The YA Dystopian Book Club discussion

This thread is for discussing the book and all the scenes. You don't need to mark your spoilers in this thread unless you're mentioning later books in the series. In which case, use [spoiler] before the text and [/spoiler] after the text, replacing the []s with <>s.

Thak you :)

OMGoodness! I can't believe Aaron killed Manchee! That Ba&*$#d! Ok, that's out of my system - going back to read more. :)

K.L. wrote: "OMGoodness! I can't believe Aaron killed Manchee! That Ba&*$#d! Ok, that's out of my system - going back to read more. :)"

That was the most heartbreaking part of the entire book for me :'(

I really loved how Ness captured what (most likely) a dog would talk like if it could talk. Manchee was so sweet too :'( Ugh.

Kim wrote: "K.L. wrote: "OMGoodness! I can't believe Aaron killed Manchee! That Ba&*$#d! Ok, that's out of my system - going back to read more. :)"

That was the most heartbreaking part of the entire book for ..."

I'm not quite finished but yes, Kim, I was very moved and sniveled through the next couple of chapters.

"Poo Todd! Need to poo Todd!"

Good ol' Manchee. R.I.P Ya little bugger.
Hehe'YA'..see what I did there? No? (._.)

I got it Daniela!!! :P And yeah- I remember hating Manchee at the beginning, and then at the end I just loved him, so sad he died :( Although, I think this series is slightly overrated....

Ha ha Daniela!

Riya, I don't know anything about the series but I find this particular title quite good and will absolutely refer it to others. I think Ness' style is daring - a rule breaker - unique. Superb story telling, in my lowly opinion. I've two more chapters to read and I'm on it!

Interesting! I agree that his style was unique, but I didn't like it all. Personally, I didn't this the way Ness wrote worked. And I only continued this series after the first book since I already had the second one...The series definitely improved as the book continued though.

Well, Riya, another example of subjectivity. (Is that a word? S'pose it is now.) That's the way I felt about "The Hunger Games" I hated the style in which it was written though I liked the premise.

And, now that I've finished "The Knife of Never Letting Go".. I'm a little peeved that I didn't get my happy ending - but then again, there are two more books. Right?

Yup, two more in the series. And yeah, I know what you mean. In that way, I felt the premise was a bit lacking in this book too. The whole series was completely different from what I expected in plot aspects as well, so it was just okay.

I agree with Riya. I think the book was overrated. I didn't particularly like the style, and the characters were EXTREMELY limited due to this style. I think calling this series a trilogy is unfair to the reader. It's not 3 distinct stories, but one long drawn out story that you must keep reading in subsequent books for a resolution. It's a subtle marketing strategy that bombs. I didn't hate the book, but after finishing this series (because I bought them all...) I won't be pursuing Ness' works any further. In fact, I would hesitate to recommend him to my family and friends. Great premise, but overall came up short.

See, cliffhangers and I actually have a love/hate realationship, which is a good thing. So I quite enjoyed them, I understand why some would find it frustrating or annoying though. And Kelli, aren't all trilogies a long drawn out story of the characters life? I'm just curious because I can see where you're coming from.

Yes, you're right that most trilogies/series are long, drawn out stories of characters' lives. However, most books have a natural ending when completing a book in a series. Let's take Hunger Games as an example: each of the first two books had a complete story in the form of separate Hunger Games. There were complete characterizations, a complete plot that had a resolution (even as it propelled you onward to new portions of the story). In the case of The Knife of Never Letting Go, Ness sends us on a wild chase to Haven. We eventually reach Haven, true, but nothing actually happens or resolves. We're just left with a giant rip of the story. I think there's a definite distinction.

Yea, I definitely see the distinction. Thank you for the clear explanation, It's always nice to see and understand other's point of view!

I definitely agree that this seemed to be one book that was long and drawn out into 3. It was okay, but I wouldn't go out of my way to recommend it to anyone. If it wasn't for the fact that I already had the second book when I finished the first one, I doubt I would've continued the series. It was just so different from what I expected, and I'm fine with that, but I felt my expectations were higher.

I totally agree Riya, definitely didn't live up to my expectations. Though I do understand that there are true Nessophiles out there, and that's okay. Honestly, even though I may have a difference of opinion I like to see people be passionate about their book love. :)

got about 100 more pages left of this book and j really like it bawled my eyes out when manshee died :( I didn't like the book at first, had to make myself read the first few chapters. was not digging his style at all. but now I'm used to it.

I thought I didn't care about Manchee until he died.
The series as a whole doesn't get really interesting until the second book. Glad you're enjoying it.

Okay! I just finished the second book and it pissed me off. On top of which I though the pace too frantic. I'll have to wait to read book three.

just finished the book and wow, I can't wait to read the second one. which prob won't b till Sunday night :( but the ending was way crazy!