Release Date: May 5th, 2008
Genre: Dystopian/Paranormal
Pages: 496
Rating:
Series: Chaos Walking #1
Goodreads Page: Click here
Summary:

Todd Hewitt is the only boy in a town of men. Ever since the settlers were infected with the Noise germ, Todd can hear everything the men think, and they hear everything he thinks. Todd is just a month away from becoming a man, but in the midst of the cacophony, he knows that the town is hiding something from him -- something so awful Todd is forced to flee with only his dog, whose simple, loyal voice he hears too. With hostile men from the town in pursuit, the two stumble upon a strange and eerily silent creature: a girl. Who is she? Why wasn't she killed by the germ like all the females on New World? Propelled by Todd's gritty narration, readers are in for a white-knuckle journey in which a boy on the cusp of manhood must unlearn everything he knows in order to figure out who he truly is.

Review: I really liked this book! I wouldn't quite call it dystopian... though it is close. My favorite character would definitely be Todd's dog. He's so funny! The things he says are exactly what I think a dog would say if it talked.

Parts of this book were REALLY gruesome and intense. The two/three main characters are being chased by a religious zealot who seems to be unkillable. I was really scared of him. The character says "effing" a lot. And I mean he says "effing" not what "effing" stands for, which was nice.

There were confusing elements to the story (technology [or lack thereof], relationships with other non-principle characters, etc) that prevented it from getting a perfect 5, but all and all I really enjoyed it. It didn't feel 500 pages long.

WARNING! There's an UBER-cliffhanger ending, but the second book is already out, and the third book comes out September 28th, so you can satisfy your curiosity if you want to.