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Patrick Ness was born on an army base called Fort Belvoir, near Alexandria, Virginia, in the United States. His father was a drill sergeant in the US Army. He lived in Hawaii until he was almost six, spent the ten years after that in suburban Washington state, and then on to Los Angeles, where he studied English Literature at the University of Southern California.
His main job after graduating was as corporate writer at a cable company, writing manuals, form letters and speeches and once even an advertisement for the Gilroy, California Garlic Festival (this is true). If you're American and hated your cable company, he probably wrote you a letter of apology.
He got his first story published in Genre magazine in 1997 and was working on his first novel when he moved to London in 1999. He's lived here ever since. Sometimes he teaches creative writing but mostly he tries to write 1,000 words a day, 'come hell or high water'.
In May 2008, he published The Knife of Never Letting Go, his first book for young adults. It won the Guardian Children's Fiction Prize and the Booktrust Teenage Prize and he hasn't looked back since. Click here to read a Q&A with Patrick.
1. He has a tattoo of a rhinoceros.
2. He has run two marathons.
3. He is a certified scuba diver.
4. He wrote a radio comedy about vampires.
5. He has never been to New York City but...
6. He has been to Sydney, Auckland and Tokyo.
7. He got accepted into film school but turned it down to study writing.
8. He was a goth as a teenager (well, as much of a goth as you could be in Tacoma, Washington and still have to go to church every Sunday).
9. He is no longer a goth.
10. Under no circumstances will he eat onions.
Author photo © Helen Giles
***Recommended for 16+ due to content. Book of the Month for May 2018 | Shortlisted for the CILIP Carnegie Medal 2018 |In a Nutshell: love, truth and the power of release | A gripping, soulful novel about a life-changing day, which will surely change the lives of those who read it. "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. Partly modeled on two of the author’s most admired books (Virginia Woolf’s Mrs Dalloway and Judy Blume’s Forever), with this remarkable novel Ness once again demonstrates his profound understanding of the complexities of being a young adult, and of the human condition more generally. Adam’s story is pinpricked with truly nerve-touching moments, perhaps most poignantly between him and the overbearing father he fears coming-out to. At one point his dad reveals that he wishes Adam could be honest with him, and then Adam begins to let go. While revealing truths can be excruciatingly painful, doing so might also bring refreshing, life-affirming release. Heartbreaking, intense and acutely honest, this novel casts a subtle spell of hope.
A special anniversary edition, with a striking new cover design, to celebrate 10 years of the Chaos Walking trilogy. Prize-winning author Patrick Ness follows up The Knife of Never Letting Go with equally hard hitting The Ask and the Answer. Trying to escape, Todd and Viola fall into the hands of Mayor Prentiss. Separated from Viola and imprisoned, Todd can tell there are some deep and dark secrets outside the town. Who are the mysterious Answer? As gripping as The Knife of Never Letting Go, this is a tough but compelling story which takes readers into shocking and moving territory. ~ Julia Eccleshare Winner of the prestigious Costa Children's Book Award 2009 - the judges acclaimed it as “a major achievement in the making” Shortlisted for the CILIP Carnegie Medal 2010. Shortlisted for the Teenage Book of the Year Award 2009. CILIP CARNEGIE Medal SHORTLIST 2010: Judges’ comments "A visceral and compelling story of incredible power which combines some fantastic writing with intelligent consideration of some important issues: the nature of war, terrorism and the treatment of women. A challenging novel which really lives inside your head." Winner of the prestigious Costa Children's Book Award 2009 - the judges acclaimed it as “a major achievement in the making” Shortlisted for the Teenage Book of the Year Award 2009 | Shortlisted for the CILIP Carnegie Medal 2010 | Winner of the prestigious Costa Children's Book Award 2009
A special anniversary edition, with a striking new cover design, to celebrate 10 years of the Chaos Walking trilogy. This is a spine-tingling, page turning read. Heaped with well-deserved awards, the Chaos Walking Trilogy comes to a brilliant conclusion in Monsters of Men. Set in a dystopian future in a world where all thoughts can be heard, Todd and Viola have struggled to survive. Now three armies are marching on New Prentisstown. Todd and Viola have no chance of escape but, worse still, they have no chance of making peace. Can any hope remain in the wake of such destruction? Patrick Ness is as hard hitting and thought provoking as he was at the start of this trilogy. He does not disappoint. ~ Julia Eccleshare Winner of the CILIP Carnegie Medal 2011 | Shortlisted for the 25th Anniversary Arthur C Clarke Award in 2011 and Galaxy Children's Book Award shortlist 2010
