I just want to give a warm and happy CONGRATS to the Chaos Walking trilogy by Patrick Ness for its 10th anniversary of destroy hearts!
Bless it.
Sometimes bookworms joke around and say they want happy books, but NO. What they really want are trilogies like this one that are complex and emotional and full of heart-wrenching moments and characters you love and die with that will ultimately change your life. And make you cry a little. Ha ha. Or a lot! It’s flexible. So nice of it!
I’m teaming up with Walker Books Australia to giveaway a complete set of the 10th anniversary editions which have pages stained as black as our hearts probably. It’s SO gorgeous.
But before we get to that, I’m listing 7 reasons you absolutely need to start reading these books! I mean, obviously I should just say “READ IT” and you all will. But in case you need convincing…
1. I THINK IT’S WORTH NOTING IT HAS THE BEST TITLES EVER.
Look sometimes I just fall a little bit in love with titles. And I find it especially cool as, the more I read, the more the titles make sense until they’re absolutely freaking clever and I just have such admiration for them. And I really really love saying “CHAOS WALKING” which is basically how I announce myself in the mornings anyway.
So just trust me that (A) the titles mean something big for EACH BOOK, (B) they’re so so epic, and (C) they gradually get shorter as the trilogy goes on to be symbolic of how much of your heart there is left to break. *
* I’M JOKING…but really…
2. IT’S A SCI-FI TRILOGY ABOUT SETTLERS OF A NEW WORLD AND HOW THAT ALL GOES SOUR SUPER FAST.
Which gives it this nearly Western vibe at times because everyone speaks slang and education is nobody’s priority and everything is about farms (!) survival (!) settling (!) destroying natives (!…) and doing all that other fun stuff that men do when they enter a new place.
I also think it critiques white men’s way of “conquering” because heck, they do a bad job. There’s some alien natives on this planet they’ve taken over and it’s war —> slavery basically. UGH PEOPLE.
3. IT HAS UNIQUE FORMATTING WHICH IS MY FAVOURITE THING RIGHT AFTER BREAD.
Bread is great. But UNIQUE FORMATTING!! I’m not going to lie, I absolutely adore when books think outside the box. And I feel this trilogy doesn’t so much think outside the box, as frikkin’ kicks the box over. It’s great.
The people in New World are affected by this alien-germ that makes all the men’s thoughts be heard. They call it Noise and the book often uses like this wild font to demonstrate how overwhelming and intense it can be.
4. OKAY BUT SPEAKING OF THE “NOISE” HOW HORRIBLE WOULD IT BE TO HAVE ALL YOUR THOUGHTS OUT IN THE OPEN????
I am so…not a fan. Ahem. But only the men are affected by this, and I kind of wonder if this is a subtle point at how men say “oh women are impossible to understand and read”…and in this book it’s exploded 100 x over. Plus Todd, when he meets his first girl and can’t read her Noise, acts like she’s dead and dumb inside because he doesn’t understand her. And I just feel like that’s a parallel of that to how we, in today’s society, treat people who communicate differently to us and then use it as an excuse to be horrible to them.
Or maybe I’m reading way too much into it ah hahaha, but I’m having fun, don’t stop me. I feel like this story has so so many deep layers.
5. I ABSOLUTELY LOVE TODD, OUR NARRATOR, AND HIS VOICE IS SO STRONG AND EMOTIONAL.
It’s in 1st person and it’s so personal and close. You aren’t reading Todd, YOU ARE TODD. He narrates the first book solo, and then Viola co-narrates the second. But TODD. I really love him. The emotion and the panic are all splattered across the page as he and Viola take this cross-country run to get away from an army and warn a town that they’re about to be destroyed.
Also Todd is a Hufflepuff and you can fite me on this but I won’t back down.
Plus Todd + Viola’s relationship is so thick and complex and emotional…it just fills my heart and guts me all at the same time. I love love love how it’s written.
