GoodRead - More Than This

I had been drooling over book blogging pals of mine who had read this book throughout the course of last month. So when I got a surprise parcel from Walker Books and it was this book, I get quite excited. And by quite excited, I mean jumping up and down in my kitchen. And this is my first Patrick Ness novel so double excited!

The book opens with the line "Here is the boy, drowning." And the boy dies, smashing his head against a rock. Only to wake up. He's alive. Naked, thirsty, but alive. How is that possible? And where is he? It looks like the suburban English town he once lived in, expect the weeds are overgrown, everything covered in dust and, from the looks of it, he's alone... 

Right, where on earth did I start with this review? I ask this as I am still recovering from the book so you have to bear with me on this. 

This isn't an easy read. Nor is this a fast read. You have to sit and invest time and energy into this book. And because of this, your emotions will go all over the place. Patrick knows how to twist our emotions and he knows how to makes us go "Wait! Wait one cotton-picking minute!" as More Than This is like a giant game of Jenga. Just when you think you have the book straight in your head, Patrick moves a block and we go "Oh, that makes sense" or "Wait, what?!". Events in the book might divide your opinions. 

This book also contains scenes that are quite dark (one chapter I found completely chilling!) but there is something hopeful about the book. 

This book isn't your typical YA read. It's demands your attention and will make you think, long after you have finished the book. And because this book is a thinking book, I am still trying to figure out my thought and feels over this book! 

But I haven't read a book that has made me think in AGES and sometimes, you need a book in which you can read and think about, even when you have finished the books days/weeks/months ago. And if you're the mood for one of those books, I would say this is the book you need. 

MORE THAN THIS Cover Reveal

Earlier today/yesterday/outside of the Tardis, Walker Books revealed the cover for Patrick Ness's new novel, More Than This. Ready? TA-DAH!

Very different from his Chaos Walking trilogy covers. And gives nothing away! Which is fine with me because, as much as I want to read this, I want to know very little/nothing at all about this book. I want to go into it blind. And I plan to read The Knife of Never Letting Go (a book that has been in my To Read pile for a VERY long time!) before I attack this beast which is released in the UK, US and Australia at the same time in September. 

Ah, screw it! The publishers has sent me a Press Release and am going to read it. And am going to copy and paste the good bits. So, ready? Here we go... 

A boy called Seth drowns, desperate and alone in his final moments, losing his life as the pounding sea claims him. But then he wakes. He is naked, thirsty, starving. But alive. How is that possible? He remembers dying, his bones breaking, his skull dashed upon the rocks. So how is he here? And where is this place? It looks like the suburban English town where he lived as a child, before an unthinkable tragedy happened and his family moved to America. But the neighbourhood around his old house is overgrown, covered in dust and completely abandoned. What's going on? And why is it that whenever he closes his eyes, he falls prey to vivid, agonizing memories that seem more real than the world around him? Seth begins a search for answers, hoping that he might not be alone, that this might not be the hell he fears it to be, that there might be more than just this...