A special collector's edition 10th anniversary edition | In a Nutshell: “Knowledge is dangerous” | A special anniversary edition, with a striking new cover design, to celebrate 10 years of the Chaos Walking trilogy. The electrifying and unflinching young adult novel about the impossible choices of growing up by award-winning fiction writer Patrick Ness. The population of god-fearing Prentisstown has been reduced to a mere 147 men (there are no women among them), but that’s not all that’s odd about the town. There’s no privacy here either, no silence, because everyone can hear the Noise of others’ thoughts. Everyone that is, except 12 year-old orphan Todd who, on the verge of the birthday that will see him become a man, discovers “a hole in the Noise” while walking by the dark swamp that teems with amphibians and reptiles. When Todd tells his guardians, they’re horrified. “We have got to get you outta here,” they panic and so Todd is sent back to the swamp, and told he “ain’t coming back”. Shortly after fleeing, he meets a girl in the marsh and they must flee the hunters who can hear their every thought. Page-turningly tense and stridently intelligent, this is storytelling at it’s most inventive - a powerful, exhilarating exploration of ethics, identity, fear and love. Published ten years ago, this seminal novel thoroughly deserves to be read by new generations. ~ Joanne Owen A word from the author: 'The Knife of Never Letting Go started as an idea about information overload. We're constantly surrounded by information - internet, emails, texts, etc - whether we want to be or not. To me, this can sometimes see overwhelming, sometime just so incredibly loud that it's impossible to make sense of. And I start thinking, what if you really couldn't escape? What if information never, ever stopped? And that gave me the idea of the Noise and of an intelligent, thoughtful young man buckling under the weight of it. There would come a day when he'd have no choice but to run...' What the Carnegie Award judges said: 'A bleak and unflinching novel with fascinating characters and extraordinary dialogue which creates a fully-realised world that the reader really buys into. The dog Manchee is an inspired creation! Ness conveys a real sense of terror and the ending is devastating. A novel that really stands out.' Shortlisted for the 2009 Branford Boase Best Debut Novel Award - Shortlisted for the Carnegie Award 2009 - Winner of the Guardian Children's Fiction Prize 2008 and Booktrust Teenage Prize 2008.
Shortlisted for the Arthur C Clarke Award 2011. This is a spine-tingling, page turning read. Heaped with well-deserved awards, the Chaos Walking Trilogy comes to a brilliant conclusion in Monsters of Men. Set in a dystopian future in a world where all thoughts can be heard, Todd and Viola have struggled to survive. Now three armies are marching on New Prentisstown. Todd and Viola have no chance of escape but, worse still, they have no chance of making peace. Can any hope remain in the wake of such destruction? Patrick Ness is as hard hitting and thought provoking as he was at the start of this trilogy. He does not disappoint.
***Recommended for 16+ due to content. Shortlisted for the YA Book Prize 2018 | In a Nutshell: love, truth and the power of release | A gripping, soulful novel about a life-changing day, which will surely change the lives of those who read it. "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. Partly modeled on two of the author’s most admired books (Virginia Woolf’s Mrs Dalloway and Judy Blume’s Forever), with this remarkable novel Ness once again demonstrates his profound understanding of the complexities of being a young adult, and of the human condition more generally. Adam’s story is pinpricked with truly nerve-touching moments, perhaps most poignantly between him and the overbearing father he fears coming-out to. At one point his dad reveals that he wishes Adam could be honest with him, and then Adam begins to let go. While revealing truths can be excruciatingly painful, doing so might also bring refreshing, life-affirming release. Heartbreaking, intense and acutely honest, this novel casts a subtle spell of hope. ~ Joanne Owen Walker has announced the tour dates for Patrick Ness, promoting Release. The tour will begin on 26 April with a "premiere" event in partnership with Waterstones at the Curzon cinema in Soho. Dates after that: Saturday 6 May, 2pm Edinburgh - George Square Lecture Theatre (Blackwell's) Sunday 7 May, 3pm Newcastle – Tyneside Cinema (Waterstones) Monday 8 May, 7pm Manchester – Manchester Library (Waterstones) Tuesday 9 May, 7pm Sheffield – The Library Theatre (Waterstones) Wednesday 10 May, 7pm Birmingham – The Glee Club (Foyles) Thursday 11 May, 7pm Dublin – Details TBC Sunday 14 May, 2:30pm Brighton – Sallis Benney Theatre (Brighton Festivals)
Grown from an original idea by Siobhan Dowd and beautifully illustrated by Jim Kay, Patrick Ness’s extraordinary A Monster Calls has already won numerous awards and earned universal praise. There is now a major film coming and this is the tie-in. So I’ve come to this shamefully late and can only confirm that it deserves every award, every word of praise. Written for any reader this is a truly universal story of stubborn love, terrible loss and wild magic. Books rarely make me cry but I was often in tears reading this book. It tells the story of Conor, a school boy whose mother is ill with cancer, whose father has left, whose grandmother is forbidding. He is defensive, angry and lonely at school. And then one night a monster calls – a massive walking and talking tree who takes Conor on a terrifying journey. But little is as it first seems in this story. And it is stories that become the lifeblood of this novel. Wild stories that tell the truth. Ness is brilliant at giving the reader room to feel for themselves the pain of his characters – he doesn’t direct you he just shows you what is happening and trusts you to empathise. This story is heartbreaking, profoundly scary yet also wildly affirming about the power of truth, friendship and love. If you grew up thrilling to the darkness of Dahl, enjoyed the humanity of Mark Haddon’s books this is for you. But really I think this is for everyone. It’s just superb. If you’re intrigued by how the book became the film, this is a gorgeous illustrated hardback of the novel complete with added interviews with author, illustrator director and cast and photos from the production. ~ Simon Spanton Click here to view the paperback movie tie-in edition of A Monster Calls.