6. IT WILL KEEP YOU ABSOLUTELY GLUED TO THE PAGE AT ALL TIMES UNTIL YOU ARE ONE WITH THE PAGE.
Honestly, they’re just that addictive. The plots! The running! The terror! The questions! It is like MASTER of unanswered questions. Todd is basically thrown into his speedy journey at the beginning by his adopted-dads with 0% information because they couldn’t have people reading it out of his Noise. So the whole time: Todd is asking questions, WE are asking questions, tHE WORLD IS ASKING QUESTIONS.
And when you get some answers? You get more questions.
The book is master of half-stories and lies and twists. And when it comes clear, ohhhh it packs such a punch.
I’m also so impressed at the amount of psychological subplots?! There’s mind control and manipulation and the badies are SO BAD and the goodies are BAD too and, yes, everyone is morally grey. Everyone. Trust only Todd and Viola, I tell you.
War makes monsters out of men.
7. IT DOES NOT GO EASY ON YOUR FEELS. IT IS HERE TO DESTROY YOU AND YOU WILL BE GLAD.
Honestly this trilogy HURTS. And I think that’s really special and perfect?! Books that get an emotional response, that stick to your bones, that make you think and think??? Those are the kind of books I want in my life. This trilogy is one of my utter new favourites. Everything from the raw writing to the storyline to the heart winning characters, to the terrible terrible things it discusses?! It just hits me so much.
PAIN IS NOT SPARED HERE, OK, YOU MAY CRY. GOOD LUCK.
OPEN TO AUSTRALIA ONLY
Good goodness, I love these books! They’re political and deep but also really raw and genuine. SO MUCH TO READ INTO WOW. I love Todd and Viola and especially Monsters of Men and tbh The Ask and the Answer is 100% brutal wow. and You’ll Miss Me When I’m Gone, which is about sisters and forgiveness had me tearing up earlier this week ouch.
Shanti recently posted…A Question of Fiction: Far From the Tree
OMG I KNOW RIGHT?! I can’t get over it! I feel like they have so many layers, and the critiquing of our-society is really spot on + just Todd and Viola are perfect and raw little squishes that completely ruin me.❤️💔Those last scenes in the Ask and the Answer were SO TOUGH I CAN’T EVEN. TODD SCREAMING AT THAT WINDOW AJFKSLDSAD.
I’m going to read You’ll Miss Me When I’m Gone soon! (And I totally start singing the song every time I say that title.😂)
I’ve heard so much about these books, BUT I’VE NEVER READ THEM!! I really should do that. Maybe if I win the giveaway 😀 But honestly though, it sounds so good and I love the kind of books that destroy you emotionally. I also really love reading your reviews 😛
You should!! You totally should! I tend to read mostly new books, but omg there are really good older ones here too that need our adoration. (Not that 10 years is THAT old.😂 But still.) And I’m like a complete Vulcan so books that destroy me emotionally are definitely A+ in my opinion.😂
*cries in European*
Hope whoever wins it appreciates the hell out of it, though, haha
Anyway, anytime I see stained pages it really reminds me of Salla Simukka’s ‘The Snow White Trilogy’… the books were titled ‘As Red As Blood’, ‘As White As Snow’ and ‘As Black As Ebony’ and the pages of the first and third book were stained red and black, aaaaa, it looked so cool
Mai recently posted…Wandering by pearsfears
*sends cake in consolation*
Omg I read the ARCs of the first two of those and they didn’t have the stained pages BUT NOW I WANT. AH. THAT SOUNDS AMAZING.😂
I actually can’t think of a series that has made me really emotional.
Aww I hope you find one someday then!😂
Ooohhh I feel like I’ve had this on my TBR forever! Might have to bump it up now!
The series that made me the most emotional was probably the Shades of Magic series because I JUST LOVE IT SO MUCH 😬
or the Monsters of Verity duology Because that end was GUTWRENCHING.
Man there’s so many though! I’ve still only read LM from the Dark Artifices trilogy but that Julian’s story MADE ME SOB!
