august books

I've added three more books to my Read list this month! I call that success.

1. The Fault in Our Stars by John Green - ☆☆☆☆
2. An Abundance of Katherines by John Green - ☆☆½
3. Matched by Ally Condie - ☆☆☆☆
4. Crossed by Ally Condie - ☆☆☆
5. The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern - ☆☆☆☆☆
6. The Catcher in the Rye by J.D. Salinger - ☆☆☆½
7. The Marriage Plot by Jeffrey Eugenides - ☆☆☆☆☆
8. My Name is Memory by Ann Brashares - ☆☆☆☆½
9. The Gospel According to Larry by Janet Tashjian - ☆☆☆☆
10. Vote for Larry by Janet Tashjian - ☆☆☆½
11. Before I Fall by Lauren Oliver - ☆☆☆☆☆
12. 29 Gifts by Cami Walker
13. The Knife of Never Letting Go by Patrick Ness - ☆☆☆☆
14. The Ask and the Answer by Patrick Ness - ☆☆☆½
15. Monsters of Men by Patrick Ness - ☆☆☆☆½

If you're observant, you've noticed all three added books are by the same author. If you're intuitive, you've arrived at the conclusion that I spent August reading a trilogy. And if you've got a good memory, you know it was a Young Adult trilogy.

It's called the Chaos Walking trilogy (I think it's supposed to be a petname for humankind) and I'm in love. 

I was going to write a snippet of review for each book, but since the three are inextricably linked, I will stick to one for all (and all for one! wait...). Now I'm distracted. Umm.

The premise of this book is a promising premise for any book. The main character's basic assumptions, the basic rules and knowledge and schemas which have dictated his actions thus far, are wrong. He's been fed lies upon lies and now he's not sure what the truth is. Add the fact that he's at the age in which one is struggling to find oneself, to emerge as an individual, and you've got a compelling story.

Now let's add the fact that all of this takes place on New World, a new planet populated by brave souls who risked everything to leave a crumbling earth and inhabit a virtually unexplored planet, in the hopes of, well, hope. A fresh start.

Let's also add something called Noise, which affects all males who land on New World. It's like this: All of your thoughts are broadcast for everyone to hear. Except thoughts are messy and confusing and don't always come in words. So you've got a jumbled, hazy, confusing buzz coming at you, from every single male alive. I never once questioned why Patrick Ness coined it 'Noise.' It's unintelligible and raw. It's annoying and not very telling, despite how the ability to hear others' thoughts may seem.

Add a race of aliens who are smarter than they're made out to be.

And a guy who drove himself mad with information (and, in his estimation, power).

And add two kids who are imperfect and clueless, but have a hell of a lot of heart (excuse my French, but "a lot of heart" wasn't sufficient).

And you've got a trilogy that will keep you up night after night until you're done.

Granted, the second book felt more like a wedge than a book. However, there was some interesting character work being done. And I fell in love with a character I hated in the first book. And it was a necessary set-up to the final installment (whose ending took my breath away). And it forced the main characters to grow up, which was thrilling and troubling to see.

*sigh* There I go again... Getting all defensive at my own criticism.

Whenever I want to complain about a less-than-credible part, or whine about a 50-page stretch of boring, or question if a character's motive is authentic, I stop myself. Because the raw emotion and the slow build of these three books is brilliant.

I'm more inclined to forgive silly plot quibbles over a truly moving ending. And this... heart-breaking. 

"It’s like the song of a family where everything’s always all right, it’s a song of belonging that makes you belong just by hearing it, it’s a song that’ll always take care of you and never leave you. If you have a heart, it breaks, if you have a heart that’s broken, it fixes.”