Prentisstown isn't like other towns. Everyone can hear everyone else's thoughts in an overwhelming, never-ending stream of Noise. Just a month away from the birthday that will make him a man, Todd and his dog, Manchee - whose thoughts Todd can hear, too, whether he wants to or not - stumble upon an area of complete silence. They find that in a town where privacy is impossible, something terrible has been hidden - a secret so awful that Todd and Manchee must run for their lives.
But how do you escape when your pursuers can hear your every thought?
Paperback copy: 479 pages
There is profanity often although the word f**k is always censored as "eff" or "effing."
Anything highlighted in white is a spoiler and hidden
The plot was cool. The main character (Todd) lives in a town (Prentisstown) where the thoughts of men are all out in the open. In Prentisstown there are no women because apparently the disease that created the "Noise" (which is what the thoughts out in the open are called- it's so chaotic) killed off all the women and girls. A native species to the planet were said to have gone to war with the humans and used disease warfare against the humans when the humans arrived. The creatures, named Spackles, were hunted into extinction. Todd, while out gathering apples, finds an odd area of silence (which is odd cause even the animals have the Noise). He tries to chase it, but it gets away. When he returns, his caretakers say he has to leave because if any of the other men heard about the Silence in his Noise he would be in trouble. He leaves with his dog, Manchee, who also saw/heard the Silence. He has to flee through the woods he was gathering apples in and finds that the Silence is a girl. They flee Prentisstown together, since Prentisstown in chasing the both of them. Along their journey they unravel many, many lies and discover truths they would have never thought of...
I can't tell you anymore with out spoiling the story... sorry. It was a very original plot, however, and to see this type of society is cool. It's really different than most books, and more violent for a YA book, but awesome. What you learn throughout the book and how the information is placed makes the book even more amazing.
The Characters:
In general it was really easy to relate to the characters, mostly because the wording was closer to what we say in real life and that made them more realistic.
Todd: Todd, at first, is a very innocent, naive boy (considering his town). Of course, his town being all men, some who used to have wives, the only mental images he had of girls has them doing awkward things without clothes >.> So not naive in that sense. But he has no clue what the men of his town do or did, and he is completely innocent in that sense, enabling him entrance to places he wouldn't be able to get into otherwise.
Manchee: He is the cutest dog ever :P He might be slightly annoying, but is super loyal. His Noise sounds is full of squirrels and curiosity and going to the bathroom, and is what I'd think a dog would sound like if they could talk :P I was so sad when he died that there were tears in my eyes >.<
Viola: Viola starts off as a scared little girl on a strange planet, but she soon grows into herself as she becomes accustomed to this world. She's a support for Todd, and helps him keep going when he wants to give up, and helps him when he gets into trouble.
The Ending:
The ending is a cliffhanger T_T It makes me very sad. And the next book I'm probably going to read is THE ASK AND THE ANSWER (i.e. the next book). Thankfully I own it, so it won't be too much of a hassle :P
The Ask and the Answer
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