When my friend told me to read More Than This, she did it by asking me to read its first lines. I understood within moments that this book was far different than anything I had read before.
More Than This isn’t quite fantasy, or magical realism, or sci fi, or dystopian. It’s all this and more, a strange, very introspective, YA version of The Matrix with heartache and a fresh queer storyline and an effortlessly diverse host of characters. Without giving anything away, it’s a book that manages a fantastical storyline without providing the reader – or the protagonist – with all the answers by way of a Wizard or a Guide, but while it leaves many questions unanswered, it also manages to be satisfying.
For me, the success of this book all comes down to voice.
The narrator is truly believable in not only his plight and heartache but also in his real-time reactions to his world being turned upside down. One can imagine that, in the same place, rather than being as fierce or as brave as Bilbo Baggins or Harry Potter, one might react just as Seth does: confused, survivalist, tired, horrified, selfish, sad. Combined with a highly structured paciness that keeps you involved even while the protagonist remains alone in his new world, with only his thoughts and memories for company, it is this broad range of true emotions that makes this book a real winner, for me.