This is a gorgeous illustrated hardback of the award-winning novel complete with added interviews with author, illustrator director and cast and photos from the production. Grown from an original idea by Siobhan Dowd and beautifully illustrated by Jim Kay, Patrick Ness’s extraordinary A Monster Calls has already won numerous awards and earned universal praise. There is now a major film coming and this is the tie-in. So I’ve come to this shamefully late and can only confirm that it deserves every award, every word of praise. Written for any reader this is a truly universal story of stubborn love, terrible loss and wild magic. Books rarely make me cry but I was often in tears reading this book. It tells the story of Conor, a school boy whose mother is ill with cancer, whose father has left, whose grandmother is forbidding. He is defensive, angry and lonely at school. And then one night a monster calls – a massive walking and talking tree who takes Conor on a terrifying journey. But little is as it first seems in this story. And it is stories that become the lifeblood of this novel. Wild stories that tell the truth. Ness is brilliant at giving the reader room to feel for themselves the pain of his characters – he doesn’t direct you he just shows you what is happening and trusts you to empathise. This story is heartbreaking, profoundly scary yet also wildly affirming about the power of truth, friendship and love. If you grew up thrilling to the darkness of Dahl, enjoyed the humanity of Mark Haddon’s books this is for you. But really I think this is for everyone. It’s just superb. ~ Simon Spanton Click here to view the A Monster Calls: Special Collector's Edition.
Shortlisted for the Books Are My Bag Children's Book Award 2016. Shortlisted for the CILIP Carnegie Medal 2016. Daring, beautifully written, full of ideas that will bring the reader up short, The Rest of Us Just Live Here is a dystopian adventure that mocks dystopian adventures while acknowledging the genre’s power to reveal truths, particularly about teenage lives. As one band of teenagers – those special ‘indie kids’ familiar from so many YA novels – battle to save the world from the Immortals, the main plot of the novel concerns another group of young people. Mikey is getting through his teenage years with the help of his friends and by focusing on graduating and leaving home. He also wants to declare his love for his friend Henna. It’s enough for anyone to cope with, the possibility of someone blowing up school only adds to his problems. The indie kids’ story is told entirely in chapter head summaries, the real drama is Mikey’s, and of course his story means the most to the rest of us. Original, funny, true, it can only be Patrick Ness. One of our Books of the Year 2015 - Julia Eccleshare's Pick of the Year 2015 - September 2015 Book of the Month
Shortlisted for the Books Are My Bag Children's Book Award 2016. September 2015 NewGen Book of the Month. Daring, beautifully written, full of ideas that will bring the reader up short, The Rest of Us Just Live Here is a dystopian adventure that mocks dystopian adventures while acknowledging the genre’s power to reveal truths, particularly about teenage lives. As one band of teenagers – those special ‘indie kids’ familiar from so many YA novels – battle to save the world from the Immortals, the main plot of the novel concerns another group of young people. Mikey is getting through his teenage years with the help of his friends and by focusing on graduating and leaving home. He also wants to declare his love for his friend Henna. It’s enough for anyone to cope with, the possibility of someone blowing up school only adds to his problems. The indie kids’ story is told entirely in chapter head summaries, the real drama is Mikey’s, and of course his story means the most to the rest of us. Original, funny, true, it can only be Patrick Ness. ~ Andrea Reece
Prize-winning Patrick Ness displays brilliant new skills of sensitivity in this hauntingly touching story of how a boy deals with the looming threat of his mother’s death from cancer. Haunted by a monster in his dreams, denied much information by his family and treated as a weirdo by his class mates and a ‘special case’ by his teachers, Conor struggles to get to grips with the devastating emotions which threaten to overwhelm him. How he finds the courage and strength to face the end when it happens is both utterly shattering and deeply satisfying. Costa Award winner Patrick Ness spins a tale from the final idea of much-loved Carnegie Medal winner Siobhan Dowd, whose premature death from cancer prevented her from writing it herself. Zoella Book Club title Autumn 16. ------------- Winner of the 2012 Carnegie Medal Rachel Levy chair of the 2012 CILIP Carnegie judging panel said: "A Monster Calls" is an exquisite piece of writing. It is a beautifully economical, structurally brilliant and lyrically descriptive account of a challenging episode in one child's life."
