More Than This by Patrick Ness

More Than This by Patrick Ness

Release Date: September 1, 2013
Publisher: Walker Books
Rated: YA 14+
Format: Paperback
Source: Pansing
Buy: Amazon ● The Book Depository
Goodreads ● Website

A boy drowns, desperate and alone in his final moments. He dies.

Then he wakes, naked and bruised and thirsty, but alive.

How can this be? And what is this strange deserted place?

As he struggles to understand what is happening, the boy dares to hope. Might this not be the end? Might there be more to this life, or perhaps this afterlife?

From multi-award-winning Patrick Ness comes one of the most provocative and moving novels of our time.

I seriously don’t know how I’m going to go about writing this review without giving something away. I’ll try my very best to keep it spoiler-free, but trust me, it will be difficult.

I’ve always heard of Patrick Ness’ books but I’d never gotten the chance to read one until now. Thanks to Pansing, I got my hands on a copy of More Than This because once I saw John Green’s blurb on the front cover, I was immediately intrigued. The book summary doesn’t give much away and I knew from the start that this novel was going to be different. I really loved this one. Not only does it have HOLY-BLEEPING-S***-twists, but the story was very well developed that I couldn’t put it down.

**MINI-SPOILERS AHEAD**

This isn’t too big a spoiler since you learn about it within the first 30 pages, but our main character’s name is Seth. The narrative is really interesting as it alternates between his present actions as well as his memories. We as readers are able to catch glimpses of his life leading up to the moment he drowns. Secrets are uncovered throughout the story and the motive for why he drowned is revealed slowly, and it’s truly mind-numbing to see how much his character has been through. I thought it would have been really cool if the book only had him as a character in it (during present action), but things definitely got interesting with the addition of two certain characters.

I mentioned previously that there are HUGE twists. And I mean HUGE. Seriously– I did not see half the things that happen in this book coming. There’s definitely a lot more to the afterlife that our main character finds himself in. At first, I was a little mad about the twist. I thought that it threw away the whole believability of the book out the window. But as the story went on, I came to understand what the book truly is and grasp (somewhat) what its underlying message is.

What I am most taken with though is Ness’ writing. ABSOLUTELY GORGEOUS. Seriously, he could have written a book about cats sitting still for hours and I would still be in love with the prose. I can see now why he’s such a talented writer and why his books get so much praise. More Than This was enthralling, as horrifying revelations and gut-wrenching truths shed some light onto this new world that our protagonist finds himself in. This is a a book that will have you on the edge of your seat, desperate to find out what happens next. Beautiful and life-changing, without a doubt, there is no book like this one. 

▪ ▪ ▪ Thank you so much to Sasha at Pansing for sending me a copy for review! ▪ ▪ ▪

If you like this, try...

• The Lovely Bones by Alice Sebold ● Goodreads
• Before I Fall by Lauren Oliver ● Goodreads

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