Knife of Never Letting Go, a review by Linda

Knife of Never Letting Go, by Patrick Ness. Todd lives in a colony called New World, where you can hear everyone's thoughts- human and animal. Todd is sent away by his guardians when they fear he'll be killed. There is a mystery about what happens to young men when they come of age. Tom meets Viola, who is the only survivor of a space ship from their old planet. Together, they seek answers to what is happening in their world. There is some comedy- what Tom's dog says is very funny- and some violence. This is the first in a series, Chaos Walking.

Melina Marchetta

This is more an author review, actually. Melina Marchetta lives in Australia, and writes young adult fiction. I found Jellicoe Road on a website listing award-winning novels. While checking it out of the library, I picked up Saving Francesca, too.

I read Saving Francesca first, mainly because it's a fairly short book. The format is neat, almost like you're reading Francesca's diary. She's just begun a new school year at a historically all-boys school. The transition isn't easy for her, or the other thiry girls who are not welcome by the male students or the teachers. To make matters worse, Francesca's gregarious mother has suddenly stopped coming out of her room. Francesca has to learn to deal with her mother's clinical depression, as well as survive the turmoil at school and a major identity crisis.

Jellicoe Road also centers around a girl struggling to find her true self. Taylor was abandoned on the Jellicoe Road when she was ten, and attends a sort of frontier school at the edge of the bush. She is elected, much to her surprise, to be the leader of her school's underground troop of fighters, who skirmish with kids from the nearby village (Townies) and the military boys who camp nearby every summer (Cadets). Taylor begins to suspect her murky past is somehow tangled with a group of kids whose tragic lives also center around the Jellicoe Road.

Looking for Alibrandi was Marchetta's first novel, and the last I read. Maybe that's why I liked it the least. It's a good book, definitely, but I could tell how much her writing blossomed as she published more. This one is about a teenaged girl (are you seeing a pattern?) who has never known her father, and has been just fine with that. Suddenly, though, he is back in her life, much to the dislike of them both. The story flows out smoothly and realistcally, but I wasn't as drawn to the characters as in the first two books I read.

Melina Marchetta's books have a singular knack for starting as one thing, and ending up completely differently. I think Saving Francesca is the best example. Although they are set in Australia, the feelings and fears of the characters are universal. One thing that was a little strange was the difference in the seasons. There, February is hot.

These books will lift you up and break your heart. I loved them.

The Maze Runner, by James Dashner

The Maze Runner is another book I picked up from Target just because I thought the cover looked cool. I finished it the next day, and my husband finished in one night. The general premise is very similar to The Hunger Games, by Suzanne Collins. It is quite rough (violent), but not as "in your face" about it as the Collins series.

Thomas wakes up in a metal elevator with no memory of who he is or where he's from. Basically, the only thing he can remember is his name. The elevator eventally takes him to a huge outdoor courtyard enclosed by massive stone walls. Outside the walls lies a gigantic maze. There are other boys here, none of whom remember who they are.

The boys have set up a society, of sorts. They are provided with some supplies, grow their own food, raise animals, etc. But there is just one thing they all want more than anything...to get out. Eight of them are assigned to be Runners, studying the Maze every day. The only problem? The walls move, and you do NOT want to be caught out in the Maze after dark.

Mystery abounds as you wonder why they were brought here. Are they criminals? Is there a way out at all? And why does Thomas have the oddest feeling that he's been here before?

This book has a great ending, making me sorry the next installment doesn't come out until October 2010!