Prize-winning Patrick Ness displays brilliant new skills of sensitivity in this hauntingly touching story of how a boy deals with the looming threat of his mother’s death from cancer. Haunted by a monster in his dreams, denied much information by his family and treated as a weirdo by his class mates and a ‘special case’ by his teachers, Conor struggles to get to grips with the devastating emotions which threaten to overwhelm him. How he finds the courage and strength to face the end when it happens is both utterly shattering and deeply satisfying. Costa Award winner Patrick Ness spins a tale from the final idea of much-loved Carnegie Medal winner Siobhan Dowd, whose premature death from cancer prevented her from writing it herself. Zoella Book Club title Autumn 16. ------------- Winner of the 2012 Carnegie Medal Rachel Levy chair of the 2012 CILIP Carnegie judging panel said: "A Monster Calls" is an exquisite piece of writing. It is a beautifully economical, structurally brilliant and lyrically descriptive account of a challenging episode in one child's life."
One of our Great Reads You May Have Missed in 2012. Prize-winning Patrick Ness displays brilliant new skills of sensitivity in this hauntingly touching story of how a boy deals with the looming threat of his mother’s death from cancer. Haunted by a monster in his dreams, denied much information by his family and treated as a weirdo by his class mates and a ‘special case’ by his teachers, Conor struggles to get to grips with the devastating emotions which threaten to overwhelm him. How he finds the courage and strength to face the end when it happens is both utterly shattering and deeply satisfying. Costa Award winner Patrick Ness spins a tale from the final idea of much-loved Carnegie Medal winner Siobhan Dowd, whose premature death from cancer prevented her from writing it herself. ------------- Winner of the 2012 Carnegie Medal AND 2012 Kate Greenaway Medal. This is the first time, in the Awards 75 year history, that one book has won both prizes! Rachel Levy chair of the 2012 CILIP Carnegie judging panel said: "A Monster Calls" is an exquisite piece of writing. It is a beautifully economical, structurally brilliant and lyrically descriptive account of a challenging episode in one child's life." FROM ARTICLE IN GUARDIAN 26TH NOV 2012. AUTHOR FAVOURITES OF 2012:David Nicholls - 'This was the year I reset my alarm in an attempt to read more, and I'm delighted that I did. I loved Laurent Binet's smart, original HHhH (Harvill Secker) and, despite never having watched more than 30 seconds of baseball, thoroughly enjoyed Chad Harbach's funny, moving The Art of Fielding (Fourth Estate). Zadie Smith's NW was a fine London novel, Robert Macfarlane's The Old Ways sent me out on many long walks, and I was both amused and appalled by the anti-hero of Ben Lerner's Leaving the Atocha Station (Granta). I finally got round to Patrick Ness and Siobhan Dodd's A Monster Calls (Walker) and found it quite devastating.'
One of our Great Reads You May Have Missed in 2012. Prize-winning Patrick Ness displays brilliant new skills of sensitivity in this hauntingly touching story of how a boy deals with the looming threat of his mother’s death from cancer. Haunted by a monster in his dreams, denied much information by his family and treated as a weirdo by his class mates and a ‘special case’ by his teachers, Conor struggles to get to grips with the devastating emotions which threaten to overwhelm him. How he finds the courage and strength to face the end when it happens is both utterly shattering and deeply satisfying. Costa Award winner Patrick Ness spins a tale from the final idea of much-loved Carnegie Medal winner Siobhan Dowd, whose premature death from cancer prevented her from writing it herself. ------------- Winner of the 2012 Carnegie Medal AND 2012 Kate Greenaway Medal. This is the first time, in the Awards 75 year history, that one book has won both prizes! Rachel Levy chair of the 2012 CILIP Carnegie judging panel said: "A Monster Calls" is an exquisite piece of writing. It is a beautifully economical, structurally brilliant and lyrically descriptive account of a challenging episode in one child's life." FROM ARTICLE IN GUARDIAN 26TH NOV 2012. AUTHOR FAVOURITES OF 2012:David Nicholls - 'This was the year I reset my alarm in an attempt to read more, and I'm delighted that I did. I loved Laurent Binet's smart, original HHhH (Harvill Secker) and, despite never having watched more than 30 seconds of baseball, thoroughly enjoyed Chad Harbach's funny, moving The Art of Fielding (Fourth Estate). Zadie Smith's NW was a fine London novel, Robert Macfarlane's The Old Ways sent me out on many long walks, and I was both amused and appalled by the anti-hero of Ben Lerner's Leaving the Atocha Station (Granta). I finally got round to Patrick Ness and Siobhan Dodd's A Monster Calls (Walker) and found it quite devastating.'
