Chaos Walking: The Complete Trilogy: Books 1-3 (Box Set of Three Young Adult Coming-of-Age Dystopian Science Fiction Novels Exploring Identity, Power, and Survival) Paperback – November 6, 2018

This trilogy shook me to my core. I haven’t felt this much pain in such a long time. These books took my peace on more days then I would like to admit. That being said, I am so happy I found this series when I did because I could appreciate it. I think as a teen there are pieces about life and the meaning of it that I would never understand years ago. I feel like in the middle of our world going through it’s first pandemic in decades made me have understanding. Something I don’t think I would have had before.This trilogy all I wanted was the cure and people to lose their noise. But once Todd’s noise was gone I couldn’t wait for it to come back. The noise was one of my favorite things about this trilogy especially the horses 🐎 and Manchee. I still miss Todd’s dog from book 1. I honestly feel like his dog needed to have a memorial service. Manchee was the homie to the fullest and I love that he got an encore in book 3. My heart is so full and anxious especially since book 3 was 80% battle. It was intense bloody and brutal but it was necessary to get where we needed to be.Oh and F F F F Mistress Coyle I hated her since they met. 🤬🤬🤬🤬Also the mayor is worse than "he who shall not be named 👿” 🐍 he was such a savage through and through and his powers were ridiculous. There is so much I have to say but because I was up all night I need a mental break.One day soon I will come in and do this correctly but right now I feel like I’m going to 🤯 explode. This was freaking awesome 👏🏽.Thank you to Candy 🍭 for making me stick with this one it was worth it.

I read and loved the Hunger Games trilogy, and after I finished I felt a hole that other books just couldn't fill. They couldn't match the thrill of being in books so immersive and vivid. I asked around and couldn't find anything that grabbed me, and then this book was mentioned on NPR when they were talking about books like the Hunger Games.So I got it and daaaang, let me tell you---Hunger Games was just a warm up. From the first funny words this book has humor and humanity, but spins up quickly into VERY intense situations---and then doesn't let up for three books. I haven't had a book keep me up past my bed time trying to read just a little bit more since High School (oh, so long ago). This book puts the characters in some situations where it doesn't seem like there is a right answer and the lines between who's doing good and who's bad shift and blur like it must be in real life in areas ranging from the wild west, to Nazi Germany to rebellion and war zones today in the Middle East and Africa.Be aware, there is some language and scenes that are disturbing so not appropriate for all kids. But a must read for those who are able to handle it. A MUST READ.Also, I bought the trilogy and recommend that if you start you get all three. Even though it's split in to three books, it's really one epic adventure (like Lord of the Rings) that doesn't have neat stopping points at the end of each book.

I came upon this series late in my reading of YA dystopian fiction. While I really enjoyed reading them, I found myself growing weary of the format. Nevertheless, it never occurred to me to put the series down; I think I read all three books in a matter of 3-4 days.The story, unlike many of the YA dystopia novels of late, isn't set in a post-apocalypse Earth. Instead it starts on a new planet, which was colonized by the escapees from whatever unnamed destruction killed the planet. This gave Ness much more license in his tale to introduce new concepts, which immediately made the book an intriguing read.Despite the different planet with the alien lifeforms and all that they entail, he keeps the feel of the book very close to what weknow and he doesn't have to create a new vocabulary to introduce his new ideas and story elements which is very refreshing. He also gives his characters more freedom; unlike much of the YA dystopian fiction, the story isn't about breaking out of societal molds; it's got entirely different reasons for its progress.Ness did a great job of providing fun and interesting plot twists throughout; just when you think you've got things figured out something changes, and usually it's for the betterment of the story. Without spoiling anything I will say that I found a few turns of the story to be somewhat insipid.Ness also tries to tackle the question of good and bad in this series, and he does it fairly well. As the characters grow the lines between right and wrong blur in a very believable way, and towards the end of the book I really was left wondering if maybe there were two right ways for the story to have ended.I had to give this story four stars though, because some of the characters lacked depth at times. On the whole the main two protagonists left me feeling kind of ambivalent and I connected most with the main character's dog. Some of the antagonists also seemed to lack motivation, which weakened the story in places and made me ask "why would they do that?".

In the absolute best way possible, this series will break your heart and build it back up only to continue the cycle. This is the series that shows what happens when the good guys lose, but it still has the best ending. Open your heart and feels to this book and it will reward you. I don't go looking for books that will devastate me, or are full of the author trying to make you cry or play with your feelings or have crazy intense scenes - I don't enjoy those books as much, and this ISN'T one of those books. Give it a try and you'll see; plus, the first quarter of the first book is hilarious. You will fall in love with the characters, and the world building is phenomenal.