Yesss do!! I tend to read mostly new books, but OMG there are some good older gems out there. And ajfdklsafd I feel the same way about ADSOM and also Monsters of Verity…AUGUST.😭😭Forever adore him. And agreed about Julian, mother of 4, 😭😭❤️❤️
I’m always hesitant with older books because i either love them or hate them and I hate hating books 🙈
I can see my mother, at that age, in Julian and it really breaks my heart 😭😭 he’s just so pure and tries so hard to be the best mother he can be and ugh 😫😫
The Hunger Games is one of the only series that has made me emotional, particularly the last book. Such a build-up and the deaths and cliffhangers have left me in tears. On the other hand, Katniss Everdeen has had me practically cheering for her!
Omg agreed about The Hunger Games. NEVER going to get over Mockingjay and it’s been years and years…😭😭
One series I’ve read which I loved for its characters is the Elemental series by Brigid Kemmerer. It’s about four brothers, each of whom possess one of four deadly elemental powers, and the equally deadly faction that persecutes them. The younger three are being raised by the eldest brother, Michael, after the tragic death of their parents, and the love and devotion they have for each other really tugged at my heartstrings. Plus, two of the brothers are twins that often switch places, and I’m a sucker for that type of thing…
Ohhh I OWN THE FIRST TWO AND HAVEN’T READ THEM YET!! You’ve 100% convinced me though. Like I love her other books so I don’t know why I haven’t started yet.😂
I haven’t read this series yet. I do plan to read them some day 🙂 (along with all the other books on my huge TBR). The slang and accents have kind of been putting me off (a couple of people have mentioned them to me).. as someone whose first language is not English, I find it difficult to read slang and when the way people talk in a book, is not proper English but accents. I can put up with it in a Dutch book, because it’s my first language so I can follow it, but I find it harder in an English book. I bought the trilogy in English though and not Dutch (because I usually prefer to read the original English over the translated Dutch, if the original is English that is). But I’ll probably read the series at some point :).
The only Patrick Ness book I’ve read is A Monster Calls, which I absolutely loved.
I think I have read series in which I get emotional over the characters, but as usual my memory is being like a sieve, nothing comes to mind right now.
haha I totally understand…I say “oh I want to read this” and then my TBR just starts yelling at me.😂 And yes the slang/accents CAN be really hard to get into…I found them disorientating at first and English is my only language, so I would understand if it’d be a problem. Especially with a lot of lateral spelling? (I’m not sure if you’re into audiobooks, but they’re REALLY well done and I found it easier for the first one when I read it originally!)
A Monster Calls is so so amazing. ❤️❤️
This is one of the times where I wish I just lived in Australia. I really trust your judgement and that’s why I want these books so bad. I haven’t read them yet but if Cait says they’re great, they probably are.
Anyway, there’s no chance I’m not gonna choose Harry Potter here. Those books make me an emotional wreck EVERY SINGLE TIME. OH DUMBLEDORE WHY DID YOU LEAVE MEEEE? 😭😭😭
Also, the Heroes of Olympus gave me pain too. BECAUSE I FELL DEEPLY IN LOVE WITH NICO DI ANGELO AND IT TURNED OUT WE WERE BOTH IN LOVE WITH PERCY JACKSON. I have no problem with gay/queer characters but I was just so in love with Nico. He’s happy now though so I’m trying my best to move on.
I was also emotionally invested with ACOTAR’s Rhysand. He is just the kind of character you wish to find in the real world. You told me before that you didn’t like A Court of Thorns and Roses. So I’m here begging you to give the series a chance. Book 2 (A Court of Mist and Fury) is 1000x better than book one. If you decide to get on with the series, I promise you will not regret it. PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE JUST TRY TO READ IT. If you still don’t like it, you can eat me alive.
I haven’t read any Patrick Ness book but I’ll give this series a try. Maybe after I finish my Maggie Stiefvater binge reading.
