Release
by Patrick Ness
"Today everything changes"
Weirdness is the best noun to describe any of Patrick Ness' books, but for this one, it's just perfect!
The book is to say peculiar, it follows two story lines that touch briefly at the end. It almost felt like there were two books in one, switching between a day in Adam Thorn's life and an eerie ghost story, which clearly has something to do with the recently deceased girl in the main plot, but I'm still a little bit confused about this magical realism that seems to be co-present with Adam's one.
Adam Thorn's story-which I will regard as the main plot- walk us through a day in his life. A really important, difficult day. A day of confrontation, running, sex, heartbreak, and maybe, just maybe hope.
Adam is the gay son of a preacher, struggling against his family's beliefs, trying to keep off his boss' advances, while working out some heart's matters. The author is able to show us a picture of such a transforming day in his character's life with simple and effective narratives. Adam's chapters are fast-reading, highly emotional and addicting. Ness made the character evolve in the span of a day, and as we probably all know sometimes the realization of a moment, it's all it takes to make us grow up, learn and finally move forward.
I liked the story, but what I had a hard time understanding was the weird side story. It was probably supposed to give more meaning and structure to the book, but it ended up feeling out-weighted and intellectually heavy compared with the main plot line. I would have liked more Adam and less of the weird ghost's story.
In the end, if it wasn't a little weird it wouldn't be Patric Ness, when I read something from him I expect something uncanny to reason about. So - also thanks to the beautiful cover- it's getting 4/5 stars. I can't give less to one of my favorite author of all times!
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Patrick Ness website ---> HERE
