More Than This

From two-time Carnegie Medal winner Patrick Ness comes an enthralling and provocative new novel
chronicling the life – or perhaps afterlife – of a teen trapped in a crumbling, abandoned world.

A boy called Seth drowns, desperate and alone in his final moments, losing his life as the pounding sea claims him. But then he wakes. He is naked, thirsty, starving. But alive. How is that possible? He remembers dying, his bones breaking, his skull dashed upon the rocks. So how is he is here? And where is this place? It looks like the suburban English town where he lived as a child, before an unthinkable tragedy happened and his family moved to America. But the neighbourhood around his old house is overgrown, covered in dust and completely abandoned. What's going on? And why is it that whenever he closes his eyes, he falls prey to vivid, agonizing memories that seem more real than the world around him? Seth begins a search for answers, hoping that he might not be alone, that this might not be the hell he fears it to be, that there might be more than just this...

My favourite book of the year Simon Mayo, Radio 2 The Twilight Zone meet The Matrix ... real thematic depth ... Ness is very very good at endings - this one has a corker ... He's outdone himself The Guardian Few adult novels make quite such an immediate impression as More Than This ... the narrative is enthralling in its many strands and complexities -- Robert Dunbar Irish Times Demanding and gripping ... no wonder young adult fiction is booming when it boasts authors as talented as Patrick Ness Daily Mail This sophisticated scary tale amply demonstrates Ness's prize winning talent Financial Times His most engaging, most demanding, most confounding book yet ... from the brutally harsh beginning to the profoundly graceful ending, a very exciting novel Scotsman Magazine A sparkling new YA novel... an impressively challenging and philosophical book for young adults, because Ness captures the ambiguity and bewilderment of being young and the uncertainty of what will happen to any of us next in life -- Martin Chilton The Telegraph Carnegie-winning author Patrick Ness addresses huge issues in this 14+ novel, asking what makes life real - and worth living Metro A bold and unusual story, beautifully-written and shot through with a poignant sense of melancholy. Compelling, powerful and often painful Booktrust Intense and harrowing, infused with conviction Books for Keeps Patrick Ness has done it again, creating another intriguing and provocative novel for young adults Bath Magazine An exceptional book, beautifully crafted, one to be read and re-read Recommended Reads 2013 Every bit as captivating as Ness' magnificent Chaos Walking trilogy Bath Life It's probably the most original- and my favourite- book that I've read this year! It ticked all of the boxes and more, for me. I honestly can't recommend it enough! I was tempted to make a six hearts on my rating system, reserved for this book. Simply amazing! Books and Writers Junior One of the most original books I've read in years, part science-fiction, part exploration of love and family, and so much more. Wickedly clever, utterly convincing, this book is outstanding - don't miss it. Irish Independent Perfect for thoughtful, inquisitive teens. The Telegraph Impressive writing. Books for Keeps Controversial but brilliant. Absoutely Notting Hill Tense, boundary-pushing and challenging. The Bookseller, Books of the Year A teenage boy drowns, wakes up, finds himself in somehow familiar surroundings. Mysteries mount and explanations dazzle. -- Robert Dunbar Irish Times A personal favourite...a tense thriller and a challenging philosophical book for young adults, this is one to read. Sunday Independent Exceptional... An enthralling and unnerving story that raises the most profound questions of adolescence. Mumsnet Books for Teenagers 2013 Thriller, sci-fi novel, a coming of age story, More Than This is difficult to define, which only adds to its appeal. The perfect novel for any teenager (or adult) pondering the big questions of life. Inis Award-winning Patrick Ness is brilliantly tender as he captures the wonder of the love between Seth and Gudmund and the tragedy it brings within the enormous scope of his most recent book More Than This. -- Julia Eccleshare The Guardian More Than This, by award-winning Patrick Ness, is a tense thriller and an impressively challenging and philosophical book for young adults -- Martin Chiltern Telegraph Top 10 YA books of 201 Hugely satisfying, despite the ambiguity. The sense of hope it builds is palpable and I closed the book with a tear in my eye and a knot in my chest... A very daring book, and it so easily could have gone wrong but it didn't. I don't really know what else to tell you except trust Ness, and go out and experience it for yourself The Paper Sea

Patrick Ness is the author of the critically-acclaimed and bestselling Chaos Walking trilogy, as well as the Carnegie Medal-winning A Monster Calls, inspired by an idea from Siobhan Dowd. Among the numerous awards he has received are the Guardian Children's Fiction Prize, the Booktrust Teenage Prize and the Costa Children's Book Award. Born in Virginia, he lives in Bromley, Kent.

Visit Patrick's website at

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