Release Date: May 4th 2017
Publisher: Walker Books
Pages: 287
Find it on: Goodreads. BookDepository. Waterstones.
Source: I bought a copy of this while on holiday
Rating: 3/5 stars

Synopsis

Inspired by Mrs Dalloway and Judy Blume’s Forever, Release is one day in the life of Adam Thorn, 17. It’s a big day. Things go wrong. It’s intense, and all the while, weirdness approaches…

Adam Thorn is having what will turn out to be the most unsettling, difficult day of his life, with relationships fracturing, a harrowing incident at work, and a showdown between this gay teen and his preacher father that changes everything. It’s a day of confrontation, running, sex, love, heartbreak, and maybe, just maybe, hope. He won’t come out of it unchanged. And all the while, lurking at the edges of the story, something extraordinary and unsettling is on a collision course.

Review

A while ago I read A Monster Calls by Patrick Ness and thought it was absolutely brilliant, so when I came across Release on the shelf in my local bookshop I was really intrigued and immediately snapped it up. The story follows Adam Thorn, a young high school student over the course of a single day as he prepares to attend the leaving party of the ex-boyfriend he still has feelings for. Enzo’s leaving party is not the only thing happening, unbeknownst to the party goers, the end of the world is near.

I’m honestly so conflicted about this book. I really liked the characters in this story – Adam is a really fascinating protagonist and it was a really interesting story as Adam deals with his religious family, harassment at work and tries to work through his feeling for Enzo. I grew quite attached to Adam and his friends and I definitely found myself rooting for them. They were well fleshed out and they felt very realistic.

Adam’s story is not the only part of the book and that’s where my problems with this book lie. A young woman who was murdered in the same area returns as a ghost/queen with a faun helper to understand what happened to her and seek revenge on the people involved in her murder. This fantastical element for me didn’t fit the story at all and I found myself quite confused about what was going on with the ghost and what she was doing. It almost felt like I was reading two different stories at the same time, and this really had an effect on my overall enjoyment of the story.

Release is a strange and unique tale, one that combines a coming of age story with a hint of supernatural. Patrick Ness has some a really beautiful writing style and if you’re a fan of his work I’d recommend checking this one out. It’s quite a short read at less than 300 pages so if you’re looking for something that little bit different, I’d definitely give this one a go.