Mikey and his friends are just about to graduate from high school. It's their final couple of weeks before the summer holidays and then they're off on their separate ways to university. But there are a few problems :
1) Mikey has OCD - it's so bad he thinks the loop won't break and he'll die;
2) His older sister Mel has an eating disorder and needs constant monitoring;
3) His dad is an alcoholic;
4) His mum is running for Congress and everyone has to appear normal;
5) He loves Henna, but hasn't told her, but Henna loves new boy Nathan, who seems very suspicious;
6) His best friend Jared is part God of feline animals;
7) The town they live in is about to be taken over by Immortals - they come in the guise of police officers with blue rays coming out of their eyes. But it's OK, the indie kids are around to save the day;
8) The indie kids are being killed off one by one;
9) There are zombie deer.
I know, sounds weird. It definitely seems that way when you start reading it, but strangely the main theme of teens struggling with emotions, exams, anxieties, sexual preferences, whether someone's your friend or not, whether someone fancies you or not, parents - all the usual teen angst stuff - makes the story seem more normal than it actually is. Many of you will spot throw-ins from other top-selling kids' novels - vampires (check), Greek Gods (check), cancer victims (check), zombies (check). I loved all the characters, and I think many teens will find something from each of them to identify with. I did spend rather a large amount of time wondering whether there was an underlying meaning to the Immortals and the indie kids. Were the Immortals just authority figures trying to run the kids' lives? Were the indie kids just synonymous with people being different and that it was ok to be different, that they matter too and are just as important as everyone else, in fact they can be the heroes? However in the end, I just enjoyed it for what it is - something a little bit different and a little bit wonderful by one of my favourite authors.
More Than This
by Patrick Ness
This is a book that will get you thinking. The story begins with a drowning. Sixteen year old Seth is struggling in the icy waters of an ocean - the waves dash him against rocks - he dies. But then, he wakes up - on the front path of a house. Is this heaven or hell? Is he dead or alive? Is this purgatory? You are left with these questions all through the book. Just when you think you know what's happened and where Seth is, the author throws in another conundrum and you're back to puzzling over what on earth is going on. But not in a bad way. Your interest is held as the author reveals what has happened in the past, Seth's relationship with his family and friends, the tragedy that occurred in his family (quite a horrific one too - very moving) for which Seth knows he is to blame and can never forgive himself. Seth is not alone in this strange world. There is the strong and wilful teenage girl Regine, the young Polish boy Tomasz, and the ominous black clad and black helmeted Driver (or 'Death' as Tomasz calls him) who is constantly tracking them down. As they try to answer his questions as to where they are and their purpose of being there, they help him along with answers to problems in his past life, so he starts to realise that there always was and always is 'More than this'.
Tomasz is the one character I found the most entertaining, but also the one I had the most problem with. He is twelve years old and had been learning English ready to start a new life there with his mother when he found himself in this scary new world. But his words are almost philosophical - too mature for a 12-yr-old, never mind a Polish boy just learning the language. But I will forgive the author this as he is my favourite character.
A powerful book for all you thinkers out there!
A Monster Callsby Patrick Ness
Wow, what an incredible book. The story is moving, the illustrations are powerful - I can see why it won so many awards. Warning - you will blub at many points whilst reading this book. It's all the more poignant and heartbreaking when you know that the author who started to write the book (and to whom the book is dedicated) - Siobhan Dowd - died of cancer whilst writing it, so Patrick Ness bravely and wonderfully carried on and finished it.
Conor's mother is dying of cancer, but he refuses to accept that her life is due to end and will not let her go. The 'monster' of his dreams (an old yew tree in the churchyard behind their house) comes to life to help him through the pain, anger and acceptance.
Truly exceptional.
