Welcome to Litsy!

I loved it. It is indeed Patrick Ness' most personal and intimate book yet.

Didn't care for the parallel plot, though.

Another author I love.

I love Patrick Ness and his ability to twine the realistic and the fantastic, but it just didn't work for me in this book. The fact that all these earth-shattering things were happening to Adam on this particular day pushes the realistic parts towards melodrama, and I wanted more backstory on the Queen and the truce than this narrative could give.

#PopSugar Reading Challenge: a book with an upside-down image on the cover

"And maybe, Adam thought, maybe hearts don't ever stop breaking once broken. Maybe they just keep on beating, until they're broken again, and then they keep on beating still."

Sunday morning is for #audiobooks..
I'm cleaning around the house, and I've got this new story to keep me company. I know nothing about this book, but I trust Ness 🤞💕

Book mail! 😍🤓

This book takes place during one day and two different stories going on at the same time which connect at the end. Adam and the stuff going on in his life and a ghost wandering around looking for something. I enjoyed the Adam story, but couldn't really connect with the ghost story. I didn't understand the ending either. Even though I read it a few times. #bookcover

Three more books for April. I am looking forward to continue the Dark Artificies series, Lord of Shadow! #tbr

A beautiful written story about coming of age and really trying to figure yourself out. Adam is gay and he is having a hard time telling his preacher father and the rest of his religious family. Adam goes through a lot in this book even though it all takes place in one day.

1. Almost finished with the tagged. Been a busy weekend so I haven't been able to read much.
2. If you're talking about coffee, none. I only drink black, unsweetened coffees. If you're talking foods, both! But probably maple more because I'll eat that year round and pumpkin I reserve for the last quarter of year.
3. “How can I kill you if you think you‘re already dead?” she answers.
#weekendreads @rachelsbrittain

Started this today and it's sucked me in pretty quickly. Haven't felt this kind of in to a book in a while. I'm hoping this book will keep up my ardor.

Anyone read this one before? The only other Ness book I've read is A Monster Calls, and I loved it. What other Ness titles would you recommend?

Adam Thorn is the son of a fundamentalist preacher; his parents haven't ever accepted him. He has to confront his feelings for his ex-BF with his current BF, deal with a changing situation with his BFF, ward off unwanted advances at work, & deal with family drama. Interspersed in Adam's story is a metaphorical tale of a spirit who's come back to earth to face the demons who murdered a girl who body she inhabits. Both need release by sunset.

“Please don‘t leave me unloved.”
This book follows two separate narratives that intersect through location and the mutual need to find “release.”
I really enjoyed the dual narrative in this book and I loved seeing one of the main character‘s (Adam‘s) journey as he moved on from his ex and allowed for a new healthier relationship to form, all while dealing with the limitations of his religious family. #lgbt

Kudos to Patrick Ness for writing experimental #YA. After reading What If It‘s Us, it‘s clear that he is on a whole different level from writers like Becky Albertalli and Adam Silvera with this retelling of Mrs. Dalloway.

That said, while I admire how Ness echoed Virginia Woolf—using his parallel narrative to shine a light on the American opioid epidemic, no less—like others, the story of Katherine/the Queen did not work for me at all. ⭐️⭐️⭐️

The supernatural aspect felt a bit contrived, but I was enraptured by this one. It blurs the lines of YA with its raw honesty. ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

"They're your parents. They're meant to love you *because*. Never *in spite*."

Though it's my least favorite Ness novel so far, "Release" is interesting, relatable, and has a lot of great points about sexuality, religion, friendship, and love. Just...try to get past the weird ghosty parts?

Thank you so much for the book @jhod - I love Patrick Ness but I haven't read this one! It's got a great cover too. So thoughtful of you. Hope you're surviving the heat today? #jbuk

Starting this loved a monsters calls I am really looking forward to this one #PatrickNess #Release

Good story and I love the parallels with Mrs Dalloway. That said, I felt like the characters weren‘t well rounded enough to support the weight of the story. Terrific in its way but not a book that I would be compelled to reread.

"Blame is something that is shared but denied in equal measure." (164, 1st HB)

This book gets me #bookaddict #booknerd #bookish #bibliophile #bookworm #booklove #bookstagram

Half of this was a beautiful book, classic Patrick Ness. The other half was a weirdly weird magical realism/fantasy realm. I kept waiting for the two halves to come together, and they did, eventually, but it wasn‘t enough to me to justify why that half even needed to exist. Adam‘s story was powerful on its own, and I wanted more of it, not ghost-girl-queen and her faun.

BUT this was still a great book. Queer and lovely. 7/10⭐️

”Then Enzo was pulling away. Maybe for the last time ever. And if Adam had mostly made his peace with this, “mostly” was as close to “not at all” as any hand grenade.”

I ❤️ Patrick Ness

Lovely. I enjoyed spending the day with Adam and his friends, although maybe not with his family.

Opening homage to Mrs Dalloway won my heart. Gay teen in contemporary USA spends day preparing for party, with alternating supernatural storyline (reminiscent of Woolf‘s traumatized war vet), expanding the scope to mythic, greater world. A lot of sex, but well done. I want more Chaos Walking so I keep reading Ness. Fortunately, he keeps exploring similar themes: self esteem; compassion for difference; & rising above cruelty & hatred. #LGBTQ

I like the UK/Australia/NZ cover (above) a lot better than the US/Canada one.

Father to his gay son: “You have no idea how hard I work to love you.”
#LGBTQ

... Enzo is buried so far into the closet it‘s like he‘s looking for straight Narnia.

I just love Patrick Ness writing.

This story happens in one day following Adam Thorn who is struggling to love himself. He is gay and his family is extremely religious, his father is a pastor at the Church on The Rock. The story also has some magical releasing or maybe call it fantasy which threw me off but I ended up really liking it.

The parallels of Adams and the dead girl/Queen/faun quest was written magnificently.
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

😂

Screw you Marty! Love is love.

#currentlyreading

Littens, I need your help! I‘m moving from NOLA to Phoenix tomorrow. Road tripping, so I need some audiobook recommendations. I‘m almost done with this one.

What say you? #audiobooks

Didn‘t like this one as much as I‘ve liked his other books. I just didn‘t really understand the second storyline or how it fit with the plot.

This is my cuddle buddy Roscoe.

Books I got for Christmas from the husband. So happy I got my own copy of “I‘m am not Your Perfect Mexican Daughter”.

Trying to decide if I‘m going to start Patrick Ness or Sarah Dessen today.

I flew through this book in a matter of just a few days, which considering my busy schedule is really good. 5 stars!

I finished this book breathless. It is a roller coaster and suffused with a sublime melancholy. I'm going to need a few days to recover.....

Some pre-supper reading and enjoying the view from my couch 😊