Which makes it look almost like a middle grade book, and i was concerned that it wouldn't live up to the mind-shattering acrobatic metafiction that was More Than This.īut that doesn't mean this isn't a great book all on its own. The problem with writing a book like More Than This is that you then have to write a book after More Than This.Īnd i was a little apprehensive about this one. I will continue to be excited when I see Ness has an upcoming release, but this one didn't quite do it for me.īlog | Facebook | Twitter | Instagram | Tumblr
And I also applaud him for being one of the few YA authors to write sophisticated fiction that will make teenagers think and take them to places they can't get from the mainstream bestsellers. I feel like credit should always be given where it's due, though, and I will say that Ness has written a fantastically diverse book, in all senses of "diverse". Ness has succeeded in writing a book about people who do not stand out at all. But, even though the book is well-written on a technical level, I did not find their stories very compelling, or the characters themselves particularly interesting. Their lives are filled with eating disorders, OCD, car crashes, absent parents and unrequited love. Not that the normal kids are without sensationalism - not at all. But, if I'm being honest, by far the strongest parts of this book were the small paragraphs at the start of each chapter. Especially because I generally love everything Ness writes. I wish that wasn't the case, I really do. If I wanted to sum this book up in a single sentence, I would say: Ness wrote a book about the boring, everyday kids and it was. It's a clever and interesting concept, and yet I was more in love with the idea of it than the actual execution. From these small paragraphs emerges a humourous parody of "The Chosen One" genre, before the chapter continues on with the everyday lives, loves, anxieties and mental health of the not chosen. Whether they've opened a supernatural portal, been contacted by immortals, or died. The ones who do not get chosen, never discover their secret powers, never fall in love with a vampire, and neither save nor destroy the world.Įach chapter opens with a short synopsis on what the "indie kids" are doing. The ones who aren't "indie kids" with names like Satchel and Finn. This is a book about the people in the background.
To live so near to the spotlight and never step in it."
"They'll never know how tough it is, Dawnie, to be the one who isn't chosen. Or possibly he hated it, but either way he paid enough attention to seemingly frame an entire book around the concept of "The Chosen One" and - specifically - Xander's quote from season 7: Here's one thing for certain: Patrick Ness is a total Buffy fanboy.
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