The New World - Patrick Ness

As some of you know, I am a fan of Patrick Ness. He is one of my favourite authors and I even met him last summer at a book signing (See here).
For those of you who have NO IDEA who this man is. Well. He wrote the Chaos Walking trilogy, considering of The Knife of Never Letting Go, The Ask and the Answer & Monsters of Men, which are all pretty big over here in the UK. He also recently penned A Monster Calls which was based on a plot summary by the late YA author, Siobhan Dowd, who died of cancer a few years ago. This book is winning a lot of awards at the moment. Haven't read it yet, but it's supposed to be good. 
Anyway, this book is the prequel to the Chaos Walking trilogy which features Todd and Viola looking to help the future of Prentisstown and find out the truth. They are an amazing set of books and I would recommend anyone to read them, they're long but they are worth every word.

Synopsis: In this short story prequel to the Chaos Walking trilogy, this story details Viola's past life, of which readers know little about. It shows her journey to the New World and what events occurred just before she meets Todd in The Knife of Never Letting Go.

Review: My reason for getting this book was largely because...it was free. It is a free e-book available at all good online bookshops, such as Amazon and Waterstone's. Firstly, I would say you don't have to read the Chaos Walking series to understand it, it just means some of the events that happen are a surprise for you, as these events are mentioned in the trilogy. So, no spoilers really for the book series.

The story is told from Viola's point of view, about their descent to the New World with flashbacks over their long journey from the ship, her past life and how they were picked to go. The book is set before anything in the Chaos Walking series happened so it is a clean slate, for those (like me) who can't remember everything that happened in that series.
Being a prequel, having read the series before, you know what happens ultimately because we know from reading the series. But there are still surprises and a side to Viola I had never seen before or learnt of in the books. It is worth reading if you have read the series, it does show this other side to her relying on her parents and wanting desperately to get away from them.

This book is written in the style of typical Patrick Ness which I love. Those short sentences followed by a beautiful description where you just read and read and then. WHOA. Big shock that you're not expecting. As the ship is descending, I was so focused. I read this on an 11 hour flight from San Francisco to London so I was tired and supposed to be asleep but I woke up so much when reading the last 10 or so pages. I felt the fear, the excitement, the anticipation of Viola as the events happened with a sadness as I has knowledge of what happens when they do reach ground. Through this sequel, I could see the future Viola that Todd and I love mixed in with this unusual side to her.

My only problem was I would have liked it to be a big longer. Okay, so I'm bias as I have a love for Patrick Ness' books but I would have liked just a couple more pages. Just until she meets Todd perhaps, even end it on that. With all that excitement, sadness and anticipation, I, and Viola, felt throughout, the way it ending just kind of 'happened'. I pressed a button on my Kindle and it was the end. I think that was the point as I was left there, thinking of what happens afterwards. And it is sad but knowing the end of Viola's story, it is also happy and I appreciated her as a character more.

This book can be read by anyone but enjoyed differently. I think for non-Chaos-Walking-readers it will be surprising and perhaps these readers will enjoy and anticipate it more. For readers such as me, this is still enjoyable and you get incredibly involved in Viola and her situation and enjoy reading of her past life, but I think these readers will be expecting more than they get - if that makes sense. Patrick Ness has once again produced a short story that is so exciting and hides every secret until the last possible minute. Oh. I love Todd and Viola...I loved this insight into her life, while knowing her future. Very original.
Verdict: May be a disappointing ending for some, but it's worth every word you read.

I give it a 4.5 out of 5

The New World is available only in e-book form from all online book sellers. I got mine from Amazon.

Author's Website: http://www.patrickness.com/
Pages: 24
Publisher: Walker
Challenges: BBC

Patrick Ness' Chaos Walking trilogy into a movie!?

Okay, so I'm casually going on to Patrick Ness' Diary because I do a lot to check if there's a signing in London for me and my crazy-obsessed-with-him-but-still-not-meet-him friend. AND THIS IS WHAT I FIND.

YES. I KNOW.

THE CHAOS WALKING SERIES (The Knife of Never Letting Go, The Ask and the Answer, Monsters of Men) are being made into movies but none less than the Hunger Games makers themselves.

Personally, I don't quite know what to think. This is great and whatever, but well, will it ruin the magic and danger of these books that a lot of us readers will love? Will it be absolutely amazing and we well all wonder why we worried? I DON'T KNOW WHETHER TO BE WORRIED OR HAPPY.

Anyway, well done Patrick Ness - they deserve this kind of recognition and I WILL be going to see all three movies regardless of if I agree with the making of them or not....Nice surprise for a boring Monday.

Chaos Walking Trilogy: The Ask and the Answer by Patrick Ness

Sorry I finished this book ages ago but it's Easter holidays here so I was away and then this week I was ill. First, if you haven't read the first book in the series, The Knife of Never Letting Go then, there's no point reading this review until you have. The book does refer to the first one, which was amazing and had me asking some of my friends what happened because I wanted to know so much. They never told me. :(

First Sentence: "Your Noise reveals you, Todd Hewitt."

The trilogy is about a young, nearly 13 year-old boy, Todd Hewitt and a young, about the same age girl from another planet, Viola. They've finally got to Haven, the place where Viola can contact her ships to help them, and as you know from the first book, come face to face with the person they were running away from: Mayor Prentiss. Haven has changed completely. The famous Noise echos again through the town which is full of secrets and violence under the new name of New Prentisstown. As they are separated, Todd is forced to learn the new ways of the Mayor's new order. But where is Viola? Is she alive? Is she under the new mysterious Answer?
Then. The bomb explodes and both are forced to keep their secrets under the most extreme pressure as their relationship seems to develop.
The last book was ended on a cliffhanger as is this book. It isn't as fast-moving as the first book but I liked that. It was less exhausting to read and I prefered it. You get to know Todd and Viola more and see their relationship develop. Which is nice. It isn't a book for those people who want happiness as there are some unhappy bits as well as gory, so you can't watch your thumb bleeding, maybe don't read it. The chapters have Viola's and Todd's point of view which I loved as the first book I think only had Todd's point of view and only near the end included Viola's.
Read it. They are great books. I can't wait for the next one :)

I give it a 4.5 out of 5
Author's Website: www.patrickness.com/