Hoping you won’t ever eat me alive,
R
I’m just super honoured you trust my opinion. 😂 WHAT A GLORIOUS DAY THIS IS. And yess there are so many emotional scenes in Harry Potter *flails* SO MANY. And Oh oh the cliffhangers in Percy Jackson though?! Like WHY. What did we ever do to deserve that pain, Mr. Riordan. *Cries* That’s lovely that there was that love triangle between you, Nico, and Percy though. :’)
Haha no I’m pretty much done with Sarah J Maas books altogether, so I won’t be continuing. But I’m glad you like them!
I’ve always wanted to read these books but never got around to it! A series that made me super emotional is The Infernal Devices by Cassandra Clare, I mean WILL. And that EPILOGUE. Ugh my poor heart. Took me way too long to get over that.
Yessss all of Cassandra Clare’s books generally have me in this super emotional SOUP. I love them.
I wish I could win this giveaway, but as I’m in the US I will just need to go buy this entire trilogy sight unseen because you have convinced me that I need to read it RIGHT NOW. *grabby hands*
Also, Hufflepuff main characters for the win. *Puts on Hufflepuff Pride badge. Also makes badges for the other houses and hands them out to people, because, well, Hufflepuff.*
Omg I’m so glad I convinced you! That’s honestly the best moment ever haha.❤️ And hufflpuffs are AMAZING THOUGH I LOVE THEM. Especially angry loyal Hufflepuffs.
Only Australia ONLY?!! SAD. This series look EPIC. I must admit, I’ve not heard of it until your blog. Thanks for sharing!!
It’s such a good trilogy and pretty old so hopefully you’re library might have them!
The Lunar Chronicles!!! It has been the first series in a while that I ADORED every book of, every main character, and really wanted them to win about Levana!
Yesss I adore the Lunar Chronicles too!! And Winter messed about so meanly with my fav Wolf. ❤️💔
These books look amazing and most likely to a) break me, b) kill me in my sleep, or both. The covers, the font, it’s so….weird.
Well I highly recommend them.😂
Sadness because I’ve never even heard of these books? I had heard of the Knife of Never Letting Go, but I didn’t know it was part of a trilogy. I thought it sounded like a YA contemporary, sort of like a John Green title. Obviously, I hadn’t read too much about it.
Apparently, I need to check out Patrick Ness. I kind of thought he only wrote kids books about monsters and little boys. 😂
Elizabeth recently posted…Sort of Spring & Other Stuff // March 2018 Wrap Up
HOWWWW, ELIZABETH. *piles them on your head* 😂 And I agree the titles aren’t your typical sci-fi sounding ones, but I think that’s why I love them even more!? They stand out ahhh. And Patrick Ness writes a LOT of books I adore. More Than This, Release, and The Rest Of Us Just Live Here are so so good.😍😍
I’ve always wanted to read these books, but they’re so big! I’m intimidated. Your reasons for reading them are pretty compelling, though. I should probably just do it. I’m sure I’ll like them.
Aj @ Read All The Things! recently posted…Review: The Complete Stories Of Truman Capote by Truman Capote
They are pretty big haha, but they go fast because they have a lot of unique formatting, so the size is big, but I imagine the word count overall isn’t too bad?
Legend, hands down! It’s been about a year and I’m STILL not over how they ripped my heart out in the last book…
I still haven’t finished that series and I’m ashamed!! I need to!
I haven’t read this yet but I recently added it to my tbr so here’s hoping I get to it someday. It sounds really interesting. Would you say it’s sorta a space book because it’s set on an alien planet? I want to know for my Goodreads shelves. Some books that destroyed me are The Maze Runner; that can’t be the ending, anything Marie Lu has written without fail (except maybe Batman: Nightwalker, that one didn’t kill me), and a while ago a made the mistake of reading Percy Jackson+Heroes of Olympus+Trials of Apollo all right after the other so it was like coming off a high and I was in a reading slump for like 5 months, it was bad
It’s definitely set on an alien planet, and there’s an alien indigenous species in it…but like especially in the first 2 books there’s pretty much no technology or ships so it doesn’t feel THAT sci-fi?! Even though it is?? If that makes sense.😂 (Omg the Maze Runner though…how dare that series. HOW DARE IT. Everything in book 3 was definitely a typo.)
