Thursday, September 16, 2010

The Knife of Never Letting Go - Patric Ness (23/50)

Part of:          "Chaos Walking" trilogy 

Genre:         Young Adult
Year:            2008
Pages:          479

Awards:
 - Booktrust Teenage Prize (2008, Winner)
 - Guardian Award (2008, Winner)
 - James Tiptree, Jr. Award (2008, Winner)

First Sentence: 
The first thing you find out when yer dog learns to talk is that dogs don't got much to say.

 
Description:
A dystopian thriller follows a boy and girl on the run from a town where all thoughts can be heard—and the passage to manhood embodies a horrible secret. Todd Hewitt is the only boy in a town of men. Ever since the settlers were infected with the Noise germ, Todd can hear everything the men think, and they hear everything he thinks. Todd is just a month away from becoming a man, but in the midst of the cacophony, he knows that the town is hiding something from him—something so awful Todd is forced to flee with only his dog, whose simple, loyal voice he hears too. With hostile men from the town in pursuit, the two stumble upon a strange and eerily silent creature: a girl. Who is she? Why wasn't she killed by the germ like all the females on New World? Propelled by Todd's gritty narration, readers are in for a white-knuckle journey in which a boy on the cusp of manhood must unlearn everything he knows in order to figure out who he truly is.

Quotes: 
“We all fall. What matters is if we can get back up.” - Todd  

My thoughts:
I loved this book, especially the narration and Manchee!!! And I hated what Ness did with Manchee at the end of the book, it made me want to cry out of anger and disbelief! But at the same time I kind of understood why he did that, why there was no other way to go about this.. The book has an amazing plot, so unexpectedly good for YA genre that I just couldn't put it down! 
I'm jumping right into reading the second part now, can't wait!! 


Raiting: 


Sunday, September 5, 2010

Candy - Mian Mian (21/50)


Genre:         Fiction
Year:            2003
Pages:          304


First Sentence:
Why did my father always have to push me in front of the Mona Lisa?
Description: 
An international literary phenomenon - is a blast of sex, drugs, and rock 'n' roll that opens up to us a modern China we've never seen before. Hong, who narrates the novel, and whose life in many ways parallels the author's own, drops out of high school and runs away at age 17 to the frontier city of Shenzen. As Hong navigates the temptations of the city, she quickly falls in love with a young musician and together they dive into a cruel netherworld of alcohol, drugs, and excess, a life that fails to satisfy Hong's craving for an authentic self, and for a love that will define her. 
(source: Goodreads) 
Quotes:
"I want to see a thousand lonely strangers dancing happily at my party. " -Hong
My Thoughts: 
Well.. It was an interesting book for sure. I wouldn't say it blew me away or shocked me (maybe I am desensitized, or maybe I expected too much of it), but it was ok. The repetitive self indulgence of the main character (the narrator - Hong) was at times seriously annoying, but if you have patience to get through it, you're rewarded with a beautiful language and a refreshing glimpse into Chinese counterculture. 


Rating:   
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