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.
What’s 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.…
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“Ness brilliantlyplays with contrasts: life and death, privacy and exposure, guilt andinnocence. In characteristic style, the author of the Chaos Walking trilogydelves into the stuff of nightmares for an existential exploration of the humanpsyche.”
— Kirkus Reviews (starred review)
“It is a gorgeous story with masterful pacing and unforgettable passages.”
— Boston GlobePatrick Ness is best known for his books for young adults, including the Chaos Walking trilogy and More Than This. Twice in a row—for Monsters of Men and A Monster Calls—he won the Carnegie Medal, the oldest and most prestigious book award for children’s writing in the UK. A Monster Calls was also the first book ever to simultaneously win the Carnegie Medal and the Kate Greenaway Medal for illustration. Ness has taught creative writing at Oxford University and is a literary critic for the Guardian. Born in Virginia, he lives in London.