Especially that title, all I got was the death and no cure. Maybe there was a last chapter that somehow got taken out where they discover something that brings people back to life and all the Gladers can be alive and happy :’)
The Raven Cycle series is my all time favourite series as well as the most heartbreaking and beautifully written books ever, they made me ugly cry!!😭😭😭.
I read the first one “the knife of never letting go” soo long ago I’ve been meaning to reread it and finally complete the whole series.
OMG ME TOO AND I JUST GET ALL THE EMOTIONS OVER IT. I was a MESS during The Raven King ahhhhhh.
I’m trying to think of a book that made me really emotional over the characters, but I can’t think of anything recent. I think I’d have to go all the way back to The Shadow in the North by Philip Pullman (of The Golden Compass fame). That book gutted me, and I read the sequels wishing I were in a parallel universe where something that had happened in that book hadn’t happened (I kept wishing the author would pull a major twist and say, “Just kidding!”).
I haven’t read this trilogy, although it sounds interesting. I’ve read (or tried to read) two other books by Patrick Ness, and his writing and my brain just don’t click.
La Coccinelle @ The Ladybug Reads… recently posted…Review – The Last Novelist
Ohhh I have so many books I just want to say “ARE YOU SURE THAT WASN’T A TYPO” *sobs forever* Authors are here to wreck us, that’s the only answer. 😭😂
This series sounds so good!! I’ll have to see if my library has it!
They probably will since it’s kind of an old one, right?!
I’ve read the first book, and I loved it. I feel like this is a concept that could so easily been ruined by poor execution BUT INSTEAD WE GOT THESE GEMS.
PERFECT MARVELLOUS GEMS. I AM SO PLEASED THEY EXIST TO DESTROY US.
HAHAHA
Champion. By Marie Lu.
F E E L I N G S
I haven’t read Knife of Never Letting Go or any other Patrick Ness books, but my friend recommended Knife, so I guess I’ll have to add it to my (ever expanding) TBR.
Ooh yes you have to read at least SOME Patrick Ness someday!! I’m not sure if this series is my favourite or his book The Rest Of Us Just Live Here. And omg I also love Release. So just basically ALL THE NESS BOOKS.
Lol looks like my TBR will be getting eeeeven longer
Carve The Mark by Veronica Roth. Ugh! The feels! And the conclusion is coming out just after my birthday (SOON!) So I’m really excited (!)
Ahh I haven’t read it yet but I NEED TO!!
This trilogy has been on my TBR for ages; but you’ve convinced me it’s something I’ll need to read ASAP (apparently, I like the sound of books that people say will make me emotional and break my heart 😆)
And emotional, don’t even get me started, I cry at the smallest thing – I’m the most emotional person while reading. First one that comes to mind though is Clockwork Princess by Cassandra Clare, because that epilogue had me sobbing within one paragraph. (What did I tell you, ee-mo-tion-al)
Good luck everyone entering the giveaway!
MY WORK HERE IS DONE THEN. *throws glitter over both of us* And honestly the more people say “oh this series will ruin you” the more I want to read it. 😂 I’m sure that’s a normal reaction.
I really love The Raven Cycle characters, buuuuut…. I’m also more than in love with Connie from The Companions Quartet. That was my favorite series as a smol bookworm and now I’m rereading them for nostalgia’s sake and also because I remember them as really good. Sooooo yeah! 😀
I’m also HUGELY in love with The Raven Cycle!! The last book had me in such a wreck while I waited to see if THEY’D ALL DIE AHHHH.
Ive been racking my brain trying to think about what series has made me emotional and nothings really sticking out ahaha. The Hunger Games series by Suzanne Collins or The Raven Cycle by Maggie Steifvater are like the only two that I can think of!
Ohhh those are two of my favourite ever series!!!
