100 things - 10 books that bring me great and flaily joy....
1) The Chaos Walking series
I was actually going to start this section with The Lord of the Rings but I got to thinking. I love LOTR, I truly do. I read it first as a teen and have read it many, many times since then. I’m … comfortable with it, for want of a better term. It’s like my favourite shirt ever. Comfortable and shiny and well-worn.
Not that there’s not new things to discover when I re-read LOTR but my great and flaily joy moment for that was *mumblemumble* years ago.
It might show up on the list later, however. We’ll see.
ANYWAY.
I’m going to talk about the Chaos Walking trilogy by Patrick Ness instead.
Because if any series of books lately give me feelings of great and flaily joy, it’s this one. And yes, I know it’s three books but I’m counting them as one because they’re a trilogy. Er, so there. :P
They’re a Young Adult dystopic series that, honestly, for me, blow pretty much every other YA dystopia out of the water. (Yes, I’m looking at you, Hunger Games.)
Young Todd lives on a planet where there are only men. Have always been, as far as he knows. Some kind of Event drove all the women away, and so now it’s just the men, and the Noise.
Everyone can hear everyone else’s thoughts. Men, boys, dogs … everything. The Noise is everywhere, and it’s everything.
Until one day, Todd is out hunting with his dog Manchee (MANCHEEEEE) and he hears … nothing. Not a whisper, not a sound.
It is, of course, a girl. Viola, to be precise.
Things go a bit pear-shaped after that.
There’s war, and there’s the alien species who are native to the planet (and oh my god my HEART) and it’s just.
Viola is one of my favourite female characters in any book anywhere. Todd and Viola are teenagers (about 14 to 16 I think?) in the books and Viola is just so strong. She’s clever and stubborn and never gives up on Todd, even when he makes some monumental mistakes. Which he does.
Even when Ness introduces another guy - Lee - in book two who’s interested in Viola, she barely even notices him, and in my head I call Lee not-Todd.
Also, also Chaos Walking has the BEST villain in the Mayor of Prentisstown who’s determined to keep everything the way it’s been for years, which basically means No Women Ever. What’s clever about the Mayor as a character, is that you find yourself going “oh yes, that makes sense - WAIT A MINUTE, NO!” Which is some clever, clever writing, Mr Ness.
LASTLY the other other other best thing about Chaos Walking is the horses. The men, of course, can hear the horses and Todd’s horse Angharad says things like “boy colt boy colt” while the Mayor’s horse yells things like “SUBMIT” which is sort of funny.
Ugh. I love these books so much. The third one, Monsters of Men won the Carnegie medal but I feel like they’ve slid under the radar of more popular series like The Hunger Games which is kind of a shame. Don’t get me wrong, I enjoyed The Hunger Games too, but for my money …. #teamboycolt is the only way to ride.
I AM THE CIRCLE AND THE CIRCLE IS ME.