Battle until the End: Monsters of Men by Patrick Ness

Overall Rating:  5 stars

Addiction Level:  I ignored the hubby and puppies until I finished it.  (Due to the stressful nature of the book, I read half in May and half in October.)

Believe-ability:  I daydream about the created world and wonder how I fit in.

Dystopia Factor:  The world has been turned upside down and all hope is lost several times, but maybe our hero and heroine can save it.

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While this series is excellent, the stress of reading it in one sitting is unbearable. The nonstop action kept my heart racing as I devoured the pages. The unpredictable kept happening. Ness is a master of plot twist.

Mayor/President Prentiss is an evil man. I did not like him in book one, and I like him even less in book three. His relationship with Todd worried me the whole time. Like Todd I did not trust him, but he showed some elements of goodness. Yet, he was always controlling multiple people. He is a master of manipulation. I kept wondering if/when he is going to die. (He became worse than Aaron the preacher.)

Ness throws in a big curve ball, because he adds a third narrator 100 pages in! I wanted to throw the book across the room! The third narrator adds depth to the story. I am impressed with Ness' ability to distinguish between multiple points of view, make each believable, and create a well-rounded story.  

When Manchee died in book one, I could not stop sobbing. How could he kill off the most loyal character? Aaron's death redeemed Manchee's life…a little. In Monsters of Men I was sad when another animal dies, but I was sobbing when a favorite character was killed. Ness put my heart through the ringer. Again.

I highly recommended this series to anyone who loves a good story of survival, coming of age, and being active in one's choices/life.

Am I Hearing Things? - The Knife of Never Letting Go by Patrick Ness



Just the Facts:



Overall: 4 stars

Addiction level: I read it every waking moment.

Believe-ability: I daydreamed about the created world and wondered how I might fit in. (I was doing yard work in between reading this story, and I frequently could hear Lacey saying, “Stick, Mom” and “Weeds, Mom”. Oh, how I love my dogs.)

Dystopia Factor: The world has been turned upside down and all hope is lost!

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     The Knife of Never Letting Go reminded me a lot of The Story of Edgar Sawtelle…at first. You know… the story of a young boy, accompanied by his faithful dog on a journey to escape his home, run from a murderous psycho, and become a man in the process… Only I soon discovered that the comparisons end there. The Knife is filled with action and suspense as Todd tries to figure out the lie that he has been a part of his entire life. I loved the story because you actually felt the change in Todd as the story progressed and as Todd started to sort out who he was. The Knife is a great story of friendship, identity, and determining what actions really shape an individual. Plus, a little rebellion never hurt anyone. :)

     And so, here’s to hoping that Todd’s story ends much differently than Edgar’s. Looking forward to reading the rest of the series!