AS levels have begun and I'm now a year 12 student so my reading time has been significantly reduced due to homework and revision unfortunately :( However, here is my review of Patrick Ness' 'More Than This'. This is done in a different style to what I usually do without subtitles but is still my opinions of the book. This is now one of my complete favourites and you don't understand how much you need to go out and read this! There's a teeny spoiler in this review so I've pointed it out if you want to avoid it.
I received a review copy from Movellas in order to review this.
"Here is the boy, drowning."
Seth awakens from death. But, he’s alive. Naked and alone in his old home back in England, he is haunted by vivid dreams of his life. He begins searching for answers in this ‘after-life’. Is he really alone? Or is there More Than This?
I think Patrick Ness is a great author and this book proves this further. At first, I actually expected perhaps a paranormal story, which is quite popular within the YA genre, but it already started off with a twist and ended up being a suspenseful dystopian novel. It was a pleasant surprise.
‘Here is the boy, drowning.’ What a way to begin! Starting with the
death of the main character really hooked me as well as indicating that this
story takes place in the after-life, setting the scene without chunks of boring
description. He is referred to as ‘the
boy’, which I loved because it’s subtle but gives us readers an indication
as to who to root for when reading, suggesting importance.
However, the first chapters were quite slow for me, which kept up the suspense but did get a little boring after a while. Nevertheless, it quickly became more fast-paced that kept me wanting to read more. So stick with this story or you’ll regret it!
The middle was exciting, introducing more flashbacks (which are perfectly placed without getting too long that we forget the actual storyline, dripping in more information about our protagonist’s past.) and introducing more interesting characters.
Each character stood out because, although they are very different, they felt real. They contrast nicely with appropriate reactions to their situations. They have different stories, with different backgrounds but they unite in something they all have in common; finding out if there is ‘more than this’. They experience many real issues we do today, like murder, poverty, abuse and the world seeming to try and reject who you are. It’s so realistic it’s scary, with the internet taking over too. This really could happen in our future! It is really amazing for an author to create a new world and make it appear so vivid to the reader.
The twists kept on coming and the final turn I loved.(SPOILER AHEAD: When The Driver “dies” SPOILER END),
I really wanted another obstacle to appear in the way of our protagonists because I didn’t feel that the story should end just yet, but I wasn’t expecting what did happen and was almost shouting at the book to let there be a happy ending!
Then, the impossible happens and the final flashback is beautifully carried out, rounding our knowledge off. It was a miracle that seems impossible, but is actually probable, and everyone is left confused by the unexpected. But that is because that’s what life is; you don’t know what’s around the corner. I thought I might be over-thinking the plot after finishing this but I have come away satisfied with the cliff-hanger.
Overall, Patrick Ness has done a brilliant job yet again. ‘More Than This’ is full of twists that keep you going until the very end. If you enjoy Sci-Fi/Dystopian YA novels then this is for you. I would not recommend it to anyone under the age of 14/15 because it contains swearing and mature issues. However, I’ll only be giving it 4.5/5 because it did take me a few chapters to really get into the story, but I loved reading this novel and I'd certainly like to read more books like this :)
~White Ravens~
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