Normally I don’t like being told what to like; I will admit to being one of those teenagers who sneers at the mainstream and accepts so-called youth culture with the reluctance of a cantankerous old man. Therefore, when I kept seeing More Than This on display in bookshops and libraries I gave it the customary eye roll. That was, of course, until I read it.
Without giving away any spoilers, More Than This is about a boy named Seth who, after dying, wakes up in a mysterious place and over the course of the story has to come to terms with some dark aspects of his past.
This book is a testament to YA fiction; it deals with young people’s issues without patronising or simplifying them. It gives the young characters the opportunity to be just as complex as anyone else without making them unrealistic.
My laziness when it comes to long books was another former reason to avoid this book, but to my joy I finished it with relative speed and enjoyment.
It’s incredibly hard to talk about this book without giving anything important away but if you want complexity, adventure and just a sprinkling of sci-fi, this book is most certainly for you.
- Buy this book at the Guardian Bookshop
