Review: Chaos Walking Trilogy by Patrick Ness

Story Synopsis

Prentisstown isn't like other towns. Everyone can hear everyone else's thoughts in an overwhelming, never-ending stream of Noise. Just a month away from the birthday that will make him a man, Todd and his dog, Manchee -- whose thoughts Todd can hear too, whether he wants to or not -- stumble upon an area of complete silence. They find that in a town where privacy is impossible, something terrible has been hidden -- a secret so awful that Todd and Manchee must run for their lives.

But how do you escape when your pursuers can hear your every thought? (from Goodreads)

My Review

I'm cheating a little today. I'm going to review the trilogy as a whole. I know, I know, that's three books at once, so each book gets only a third of the attention, but it had to be done this way. I read through the trilogy so fast, there was no stopping between books to do something so down-to-earth as a review. These books transported me to another world - one that was at times beautiful, at times heart-wrenching, and at times infuriating - but always fascinating.

I won't say much about the plot, because I'd much rather let you discover it for yourself, but it's fantastic. Like all good sci-fi, the futuristic setting is disguises contemporary themes, so that what you get is a thought-provoking reflection of our world...but with spaceships. It's a fast and fun read, and when the characters drove me crazy, they did it in a good way, because I had to keep turning pages to find out what would happen.

The first book is told from a single POV, the second from two, and the third from three. All first person. Oh eff, was my thought, as soon as I hit that second POV in the second book. (Except, as the main character would say, I didn't think, "eff".) Not now, not when I'm so into it. My least favorite POV is multiple first-person. I find it confusing. I don't like the way I have to twist my brain to accommodate several different voices, all calling themselves "I". But I was in for a surprise. Ness did such an excellent job of creating unique voices for his three POV characters that I had no problems slipping into the different mind-sets. It probably helped that each voice was in a different font. My un-twisted brain thanks whoever had that brilliant idea.

I loved these books. Think Hunger Games, or Harry Potter. I read them with that level of page-turning obsession. I can see why it won loads of awards. When my cousins are old enough, I'm buying them these books. They're that good.

Rating: 5 stars

Rated by: Blair