CW: gore

I didn’t know much going into this, only what was on the back cover and that it’s one of Erika’s favorite books. I was surprised by how much I liked it.

The writing style took some getting used to. The characters used “yer” and “ain’t” and “tho,” and words ending in -tion were spelled -shun. It was kind of off-putting at first, but after a while it didn’t bother me.

I think this was a really creative story. It takes place on a new planet, where there’s aliens and nothing is as it seems. Literally nothing. Characters that should be dead don’t die. Characters that shouldn’t do. Basically everything is a lie. It made for an interesting, twisty read.

If Todd wasn’t twelve, I probably would’ve hated him. But he was only twelve, so that’s definitely why he came off as immature. Not holding that against him. But he was so angry, so easily, and while I get he was young and in a tough situation, I think he went a bit over the top sometimes. However, I liked his development in the second half of the story and look forward to seeing how it continues in book two.

I liked Viola. She was a well-developed character and a good friend to Todd, even when he didn’t really deserve it. She was only twelve or thirteen as well, but she was fighting against sexism in New World and she was kind of awesome.

The other characters were all alright. Some were good, some were bad, and then a few were horrible. I liked Todd’s parents, two gay men that took him in after his mom died. I really disliked all of the Prentisstown men, and three in particular need to die or go away or something.

Manchee was the best character in the book, hands down. He was sweet and funny and he stayed loyal to Todd through everything. Todd hated him originally, something I honestly can’t comprehend, but grew to love him. Honestly, the dog is always the best character and always will be.

Parts of the book were slower, because there was a lot of journeying. It didn’t bother me too much though. There was enough action and suspense mixed in to satisfy me.

I liked the ending, but it didn’t really make me feel anything. I heard it was a massive cliffhanger, but I’m not sure I agree. It was definitely suspenseful and I can tell it leads to the second book, and that’s about it.

The last thing I want to say is that there was a scene in this book that had me choked up. It was so heartbreaking and I was so bitter. Erika was absolutely right when she told me it would be bad. My status update shows that. I can’t say what because of spoilers, but omg that hurt. It didn’t make me cry, but it got close. This is only the second book to ever do so. I think that says something.

All in all, a good book. I recommend it cautiously, because it’s an unexpected heartbreaker. Have fun!