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rustys0rcerer's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
WARNING: CONTAINS SPOILERS
- Todd seems like a very unlikable but realistic character. His development is super nice to see during the story and his perseverance is jawdropping
- The poor grammar and dialect seemed odd at first, but I quickly got used to it and thought of it as normal, because the narration is Todd’s thoughts. We’re reading it as the characters hear it
- Kept me on my toes the whole time. So many moments of diverted expectations. I never knew what would happen
- Viola was my fav character cuz she’s the most logical and relatable to me I guess?
- The author did a good job of almost making me sympathize with Todd wanting to kill Aaron. Almost justified his rage and murderous intent
- Manchee did not deserve to die. What the fuck
- Ending also. What the fuck
Overall a good read. Hoping to continue the series when I’m able
- Todd seems like a very unlikable but realistic character. His development is super nice to see during the story and his perseverance is jawdropping
- The poor grammar and dialect seemed odd at first, but I quickly got used to it and thought of it as normal, because the narration is Todd’s thoughts. We’re reading it as the characters hear it
- Kept me on my toes the whole time. So many moments of diverted expectations. I never knew what would happen
- Viola was my fav character cuz she’s the most logical and relatable to me I guess?
- The author did a good job of almost making me sympathize with Todd wanting to kill Aaron. Almost justified his rage and murderous intent
- Manchee did not deserve to die. What the fuck
- Ending also. What the fuck
Overall a good read. Hoping to continue the series when I’m able
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Cursing, Death, Death of parent, Genocide, Injury/Injury detail, Sexism, Murder, and Kidnapping
daringreader13's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
mysterious
sad
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
4.0 out of 5 stars
This book pulled me in from the start. The language was a bit hard to understand at the beginning but as I kept reading it became easier. Can't wait to pick up the next book and keep going with the series
Edited 4/23/23
OH MY GOD. Reading this along with the audiobook made it ten thousand times better! I literally reacted out loud so many times and never wanted to put it down. It didn’t help that I had two dogs in my lap and one by my feet at a certain point in the book
This book pulled me in from the start. The language was a bit hard to understand at the beginning but as I kept reading it became easier. Can't wait to pick up the next book and keep going with the series
Edited 4/23/23
OH MY GOD. Reading this along with the audiobook made it ten thousand times better! I literally reacted out loud so many times and never wanted to put it down. It didn’t help that I had two dogs in my lap and one by my feet at a certain point in the book
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Grief, Gore, Violence, War, Death of parent, Cursing, Gun violence, Injury/Injury detail, Xenophobia, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Fire/Fire injury, Body horror, Religious bigotry, Colonisation, Gaslighting, Genocide, Sexism, and Vomit
gromithorror's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
hopeful
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Gore, Murder, Vomit, and Death of parent
Moderate: Abandonment, Cursing, Genocide, and Grief
leileikarma1's review against another edition
adventurous
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? No
4.5
Content Warnings
Moderate: Animal death, Blood, Colonisation, Cursing, Death of parent, Death, Genocide, Gore, Gun violence, Kidnapping, and Murder
Minor: Alcoholism, Excrement, Fire/Fire injury, Misogyny, and Vomit
durrareadsstuff's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
mysterious
reflective
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
3.75
I really enjoyed this book. The writing style is immersive and it's how the narrator/main character would actually tell the story. I wished there was a pov from Viola because I think her character could be more developed. The plot was amazing, and the twists I didn't see coming.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal cruelty and Animal death
Moderate: Gore
Minor: Sexism, Misogyny, Genocide, and Colonisation
btrz7's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Child abuse, Death, Death of parent, Genocide, Misogyny, Murder, and Violence
mapau's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death and Violence
Minor: Genocide
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
pamshenanigans's review against another edition
dark
emotional
sad
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Read in 2021:
All this book tells me is that most men really are T R A S H and that we truly DO NOT DESERVE DOGS.
Read in 2018:
All this book tells me is that most men really are T R A S H and that we truly DO NOT DESERVE DOGS.
Read in 2018:
Mini-plot: A planet exists where everyone (literally) can hear each other's thoughts. Yep. Including animals. In this planet, there are different settlements. Todd, the main character, is from a town called Prentisstown, where only men exist.
Actual rating: 100 effing stars (I didn't say effing)
Story: A++++++ (as I expected from a Patrick Ness book)
My two cents:
I don't even know where to begin this review, to be quite honest. Reading that book has been quite a ride for me. The story isn't what I was expecting, and I hate myself for having put this off for years because "Oh god no, the book is too long." You know what, past Pam? THE BOOK ISN'T EVEN ENOUGH. I tore through the book like how Todd and Viola ran day and night just to get to Haven.
*Random thoughts while reading the book*
*WE DON'T AND WILL NEVER DESERVE DOGS
*Todd is annoying sometimes. But sometimes I forget that he's still a kid
*This is a different planet?? ? ?
*IS AARON INVINCIBLE??? TF ????
*MANCHEE???
*Things I love about this book*
*Todd's innocence - The way the book is written, it's easy (at times) to digest and internalize that Todd is really a 13-year old boy, from the way he thinks to the way he spells some words. We only know what Todd knows and that adds to the thrill of reading the book.
*Consistently unfortunate events - Omygod. This book will have you wishing Todd can take a break. I feel so bad and sad that this little boy is dealing with lots of fucked up things that not even I, as an adult, can survive against. However, I love how these events shaped Todd's character development and fate.
*Had me at the edge of my seat - A book has to be really interesting for me to focus and keep reading, especially if it's a long-ass one. This book is beyond interesting.
*Story is unique - A place where everyone can hear everyone's thoughts in the future? Life in other planets? Count me in! Whenever people ask me what superpower I'd like to have, I always say mind-reading. While reading this book, I realized how problematic and inconvenient it could be, especially if your enemy is telepathic as well. So I'll have to rethink my superpower wish.
*BASICALLY EVERYTHING ABOUT THIS BOOK TBH
Content Warnings
Graphic: Gun violence, Violence, Genocide, and Animal death
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