OMG so a series that hit feels is (obi) ILLUMINAE cause ezra is precious and so is nick and Hannah is just… i mean…
obvi***
NIK IS THE MOST ADORABLE CINNAMON SON I CRY FOR HIM. HE BETTER NOT DIE…or well get hurt. again.😭😂
I honestly couldn’t remember a book series that I got severely invested in to get emotional, so the idea of this series actually excites me…. I’ve wanted to read this series for a while now!
Aww I hope you find one someday! It’s amazing to feel so moved by a book.
A series that’s made me really emotional? Well I’ve only read the first book so far but Illuminae by Amie Kaufman and Jay Kristoff has made me feel a lot of emotions! And ACOTAR (mostly ACOMAF) by SJM made me feel a whole range of emotions that I’m still not sure I’ve processed,
YES OMG ILLUMINAE.😍 I always feel like a howling wreck after those books and I only just got my copy of Obsidio today so *deep breaths* Must start.
I’ve seen a few people talking about Patrick Ness (I think there was a book with some sort of vine-y looking monster on the front?), but I haven’t read any of his books yet – obviously I’m going to have to change that. 😉
That’s probably A Monster Calls that you mean? IT’S SO GOOD TOO AHHH.😍 Basically all his books are amazing and also punch your heart in.
OH MY GOD THIS SOUNDS ABSOLUTELY AMAZING!
I just bumped it up on my TBR 🙂
Also, why are all your giveaways Australia only?😭😭😭
IT IS SO AMAZING HIGHLY RECOMMENDED.
But, haha I mean my giveaways are sponsored by Australian publishers of course.
My jealousy has never been at a higher level. Ever. I NEED this edition in my life, sobs. I love this series so, so much. The feels, right? Goodness, I mean, starts at book one (you KNOW what I mean here hah) and never lets up. And same with the plot! I read the books on my Kindle- I bought like the whole trilogy but it was as one BIG book, if that makes sense? So it was like, 1500+ pages but still, couldn’t stop, just couldn’t!
Obviously I love this series, and rank it is a top 5 in the feels department. The Hunger Games, of course. Ummm… The Serpent King, I might still be crying? Does The 100 count if I am talking about the show not the books? Because holy tears. Okay I have to go try to figure out who will ship these beauties to the US now… 😀
Shannon @ It Starts at Midnight recently posted…Dual Review: Old-Timey Walking Dead
It’s so freaking gorgeous right?!😍😍I honestly can’t get over how much I want to photograph them haha. 😍😍 And I’m glad you love this one too!! OH the Serpent King had me tear up too and so unexpectedly!? Like I went in with zero expectations and BAM. Emotions and ruin.
I’ve only read A Monster Calls which coincidentally was a very emotional book but I have been meaning to read his other books but I love to procrastinate!!
I’m pretty sure almost every series has made me at least partially emotional but them again, I am a giant sook who seems to always fall in love with characters that end up dying!
I loved A Monster Calls too😭😭 WHY DOES PATRICK NESS LIKE TO RIP OUT OUR HEARTS THOUGH.
The most recent series I’ve read that made me emotional was the Illuminae Files, they’re just so good! And Obsidio… *my heart* 💕
Omg AGREED. I love those books so so much!! (And my copy of Obsidio just arrived so *soft screaming*)
Definitely! I can’t wait to hear what you think of Obsidio! 💕
*adds to TBR*. Hopefully I can get it this this year haha. I have so many books to read and so little time.
I feel like a whole lot of my favourites have completely destroyed my heart, such as Legend, The Young Elites, Shadow and Bone (ok but I didn’t even love the character I was sobbing about like 99% of the time, but omg I felt so badddd for them, and WHY CAN’T EVERYONE JUST HUG IT OUT), This Savage Song, and of course we can’t forget Harry Potter.
So many books, even more tears.
Our TBRs just long to eat us, don’t they?! 😂😂 But it’s SUch a good one and kind of not talked about much in the blogosphere?! I guess because it’s 10 years old now.😂
THIS SAVAGE SONG THO AHHHH. Never will recover from that finale.❤️💔
These books look beautiful. I haven’t read them but I would them for their aesthetic appeal.