Book Review: Monsters of Men by Patrick Ness

Monsters of Men by Patrick Ness
Publisher: Candlewick
Publication date: September 2010
ISBN: 9780763647513
Source: Library

Viola and Todd are both caught up in wars that seem to have no end and no good can come of them.  The Spackle have risen against them and Todd must make a dangerous choice between what he knows is right and what he feels like he must do to save Viola.  Viola is also being torn between her friends who just arrived and being able to bring peace for Todd.  The war is ugly and it changes how both Todd and Viola think - can they both survive together?

Things I Liked:
The book definitely packs a punch.  There is so much to think about and it will make you question what type of person you would be in a similar situation.  What choices would you make to save someone you loved?  Not to mention the story is action-packed with twists and turns that you don't see coming until it hits you right in the face.  The plot is so well done and the surprises just perfect that you won't be able to put it down.  Or stop thinking about it when you're done.  An awesome sci-fi/dystopia/futuristic story that still packs the punch of the first two books.

Things I Didn't Like:
The only thing I found bothersome was that the message seemed a little heavy-handed.  Every few pages, we would be reminded of the exceptionally hard choices Todd and Viola make.  It also explicitly asked several times how far would a person go to save someone they love?  I think we could have figured out the theme without having it spelled out for us.  Still quite powerful and thought-provoking.

Read-alikes:
Read the first two books in the Chaos Walking trilogy
Hunger Games series by Suzanne Collins

BOOK CONTENT RATINGS:
s-factor: !@#
plenty

mrg-factor: X
nothing explicit

v-factor: ->->->->
there is a lot of fighting and gore (it's about war, remember?)

Overall rating: ****



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Posted as part of the YA-D2 dystopian challenge

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