Shortlisted for the 2015 CILIP Carnegie Medal. One of our Books of the Year 2014. This exceptional new novel from multi-award-winning Patrick Ness will, once again, delight his readers with a superbly written, enthralling and provocative story that raises the most profound questions of adolescence – and answers some of them. Seth drowns. A horrible, lonely death in the icy sea that ends with a blow against the rocks. But does it end? Seth wakes up alone, naked and in an empty world. He remembers his life – and above all his all-consuming love – and finds a way to survive in his new, desolate place. With two other children he meets, Seth explores new possibilities including what other lives there may be after death. In addition to our Lovereading expert opinion for More than This a small number of teenagers were lucky enough to be invited to review this title. Here's a taster....'unique and special you will be overwhelmed by the tragedy throughout the story.' Scroll down to read more reviews...
The extraordinary happens everyday. One night, George Duncan is woken by a noise in his garden. Impossibly, a great white crane has tumbled to earth, shot through its wing by an arrow. Unexpectedly moved, George helps the bird, and from the moment he watches it fly away, his life is transformed. The next day, a beautiful woman called Kumiko walks into his shop and begins to tell him the most extraordinary story. Wise, romantic, magical and funny, The Crane Wife is a celebration of the disruptive and redemptive power of love.
This exceptional new novel from multi-award-winning Patrick Ness will, once again, delight his readers with a superbly written, enthralling and provocative story that raises the most profound questions of adolescence – and answers some of them. Seth drowns. A horrible, lonely death in the icy sea that ends with a blow against the rocks. But does it end? Seth wakes up alone, naked and in an empty world. He remembers his life – and above all his all-consuming love – and finds a way to survive in his new, desolate place. With two other children he meets, Seth explores new possibilities including what other lives there may be after death. In addition to our Lovereading expert opinion for More than This a small number of teenagers were lucky enough to be invited to review this title. Here's a taster....'unique and special you will be overwhelmed by the tragedy throughout the story.' Scroll down to read more reviews...
Shortlisted for the CILIP Carnegie Medal 2010. Prize-winning author Patrick Ness follows up The Knife of Never Letting Go with equally hard hitting The Ask and the Answer. Trying to escape, Todd and Viola fall into the hands of Mayor Prentiss. Separated from Viola and imprisoned, Todd can tell there are some deep and dark secrets outside the town. Who are the mysterious Answer? As gripping as The Knife of Never Letting Go, this is a tough but compelling story which takes readers into shocking and moving territory. Winner of the prestigious Costa Children's Book Award 2009 - the judges acclaimed it as “a major achievement in the making” Shortlisted for the Teenage Book of the Year Award 2009.
Winner of the CILIP Carnegie Medal 2011. This is a spine-tingling, page turning read. Heaped with well-deserved awards, the Chaos Walking Trilogy comes to a brilliant conclusion in Monsters of Men. Set in a dystopian future in a world where all thoughts can be heard, Todd and Viola have struggled to survive. Now three armies are marching on New Prentisstown. Todd and Viola have no chance of escape but, worse still, they have no chance of making peace. Can any hope remain in the wake of such destruction? Patrick Ness is as hard hitting and thought provoking as he was at the start of this trilogy. He does not disappoint. Shortlisted for the 25th Anniversary Arthur C Clarke Award in 2011 and Galaxy Children's Book Award shortlist 2010.
A special anniversary edition, with a striking new cover design, to celebrate 10 years of the Chaos Walking trilogy. This is a spine-tingling, page turning read. Heaped with well-deserved awards, the Chaos Walking Trilogy comes to a brilliant conclusion in Monsters of Men. Set in a dystopian future in a world where all thoughts can be heard, Todd and Viola have struggled to survive. Now three armies are marching on New Prentisstown. Todd and Viola have no chance of escape but, worse still, they have no chance of making peace. Can any hope remain in the wake of such destruction? Patrick Ness is as hard hitting and thought provoking as he was at the start of this trilogy. He does not disappoint. ~ Julia Eccleshare Winner of the CILIP Carnegie Medal 2011 | Shortlisted for the 25th Anniversary Arthur C Clarke Award in 2011 and Galaxy Children's Book Award shortlist 2010
Shortlisted for the Arthur C Clarke Award 2011. This is a spine-tingling, page turning read. Heaped with well-deserved awards, the Chaos Walking Trilogy comes to a brilliant conclusion in Monsters of Men. Set in a dystopian future in a world where all thoughts can be heard, Todd and Viola have struggled to survive. Now three armies are marching on New Prentisstown. Todd and Viola have no chance of escape but, worse still, they have no chance of making peace. Can any hope remain in the wake of such destruction? Patrick Ness is as hard hitting and thought provoking as he was at the start of this trilogy. He does not disappoint.
