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entanglednovels's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.75
An oldie but it was a goodie. Not sure it really needed to be so long, as parts seemed to drag on, especially towards the end, but overall a strong story. It’s only the second Patrick Ness I’ve read, but I am still impressed. I will continue with the series at some point.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Blood, Violence, Vomit, Murder, Gun violence, and Gore
Moderate: Animal death, Misogyny, Death of parent, Death, and Cursing
emusing's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Blood, Violence, and Gore
Moderate: Religious bigotry
Minor: Cursing and Death of parent
sarahasyouwish's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
This is a very engaging start to a dystopian YA series. The concept is unique and well executed. The writing style Ness uses really helps immerse you in the world and helps you understand what being bombarded by others’ thoughts would be like. The two main characters are both teenagers and they are written like teenagers which I appreciate. The story is told from Todd’s perspective, and thus, like him, we are left unaware of the reality and truths of this world until they are revealed along the way. Figuring things out as we go was an effective way to keep the reader’s interest up throughout the story. The pacing was very quick and THAT ENDING definitely left me wanting to continue on with the series.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Gun violence, Misogyny, and Violence
Moderate: Blood, Body horror, Vomit, and Kidnapping
juliagulia's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
hopeful
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.75
Todd and Viola are characters I will forever wrap my arms around.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Animal death, Blood, and Body horror
arlorees's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Murder, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Violence, Sexism, Religious bigotry, Physical abuse, Medical trauma, Gun violence, Grief, Death of parent, and Blood
oliverlang's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal death, Blood, Death, Death of parent, Gore, Murder, and Religious bigotry
Moderate: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Blood, Body horror, Death, Death of parent, Gore, Grief, Gun violence, Misogyny, Murder, Religious bigotry, Suicide, Violence, and Vomit
aloeverra's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
sad
tense
fast-paced
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
I loved reading the stream of consciousness style narration. The amount of emotions you feel as you travel with the characters is really intense because of it and I constantly felt the need to turn the page. I also really liked that this was technically a sci fi book but also felt like a historical settlers read, a very interesting blend of genre. Our main character Todd faces a lot of moral and philosophical coming of age situations, but faces it with very little education and I loved watching him battle and find his path through them.
Most of the characters had flaws but were still loveable, except the villains. The villains were very easy to hate and weren't very dimensional.
This is a journey / travel story, so if you like books that have only a few stable locations this book might not be for you. This book also features a corrupted religion similar to Christianity, so if you don't want any religious notes in your book, you might not like this.
Most of the characters had flaws but were still loveable, except the villains. The villains were very easy to hate and weren't very dimensional.
This is a journey / travel story, so if you like books that have only a few stable locations this book might not be for you. This book also features a corrupted religion similar to Christianity, so if you don't want any religious notes in your book, you might not like this.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Blood, Body horror, Death of parent, Physical abuse, and Animal cruelty
charliebookfanatic's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
tense
medium-paced
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
UPDATE 12/29/2020:
This is the second time that I have read this book. The first time my review was not that positive. I had problems with how the author interacted with Manchee, the dog, in this story and how he was treated as a mechanism for generating sympathy. This time I had fewer problems with that and I could shed a tear. Maybe it's because I've read almost all of Patrick Ness's work and I'm used to how he constructs his stories. It was still a book that was nice to read with a lot of action, although I did notice how much description of the environment is actually in this book.
My favorite part is still how this world is built. It's a unique concept and really something I've never read in any other book.
Last time I gave it three stars and now I'm taking that up to four because I got a lot more fun out of it. The next two books in this series were, in my opinion, better than this first book, so I'm curious to see what I see with a re-reading.
----------------------------
I had so many problems with this book. Todd was so unlikable and I normally don't mind that, but he hit his dog so many times. I can't like someone who abuses his dog. Maybe his dog was annoying, but he was loyal to a fault and he didn't deserve what happened to him. I felt like Patrick Ness used Manchee as a means to create sympathy. That's not the way to do it. I normally cry in books, but I didn't cry a single tear about the events that happened in this one.
