There were a lot of things I really liked about this. Interesting themes, fascinating world building, break-neck pacing...

But I'm not sure this is a genre that's actually for me. There is only so much violence and grief I really want to add to my life I suppose, and while I can recognize the goodness in this and even admire a lot of what it's doing, I don't know that I'll be able to continue the series. This is a punishing read, or at least I found it so. Maybe I'll revise my opinion after I've left it alone for awhile, but at this moment I'm going to go hug a puppy if I can find one. ( )

I've never been so GLAD to see the end of a book. I wanted to just quit several times, but I stuck with it, hoping it would get better. Sadly, it did not. Needless to say, I will NOT be reading the other two books in the trilogy. ( )

In Prentistown all the men can hear each other's thoughts, something called Noise. And all the women are gone. So Todd Hewitt is the last boy in town and in a few days he will be come an adult. But Todd discovers someone in the swamp who has no Noise that he believes to be one of the original inhabitants of New World. His discovery launches a violent conflict among the residents of Prentistown and sets Todd on the run. But he quickly discovers the that the person with no Noise is a woman and he soon finds out that all he thought he knew and all that he has been taught is wrong. Now he and Viola must run for their lives to Haven, the first colony established. But will it provide the sanctuary, and the answers, that Todd needs? The premise and the plot of this book are intriguing and Ness has woven a great story around them. There are so many themes here of contemporary significance: power, the mix of religion and government, distorted and fabricated history, book bans, and more. In some ways it is reminiscent of Atwood's "The Handmaid's Tale" or Huxley's "A Brave New World." The characters and the descipritions of New World and its people's will draw you in as you wrestle with the mystery surrounding the history of this world and along with Todd and Viola seek answers. One warning: the ending is a cliffhanger... ( )

I was surprised by this book. I am not generally a reader of boy protagonist books, and I know that makes me a bit of a jerk, but, meh. This was a stunning piece of feminist science fiction, however, and I loved it. Totally cried. ( )

I've read this twice now. Once when it came out, and then again just yesterday (because movie in 2019!). It was darker, scarier and more depressing than I remembered, but I still loved it. The first time I read it, I was drawn in by the mystery because Ness really, really takes his time revealing the evils of Prentisstown. The second time, I knew exactly what was going on, but I still couldn't put it down.

Obviously, this is a book about misogyny. But this time around I was also thinking a lot about violence and power. Mayor Prentiss wants power and he wants it particularly through violence. In the real world, it's seems miraculous to me that societies can function *without* power equaling violence. ( )