May 2010 'new gen' Book of the Month title. This is a spine-tingling, page turning read. Heaped with well-deserved awards, the Chaos Walking Trilogy comes to a brilliant conclusion in Monsters of Men. Set in a dystopian future in a world where all thoughts can be heard, Todd and Viola have struggled to survive. Now three armies are marching on New Prentisstown. Todd and Viola have no chance of escape but, worse still, they have no chance of making peace. Can any hope remain in the wake of such destruction? Patrick Ness is as hard hitting and thought provoking as he was at the start of this trilogy. He does not disappoint.
Winner of the Costa Children's Book Award 2009. Costa Book Awards 2009 Judges' comment: "A strikingly original and compelling work." Shortlisted for the prestigious Teenage Book of the Year Award 2009. Prize-winning author Patrick Ness follows up The Knife of Never Letting Go with equally hard hitting The Ask and the Answer. Trying to escape, Todd and Viola fall into the hands of Mayor Prentiss. Separated from Viola and imprisoned, Todd can tell there are some deep and dark secrets outside the town. Who are the mysterious Answer? As gripping as The Knife of Never Letting Go, this is a tough but compelling story which takes readers into shocking and moving territory. Titles on this year’s Teenage Book of the Year Award shortlist include: Auslander by Paul Dowswell The Graveyard Book by Neil Gaiman Ostrich Boys by Keith Gray The Ant Colony by Jenny Valentine The Vanishing of Katharina Linden by Helen Grant The Ask and the Answer by Patrick Ness
A 2013 World Book Night selection. The electrifying and unflinching young adult debut novel about the impossible choices of growing up by award-winning fiction writer Patrick Ness. Shortlisted for the 2009 Branford Boase Best Debut Novel Award. Shortlisted for the Carnegie Award 2009. Winner of the Guardian Children's Fiction Prize 2008 and Booktrust Teenage Prize 2008. A word from the author: 'The Knife of Never Letting Go started as an idea about information overload. We're constantly surrounded by information - internet, emails, texts, etc - whether we want to be or not. To me, this can sometimes see overwhelming, sometime just so incredibly loud that it's impossible to make sense of. And I start thinking, what if you really couldn't escape? What if information never, ever stopped? And that gave me the idea of the Noise and of an intelligent, thoughtful young man buckling under the weight of it. There would come a day when he'd have no choice but to run...' What the Carnegie Award judges said: 'A bleak and unflinching novel with fascinating characters and extraordinary dialogue which creates a fully-realised world that the reader really buys into. The dog Manchee is an inspired creation! Ness conveys a real sense of terror and the ending is devastating. A novel that really stands out.' Click here to see The Ask and the Answer by Patrick Ness, winner of the prestigious Costa Children's Book Award 2009
One of Patrick Gale's favourite books. A wonderful, humorous and bizarre collection of tales looking at how the world might have been. June 2010 Guest Editor Patrick Gale on Patrick Ness... Before he took the world’s young adults (and their parents) by storm with his Chaos Walking trilogy, Ness published one adult novel and this criminally under-noticed story collection. As strange and funny as anything from the pen of David Sedaris, it leaves one hoping Ness won’t turn his back on grown-ups for ever.
Prize-winning Patrick Ness displays brilliant new skills of sensitivity in this hauntingly touching story of how a boy deals with the looming threat of his mother’s death from cancer. Haunted by a monster in his dreams, denied much information by his family and treated as a weirdo by his class mates and a ‘special case’ by his teachers, Conor struggles to get to grips with the devastating emotions which threaten to overwhelm him. How he finds the courage and strength to face the end when it happens is both utterly shattering and deeply satisfying. Costa Award winner Patrick Ness spins a tale from the final idea of much-loved Carnegie Medal winner Siobhan Dowd, whose premature death from cancer prevented her from writing it herself. Zoella Book Club title Autumn 16. ------------- Winner of the 2012 Carnegie Medal Rachel Levy chair of the 2012 CILIP Carnegie judging panel said: "A Monster Calls" is an exquisite piece of writing. It is a beautifully economical, structurally brilliant and lyrically descriptive account of a challenging episode in one child's life."