The writing was addictive and the story was fast-paced. There never was a dull moment and I did like how much action was going on all the time. The worldbuilding was my favourite part of this book. The way the rules were laid-out and the towns were built... I loved that.
This book ended on a huge cliffhanger and it does make me want to pick up the sequel. I'll see how it goes. Let's give book two a chance.
This is the second time that I have read this book. The first time my review was not that positive. I had problems with how the author interacted with Manchee, the dog, in this story and how he was treated as a mechanism for generating sympathy. This time I had fewer problems with that and I could shed a tear. Maybe it's because I've read almost all of Patrick Ness's work and I'm used to how he constructs his stories. It was still a book that was nice to read with a lot of action, although I did notice how much description of the environment is actually in this book.
My favorite part is still how this world is built. It's a unique concept and really something I've never read in any other book.
Last time I gave it three stars and now I'm taking that up to four because I got a lot more fun out of it. The next two books in this series were, in my opinion, better than this first book, so I'm curious to see what I see with a re-reading.
----------------------------
I had so many problems with this book. Todd was so unlikable and I normally don't mind that, but he hit his dog so many times. I can't like someone who abuses his dog. Maybe his dog was annoying, but he was loyal to a fault and he didn't deserve what happened to him. I felt like Patrick Ness used Manchee as a means to create sympathy. That's not the way to do it. I normally cry in books, but I didn't cry a single tear about the events that happened in this one.
The writing was addictive and the story was fast-paced. There never was a dull moment and I did like how much action was going on all the time. The worldbuilding was my favourite part of this book. The way the rules were laid-out and the towns were built... I loved that.
This book ended on a huge cliffhanger and it does make me want to pick up the sequel. I'll see how it goes. Let's give book two a chance.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal cruelty and Violence
Moderate: Animal death, Body horror, and Gun violence
Minor: Blood, Cursing, Death, Genocide, Grief, and Sexism
nila's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
hopeful
reflective
sad
tense
fast-paced
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Review from 2012: I finished this whirlwind of a book in a matter of days, and it was brilliant. The language takes some time getting used to, but it didn't bother me much after the first chapter. Ness is a patient and generous writer, he leads you carefully through the adventure using his language as a guide, but without underestimating you as reader. Everything seems right in the first of the three Chaos Walking novels, but there are times when I did feel that Ness didn't get it a 100% right... For example, I wish Todd had been older. Of course, innocence is a major theme in the book, but the mixture of juvenile misunderstanding and adult reflections seemed odd to me. How wonderful is Manchee? Manchee is such a gem, and in the beginning I was afraid Ness was going to overuse the perfectly-timed comedic inputs from the world's greatest dog, but he didn't. I wish I had a friend like Manchee.
Reread in 2021: Eight years later and finally being open to re-reading some old favourites, I decided to revisit this series in time for the film release. Of all the YA dystopian series that were released during *that* era, this series was my ride or die. Honestly, it's as good as I remember, perhaps even better. The book strikes the perfect balance between the character arcs and the plot. It is a very honest and at times brutal reminder of the darkest aspects of human nature and reading it now as an adult, the depictions of war, genocide, sexism, xenophobia and corruption seem more striking. I stand by my thought regarding Todd's age, I still wish Ness had written him older, especially considering I know how his relationship with Viola develops in the next books.
Reread in 2021: Eight years later and finally being open to re-reading some old favourites, I decided to revisit this series in time for the film release. Of all the YA dystopian series that were released during *that* era, this series was my ride or die. Honestly, it's as good as I remember, perhaps even better. The book strikes the perfect balance between the character arcs and the plot. It is a very honest and at times brutal reminder of the darkest aspects of human nature and reading it now as an adult, the depictions of war, genocide, sexism, xenophobia and corruption seem more striking. I stand by my thought regarding Todd's age, I still wish Ness had written him older, especially considering I know how his relationship with Viola develops in the next books.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Blood, Xenophobia, and Violence
Moderate: Sexism
Minor: Torture and Sexual assault
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