Imagine you can hear everything the town of men say about you. And they can hear everything you think. Imagine you don't fit into their plans. Todd Hewitt is just one month away from the birthday that will make him a man. But his town has been keeping secrets from him. Secrets that are going to force him to run (Goodreads).
Yeah, it's a little hard to get into, a little difficult to adjust to the narrating voice, but at the same time, the simplistic diction strikes hard into the heart of the reader, and the repetitive way that Ness writes is only repetitive in the sense that his writing strikes an emotional blow every time. This repetition seems to bleed into the story structure, however, and some scenes feel a bit too much like earlier ones. In addition to the writing, Ness also develops wonderful characters, with the conflicted Todd and the intelligent Viola. His world building is also executed decently, although the setting itself isn't incredibly unique. The history and lore of the world, however, is perfectly written, complete with a sadistic cast of villains that relentlessly pursue our heroes, leading to a seemingly hopeless main story, which, with Ness' short, poignant style, leads readers to also long for relief with the protagonists. The main intense scenes are written with such an enthralling simplicity that readers are left with an unfamiliar sense of "hold up, did that just happen?" that they wouldn't have gotten with a scene that is extremely detailed. It's a bold approach, but Ness pulls it off. And that's without mentioning the cool, overwhelming font changes with the Noise. Some heartbreaking... erm... departures add to the overpowering sense of hopelessness woven throughout the tale, and the recurring themes of truth and coming-of-age are also developed well. Wrap it up with one heck of a cliffhanger, and we're left with an incredible series opener. 8.6/10
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