"More Than This" - the new book by Patrick Ness

A teenage boy is alone in the wild sea. The furious waves drag him under, and the biting cold steals his strength away. Yet still he fights. Fights to live.

He dies.

The eagle-eyed among you may notice that this is the second book I'm reviewing on The Library Ninja that's written by Patrick Ness. I wrote about The Knife of Never Letting Go some months ago. Maybe I'm just unimaginative! Well, before you start getting judgemental, let me tell you that I read the two other Chaos Walking books, The Ask and the Answer and Monsters of Men, and I held back writing. Same with A Monster Calls, and with his recent adult novel The Crane Wife. I didn't want to repeat myself. (Yes, this is my sixth Patrick Ness book this year, and to be honest, I'm starting to develop something of a man-crush on him!) But More Than This is a new release, and it deserves to be written about. And it's quite simply a stunning piece of fiction.

More Than This begins with death, and moves on from there. Seth, a teenage boy, dies alone in the turbulent sea; his body dashed against the rocks, and his bones shattered. Some time later, he awakes in the worst place possible. Not Hell - not an obvious Hell, anyway - but the home of his childhood. Seth grew up in Britain until the age of ten, when the tragedy that tore his family apart - a tragedy that is somehow his fault - prompted them to uproot themselves and move to America. But this is not his neighbourhood as Seth remembers it: the entire area is deserted. Grass and weeds have grown as tall as him. There's a crater in the middle of the high street. What is this place? Is it his real childhood home, or something that his mind has somehow recreated? Is any of it real? And why are his dreams as vivid as real life? Could it be there was more to his life than he had ever fully realised?

Ness is a master of creativity, plot twists and ambiguity. You never know what's coming next. If you're worried this could be a heart-warming, life-affirming drama (perish the thought!), it's not. This isn't Mitch Albom, or Paulo Coelho, or It's a Wonderful Life. The story is painful and biting. Through Seth's dreams, we relive his life, and see what led to this point. But what is this point? Now THAT'S the question! Is there More Than This, and what is the 'more' that Seth has perhaps arrived at? The answer is one of the most breathtaking, boldest novels of the year.

What's With all the Royal Baby Books?

Prince George (the Baby of Britain) is being christened next week. Hurrah and huzzah! I'm assuming you've bought the plates, the £6,400 coin worth £5... the knitting pattern (from the author of the cult hit Knit Your Own Royal Wedding)...
After spending all that hard-earned dosh on royal knickknacks, why not read some royal baby books? You can always save the money, by borrowing them from the library!

Alexandra the Royal Baby Fairy by Daisy Meadows

Hot on the heels of topical bestseller Kate the Royal Wedding Fairy, 'Rainbow Magic' is back. Fairyland is so excited about the coming of the new royal baby, but when it goes missing, Alexandra recruits loyal fairy friends Rachel and Kirsty to help find the vanished tot. Hmmm, I wouldn't be 100% surprised if that pesky Jack Frost has something to do with it.

Now, for (in my opinion) two rather more charming royal baby books...

Baggy Brown and the Royal Baby by Mick Inkpen

Mick Inkpen, the creator of Wibbly Pig and Kipper, and the illustrator of Percy the Park Keeper, is practically picture book royalty himself, and any story by him is  him is a sure joy. This one was actually originally released five years ago, simply as Baggy Brown, but has been cunningly repackaged to fit with the birth of Prince George. It features the teddy Baggy Brown, who is born at Better Bears Ltd as the ultra-special edition teddy Number One, who is to be presented to Princess Sophie, the new Royal Baby of Thingland. But due to a mistake, a factory worker gives it to his son Alfie. When Alfie discovers the Number One bear has gone missing, he knows he has to return it - whatever it takes.

It's a fun, sweet novel that, in a turn of events, has Princess Sophie marry Alfie years later. Sophie - who is in fact a toddler for the bulk of this novel - is not the royal baby on the front cover. That's their son Jack. With that in mind, it has been slightly shoehorned in to fit the occasion, but it's still a warm, comfy fit.

The Royal Nappy by Nicholas Allan

In The Queen's Knickers, we learnt that the Queen has knickers for all sorts of occasions. If she has an important meeting, she'll have knickers to match. If her plane crashes, she's got the knickers to deal with it! The Royal Nappy (by the author of previously reviewed Heaven) is a sequel of sorts to The Queen's Knickers. Here, we discover all the different nappies that royal babies need, with the right flags for meeting heads of state, or super-slippery ones for skidding about Buckingham Palace when seeing his Great-Grandmother. We also learn that royal nappies are produced at the Royal Mint - and that sometimes, that can cause problems!

Unlike Baggy Brown's kingdom of Thingland, The Royal Nappy makes no attempt to hide the fact that this is Britain, and our royal family. The baby's father even looks like William! This is bonkers, laugh-out-loud funny, and as with The Queen's Knickers, it's one that's sure to make children laugh for a good many years to come. Of the royal baby books, this is my favourite, I think. I liked seeing the First World War royal baby in a pram-tank.

I haven't read any others, but The Royal Baby, by the Two Tonys (I mean, Tony Bradman and Little Princess creator, Tony Ross) is bound to be good. And Shhh! Don't Wake the Royal Baby! by Martha Mumford and Ada Grey looks fun too.

Is that enough royal baby books? It's not? Fine, have Ruby and the Royal Baby, from the Princess Katie's Kittens series, and have done with it!