The monster showed up just after midnight. As they do. But it isn't the monster Conor's been expecting. He's been expecting the one from his nightmare, the one he's had nearly every night since his mother started her treatments, the one with the darkness and the wind and the screaming... This monster is something different, though. Something ancient, something wild. And it wants the most dangerous thing of all from Conor. It wants the truth. In a unique pairing of Carnegie Medal winners, Patrick Ness spins an extraordinarily moving tale of love, loss and hope from the final idea of Siobhan Dowd, whose premature death from cancer prevented her from writing it herself. This moving novel is brought to life with extraordinary award-winning illustrations from Jim Kay, which add an extra dimension to the story. What are the key themes? The key themes running through the book are family, death, truth, suffering, isolation and coming to terms with loss. Book Review 'Pearson's New Windmills collection brings together an incredible range of titles that teachers can trust, ideal for KS3, GCSE and beyond. From October 2014, Patrick Ness' extraordinarily powerful novel about a teenager struggling to deal with his mother's terminal illness will be added to the list; along with teacher support materials underpinned by the University of Exeter's Grammar for Writing pedagogy, and back of book comprehension activities. Based on an original idea by the author Siobhan Dowd, who died before she could write the story, A Monster Calls is bleakly beautiful, unflinchingly honest and utterly compelling. A tumbling, ragged storm of intense, chaotic emotions is masterfully contained within Ness' unflinching prose, and Jim Kay's illustration are hauntingly atmospheric. Short chapters and contemporary language help to ensure the text is accessible as possible, despite touching on themes with the potential to stretch the creative and critical thinking skills of your most able students.' www.teachsecondary.com
A new edition of the award-winning second novel in the Chaos Walking trilogy. Fleeing before a relentless army, Todd has carried a desperately wounded Viola right into the hands of their worst enemy, Mayor Prentiss. Immediately separated from Viola and imprisoned, Todd is forced to learn the ways of the Mayor's new order. But what secrets are hiding just outside of town? And where is Viola? Is she even still alive? And who are the mysterious Answer? And then, one day, the bombs begin to explode...
A 2013 World Book Night selection. The electrifying and unflinching young adult debut novel about the impossible choices of growing up by award-winning fiction writer Patrick Ness. Shortlisted for the 2009 Branford Boase Best Debut Novel Award. Shortlisted for the Carnegie Award 2009. Winner of the Guardian Children's Fiction Prize 2008 and Booktrust Teenage Prize 2008. A word from the author: 'The Knife of Never Letting Go started as an idea about information overload. We're constantly surrounded by information - internet, emails, texts, etc - whether we want to be or not. To me, this can sometimes see overwhelming, sometime just so incredibly loud that it's impossible to make sense of. And I start thinking, what if you really couldn't escape? What if information never, ever stopped? And that gave me the idea of the Noise and of an intelligent, thoughtful young man buckling under the weight of it. There would come a day when he'd have no choice but to run...' What the Carnegie Award judges said: 'A bleak and unflinching novel with fascinating characters and extraordinary dialogue which creates a fully-realised world that the reader really buys into. The dog Manchee is an inspired creation! Ness conveys a real sense of terror and the ending is devastating. A novel that really stands out.' Click here to see The Ask and the Answer by Patrick Ness, winner of the prestigious Costa Children's Book Award 2009
A new edition of this award-winning conclusion to the Chaos Walking trilogy. Three armies march on New Prentisstown, each one intent on destroying the others. Todd and Viola are caught in the middle, with no chance of escape. As the battles commence, how can they hope to stop the fighting? How can there ever be peace when they re so hopelessly outnumbered? And if war makes monsters of men, what terrible choices await? But then a third voice breaks into the battle, one bent on revenge...
Shortlisted for the 2015 CILIP Carnegie Medal. One of our Books of the Year 2014. This exceptional new novel from multi-award-winning Patrick Ness will, once again, delight his readers with a superbly written, enthralling and provocative story that raises the most profound questions of adolescence – and answers some of them. Seth drowns. A horrible, lonely death in the icy sea that ends with a blow against the rocks. But does it end? Seth wakes up alone, naked and in an empty world. He remembers his life – and above all his all-consuming love – and finds a way to survive in his new, desolate place. With two other children he meets, Seth explores new possibilities including what other lives there may be after death. In addition to our Lovereading expert opinion for More than This a small number of teenagers were lucky enough to be invited to review this title. Here's a taster....'unique and special you will be overwhelmed by the tragedy throughout the story.' Scroll down to read more reviews...
A magical novel, based on a Japanese folk tale, that imagines how the life of a broken-hearted man is transformed when he rescues an injured white crane that has landed in his backyard.George Duncan is an American living and working in London. At forty-eight, he owns a small print shop, is divorced, and lonelier than he realizes. All of the women with whom he has relationships eventually leave him for being too nice. But one night he is woken by an astonishing sounda terrific keening, which is coming from somewhere in his garden. When he investigates he finds a great white crane, a bird taller than even himself. It has been shot through the wing with an arrow. Moved more than he can say, George struggles to take out the arrow from the bird's wing, saving its life before it flies away into the night sky.The next morning, a shaken George tries to go about his daily life, retreating to the back of his store and making cuttings from discarded booksa harmless, personal hobbywhen through the front door of the shop a woman walks in. Her name is Kumiko, and she asks George to help her with her own artwork. George is dumbstruck by her beauty and her enigmatic nature, and begins to fall desperately in love with her. She seems to hold the potential to change his entire life, if he could only get her to reveal the secret of who she is and why she has brought her artwork to him.Witty, magical, and romantic, The Crane Wife is a story of passion and sacrifice, that resonates on the level of dream and myth. It is a novel that celebrates the creative imagination, and the disruptive power of love.
