Monsters of men by Patrick Ness
Chaos walking, book 3. Walker Books, 2018. ISBN 9781406379181
(Age: 14+) Highly recommended. Winner Carnegie Medal 2011. Themes:
Dystopian fiction. Survival. Warfare. Stereotypes. "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?"
(Publisher)
Monsters of men brings to a close the stunning Chaos walking
series. Amid the warfare, violence and despair, Todd and Viola's
love for each other stands out as a beacon, and keeps the reader
hopeful of some type of resolution. There is also the glimmer of
hope for redemption and that not even monsters are wholly evil, even
the mayor Prentiss.
This is a tense, electrifying book that requires much resilience
from its reader and the conclusion is stunning. There is a book
trailer for the book on Patrick Ness' website,
where he also reads from Monsters of men and has a
conversation.
Pat Pledger