This review is part of Melody’s Summer Reading: Diversity Spotlight. Enjoy!
The New World by Patrick Ness
Release Date: September 27, 2010
Publisher: Candlewick Press
Genre: Young Adult Sci-fi
Source: Free on Amazon
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In this dramatic short story — a prequel to the award-winning Chaos Walking Trilogy — author Patrick Ness gives us the story of Viola’s journey to the New World. Whether you’re new to Chaos Walking or an established fan, this prequel serves as a fascinating introduction to the series that Publishers Weekly called “one of the most important works of young adult science fiction in recent years.”
What an amazing prequel! This is easily one my favorite prequels ever!
I really love all of the characters. They’re each so distinct and three dimensional and jump right off the page. Viola and her parents are endearing and everything I hope for in a healthy family unit in books. Viola’s mentor, Bradley is not only supportive but seems to all around have very positive vibe about him. Then there’s Viola’s diva of a friend who is in her own world (as in thinks she is the bomb dot com) and even in finding her to be quite a piece of work, she is so highly entertaining because of the fact that she is the way she is.
I absolutely love how strong the relationship dynamics were between Viola and all of these characters and hope that Viola isn’t the only character from this prequel that we see in the series. But if so, it was such a pleasure reading them here. Regardless, I can’t wait to read more and follow what I can of Viola’s journey as she struggles with fear with hope and fear without it on The New World and encounters the people of the place she has landed.
As far as the story goes, I absolutely love that we went back and forth between before Viola and her parents took off to The New World, during which Viola resists every step of the way & actually taking off and…crashing. Each scene and mini cliffhanger transitioned perfectly. Talk about heart racing and emotionally gripping! All in a half hour’s worth of reading. Wow! The pacing was perfect.
Everything about this prequel was an A+ in my book. The writing was superb and captivating from the very first line. This is my introduction to Patrick Ness and we all know how important first impressions are… this one was without a doubt a stellar one. I am so pumped to read more from this diverse author, starting with of course, The Knife of Never Letting Go and officially beginning the Chaos Walking trilogy! This prequel is free so get it today!
The New World by Patrick Ness is available today.