Release

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This landed like a slap. The words of blame he had put on his own self, now coming out of the mouth of his father. But then Linus noticed the tears squeezing out of Adam's eyes on either side and, with gentleness, brushed them away. “Adam?”

Patrick Ness » Release (Paperback)

Mayor Prentiss: The series' main antagonist. He is the mastermind behind the takeover, and later becomes self-proclaimed President of New World. He is extremely charismatic and manipulative, often choosing to play mind games instead of resorting to brute force. He learns to control his Noise, and can even use it as a weapon. Despite his cruelties, a running theme throughout the trilogy is whether or not he can be redeemed. He becomes sea monster food after being able to hear all noise in the planet drives him insane. This is all to say everyone falls, but it's how we manage ourselves in spite of it that matters. And yeah we could have something teach us that (which is completely fine) but if we learn that on our own, that's great in its own way too. That's not fair. The A-Plot in the contemporary story (re: Adam Thorn exploring his sexuality while combating his religious family, confusing relationships, and his drive for a better future for himself) is spectacular. If I were to review Release on that narrative thread alone, it would surely be in the 4's/5. Truly. Call me biased but Ness always seems to write nuanced relationships -- be it friend, family, or found family's -- that oozes with voice and presence that make the stories of the sub characters as important as the protagonists themselves. That is something.

Release is a strange story, heavily influenced by Mrs. Dalloway and Judy Blume's Forever. In fact, it's a little meta for my tastes (kind of like The Rest of Us Just Live Here was) and even includes direct references to Forever in the story, whilst the first and last lines are plays on the first and last lines of Mrs. Dalloway.

Release Quotes by Patrick Ness - Goodreads Release Quotes by Patrick Ness - Goodreads

Where on earth had this day come from? And where was it headed?" remarks 17 year-old Adam as a single day unfurls wave after wave of shattering disruption: first a revelation from his brother, next an ultimatum from his foul boss, then a destabilising announcement from his beloved best friend. And alongside Adam's unraveling, there’s the mesmerising narrative of the ghost of a murdered girl who’s risen from a lake in search of release. One hell of a day is in store for Adam Thorn. His ex-boyfriend-of-sorts, Enzo, is leaving to move to Atlanta, and he still can't seem to shake his feelings for Enzo or completely process how and why their relationship ended. And although a new boy, Linus, is more than happy to take Enzo's place, and might possibly be in love with Adam, Adam is struggling with feelings of betrayal and low self-worth. He hopes everything will work its way out at Enzo's farewell "get-together." Monsters of Men won the CILIP Carnegie Medal and was shortlisted for the 2011 Arthur C. Clarke Award. [26] I will try to sensitively separate the valid, heartbreaking circumstances Adam experiences with the treatment they’re given in this story. I’m not sure whether Ness intentionally provided Adam with the broadest, most stereotypical representations of Evil - his sleazy, predator boss (complete with pedo-stache), and truly awful, bible-wielding family - and Good - his perfectly supportive, open-minded best friend’s family and longsuffering angel boyfriend. Maybe it was a purposeful choice to make Adam himself seem more genuine in contrast; he is believably irritating and self-obsessed in the way most teenagers are. I find that between the near-caricaturization of the supporting players and the everything-and-the-kitchen-sink-stuffed-into-a-single-day plot (baby mama drama, workplace sexual assault, coming out, casting out demons, lots of sex, more than one friend moving away), Adam's story is done a disservice.

Release

I hoped and hoped and hoped. For a year and a half. And then he dumped me. For the worst, stupidest reasons. And I guess . . . I guess I still hoped. Even when I knew I shouldn't. Even when I had better things right in front of me.” He looked over at Linus. “He was the first way out for me. The first way out of all the rest of this stuff that races and races. The first window to a world that could be, a world I'm kind of desperate for. And he had my heart, I admit that.” Adam is gay, and coming to terms with his sexuality while living in a house full of massively religious people is proving considerably difficult (obviously). He has grown further and further away from his parents, and his best friend Angela and her mother are more his family than his own blood relations. When Adam finally saw how toxic his parents were, when he realized he had people waiting for him to ask for help . . . that's when he u Do you know why I'm going to do all those things?” Adam said. “Because they're my family. They love me. They are who I go to when things are hard. That hasn't been you for years, Dad, and do you really never wonder whose fault is that?”

Release by Patrick Ness (9781406378696/Paperback Release by Patrick Ness (9781406378696/Paperback

When I said it felt like there were two books in one, that's because the story alternates between a day in the life of Adam Thorn, and a weird, kinda magical realism ghost story about a faun and a queen, which clearly had something to do with the recent death of a meth addict, but I'm still not 100% sure I get what the hell was going on.A relatively short read, the events in this book take place just over one day, so it is easy to get lost in. Good characters, with an important message, and a hopeful ending. Emily Drabble, "Carnegie medal and Kate Greenaway 2015 shortlists announced", The Guardian, 17 March 2015. When I said to myself that I am not this thing I’ve been told I have to be, that I am this other thing instead, then the label didn’t feel like a prison… it’s not a refutation. It’s a key. I'm trying to be somewhat vague, even with Adam's story, because it flows so beautifully as it unfolds. Nothing is necessarily earth-shattering or unique, but there's just so much love, pain, angst, and heart, I fell head over heels for the story. And while the other story is confusing, Ness is still a tremendously poetic guide, so I marveled at his language even as I found myself asking over and over, "What does this have to do with the story?" But I just didn't enjoy the experimental style of the other chapters. I'm sure it was supposed to be deep and meaningful, but the choice to add it felt cold and intellectual in a book that was otherwise so emotionally tense. I wanted more Adam, less weird.