be feeling even when he wasn't explicitly thinking about his depression or feelings of helplessness.
I also was relieved to find out I was right in thinking that the situation surrounding Owen and the convict DIDN'T MAKE SENSE, and it was explained because the computer system couldn't completely fix it. It made the anger towards Seth and the weird "oh Owen isn't right in the head" make sense because Owen isn't real HES DEAD. I was very happy they made the confusing parts of that part of the story make sense.
MY ONE DISAPPOINTMENT
I didn't completely love the ending, or what the being all in black ended up being. I felt like it was a bit of a let down after an entire book searching for answers to just end by going back into the system of false reality. I don't think I would want a sequel, but I do wish the ending was different. I don't know how I would prefer it I just didn't really like it. It felt so... flat. I don't know, I guess there's not really much you can do when the computer generated world is shit and the real world is shittier.
Comment down below your thoughts on More Than This by Patrick Ness and make sure to check out my Youtube Channel for more regular book talks :)
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