From the acclaimed author of the Chaos Walking trilogy and A Monster Calls comes one of the most provocative teen novels of our time.A boy named Seth drowns, desperate and alone in his final moments. But then he wakes. He is naked, thirsty, starving. But alive. How is this possible? He remembers dying, his bones breaking, his skull dashed upon the rocks. So how is he here? And where is this place? The street seems familiar, but everything is abandoned, overgrown, covered in dust.Whats going on? Is it real? Or has he woken up in his own personal hell? Seth begins to search for answers, hoping desperately that there must be more to this life, or perhaps this afterlife.
In 1945, a strange new craze for Truth Tellers is sweeping the kids of small-town America. The Fifth Doctor and Nyssa soon arrive to investigate the phenomenon, only to discover that the actual truth behind the Truth Tellers is far more sinister than anyone could have imagined...Author Patrick Ness puts his own unique spin on the Doctor, his terrifying alien enemies and time-travelling adventures.
This exceptional new novel from multi-award-winning Patrick Ness will, once again, delight his readers with a superbly written, enthralling and provocative story that raises the most profound questions of adolescence – and answers some of them. Seth drowns. A horrible, lonely death in the icy sea that ends with a blow against the rocks. But does it end? Seth wakes up alone, naked and in an empty world. He remembers his life – and above all his all-consuming love – and finds a way to survive in his new, desolate place. With two other children he meets, Seth explores new possibilities including what other lives there may be after death. In addition to our Lovereading expert opinion for More than This a small number of teenagers were lucky enough to be invited to review this title. Here's a taster....'unique and special you will be overwhelmed by the tragedy throughout the story.' Scroll down to read more reviews...
From two-time Carnegie Medal winner Patrick Ness comes an enthralling and provocative new novel chronicling the life - or perhaps afterlife - of a teen trapped in a crumbling, abandoned world.A boy called Seth drowns, desperate and alone in his final moments, losing his life as the pounding sea claims him. But then he wakes. He is naked, thirsty, starving. But alive. How is that possible? He remembers dying, his bones breaking, his skull dashed upon the rocks. So how is he is here? And where is this place? It looks like the suburban English town where he lived as a child, before an unthinkable tragedy happened and his family moved to America. But the neighbourhood around his old house is overgrown, covered in dust and completely abandoned. What's going on? And why is it that whenever he closes his eyes, he falls prey to vivid, agonizing memories that seem more real than the world around him? Seth begins a search for answers, hoping that he might not be alone, that this might not be the hell he fears it to be, that there might be more than just this...
In 1945, a strange new craze for Truth Tellers is sweeping the kids of small-town America. The Fifth Doctor and Nyssa soon arrive to investigate the phenomenon, only to discover that the actual truth behind the Truth Tellers is far more sinister than anyone could have imagined... Author Patrick Ness puts his own unique spin on the Doctor, his terrifying alien enemies and time-travelling adventures.
A special anniversary edition, with a striking new cover design, to celebrate 10 years of the Chaos Walking trilogy.Prentisstown isn't like other towns. Everyone can hear everyone else's thoughts in a constant, overwhelming Noise. There is no privacy. There are no secrets. Then Todd Hewitt unexpectedly stumbles on a spot of complete silence. Which is impossible. And now he's going to have to run... This new edition marks the 10th anniversary of the award-winning modern classic, soon to be a major motion picture starring Tom Holland and Daisy Ridley.
A special anniversary edition, with a striking new cover design, to celebrate 10 years of the Chaos Walking trilogy.Fleeing before a relentless army, Todd and Viola once again face their worst enemy, Mayor Prentiss. Immediately imprisoned and separated from Viola, Todd is forced to learn the ways of the Mayor's new order. And then, one day, the bombs begin to explode... This new edition marks the 10th anniversary of the Chaos Walking trilogy, soon to be a major motion picture starring Tom Holland and Daisy Ridley.
A special anniversary edition, with a striking new cover design, to celebrate 10 years of the Chaos Walking trilogy.Three armies march on New Prentisstown. The New World is at war. Todd and Viola are caught in the middle, with no chance of escape. How can they hope to stop the fighting? How can there ever be peace when they're so hopelessly outnumbered? And if war makes monsters of men, what terrible choices await? This new edition marks the 10th anniversary of the award-winning modern classic, soon to be a major motion picture starring Tom Holland and Daisy Ridley.
