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    More Than This
    More Than This
    More Than This
    Audiobook7 hours

    More Than This

    Written by Jay McLean

    Narrated by Jeremy York and Allison Lynnewood

    4/5

    ()

    About this audiobook

    When Mikayla imagined her prom night, she envisioned a fairy-tale evening full of romance. So when betrayal and tragedy come in quick succession, Mikayla is completely destroyed. Suddenly, everything she loved and everyone she relied on are tragically, irrevocably gone.

    Jake, a handsome boy she just met, happens to witness her loss. With no one to turn to, Mikayla is forced to depend on this near stranger and his family, and he in turn is determined to take care of her. But Mikayla—thrust into adulthood with no one to guide her—is desperate to contain her grief and hide what she considers to be her weakness. Mikayla and Jake both want more, but despite their growing closeness and intense chemistry, she tries to keep her distance and protect her heart. As he does everything in his power to win her trust, Mikayla must choose between remaining alone and safe or letting love in.

    Revised edition: This edition of More Than This includes editorial revisions.

    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherBrilliance Audio
    Release dateJan 13, 2015
    ISBN9781501212369
    More Than This
    Author

    Jay McLean

    Jay McLean is an avid reader, writer, and, most of all, procrastinator. She writes what she loves to read—books that can make her laugh, make her smile, make her hurt, and make her feel. She currently lives in Australia with her fiancé, two sons, and two dogs. Follow Jay on Instagram and Twitter @jaymcleanauthor. For more information, visit her blog at www.jaymcleanauthor.com.

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    Reviews for More Than This

    4/5

    474 ratings43 reviews

    What did you think?

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    Review must be at least 10 words

    • 1/5
      Couldn't finish it.
      The story is sooooo totally unrealistic!
      I mean, who is able to deal with the loss of ones whole family and get over it in one week?
      And then there is this "insta love ".
      Okay, I can accept love at first sight but then there is this 'I love you but I don't know if you love me back, so I fool around with you but actually making love would be too much' thing. On both sides of the protagonists and over 3/4 of the book.
      Waste of time (and not the good kind).
    • 4/5
      More Than This is definitely hard to review because the art of this book is in the revealing of possibilities . . . "a thinking book for readers who don't mind ambiguity" is how I explained it recently. It reminded me of The Maze Runner (though it's much, much better). However, the readers who liked the Maze Runner may not have the patience for this one. I felt like I'd read the story before, long ago, though no particular titles come to mind. Its complexity defies categorization, and there are reasons this book could never have been a first novel. I would never recommend readers start with this Ness book; rather, try the Chaos Walking series or A Monster Calls first.
    • 4/5
      A little matrix like, a little dystopian, very Ness.
    • 4/5
      Huge admiration for the tight plotting and superbly drawn characters. Loved the running dark joke about the neatness of the plot. Added to the suspense and fully consistent with Seth's character and adolescent solipsism in general. An intense read that took me back to some dark times - and to my young self who hung on in there, believing that there was more than this. (There is.)
    • 4/5
      I need a new shelf called "Books that are Impossible to Review without Spoiling." Yet, I will attempt a review later (probably on the blog, combined with the hard-to-review We Were Liars). 4.5 stars, could be bumped up to a GoodReads 5 later.
    • 4/5
      Such a powerful book - still trying to absorb how inspiring this was.

      This book turned out to be something so different from what I was expecting. It doesn't really fit into a genre, it's just one of those down to earth, earnest kind of books that you'd expect from none other than Patrick Ness.

      Patrick Ness has quickly become one of my favorite authors. The way in which he crafts his stories is just impeccable. His characters are so very genuine and real , it's kind of impossible for you to finish any of his books, especially this one, and not be left with some kind of impact/lesson/'wow'.

      I won't go too much into this review because I don't think I can sufficiently represent this book and it's beauty in review form. The only thing I can leave you with is that you'd be missing out on a lot by not reading this book, or any Patrick Ness book for that matter.

      PS: This book's design is by far one of the most visually stunning ones I've ever come across. SO COOL GUYS, SO COOL. The colour, the fact that it has no dust cover ( say what? ), just the general feel of it is amazing. ?
    • 4/5
      I really did love how this book makes you question, pretty much, everything. You fly through it and then it completely turns the tables on you, asking you, does any of it actually matter?

      Absolutely loved the concept.

      Seriously, where does Ness get his creative genius from? I want whatever he's having.
    • 3/5
      A story with an interesting premise and good characters. But it seemed to take ages to move through the plot. I feel like it needed a damn good edit and could have been 100 pages shorter.
    • 4/5
      What a fantastic roller coaster ride of a book. It kept me off balance wondering what would happen next but not giving me much idea of what that would be. I can't even give the slightest detail to friends who may want to read it someday as I feel almost anything beyond what happens in the first 5 pages or so is on some level, a spoiler. Fantastic!
    • 4/5
      Interesting book that explores the nature of reality in a dystopic future.
    • 3/5
      dystopian teen fiction like you've never imagined. "Mature content" includes cartoonish violence; two boys lying together; a kidnapping; a girl's abusive, molesting stepdad; and some gun violence. I liked that the main character was gay but that the plotline didn't revolve entirely around that fact (it was a significant part of his character, but that wasn't why everything was happening to him or happening around him). The girl who befriends him is black but it isn't an issue--she just is, just as the third character happens to be Polish (Polish--the other Minority!). As with other Patrick Ness works, you have to wiggle in and wait a bit for him to start working his magic, so this wouldn't be my first choice to give to a reluctant reader, and it doesn't seem worthy of all the eager anticipation that goodreads users would have you believe (I think perhaps they just really love to use animated gifs?). But if you are a reader that wants something with a bit more intrigue, a bit more depth, a bit more mystery, a lot less romance, this could definitely work.
    • 4/5
      I read Patrick Ness's [A Monster Calls] and remember really enjoying the way this author portrays his characters and messes with their minds. [More Than This] is certainly no exception. From page one the adventure begins on a high note. Well...maybe not so much for our main character Seth since he drowns. Have no fear...in the next chapter he wakes up and discovers he is in the dusty and deserted house where he grew up in an English suburb. To make his ordeal worse...the house is across the world from where he died in the Pacific Northwest. Seth just assumes this must be hell. The book is split into four parts and each drastically changes the dynamic of the story, unraveling more and more layers. The book is a YA novel but it is a well told, well written story that stays with you long after you close the covers of the book.
    • 5/5
      So, the first time that I read More Than This was a month before it actually came out. I was sent an ARC, I read it ravenously, and then I just sat. Sat, and thought. Patrick Ness blew my mind with this book. In fact, I could never wrap my head around how I felt enough to be able to write a review. Recently, when I saw this as a featured audio book at my library, I thought I'd pick it up and give it another shot. It had been long enough that I didn't remember exactly what happened, and I looked forward to getting lost again. I admit it, once again I'm at a total loss for an adequate review. What do you say about a book that shakes you around like a rag doll, and makes you think? You ramble I suppose. Which is what I'm about to do.

      Patrick Ness is an evil genius. The way that More Than This is laid out is brilliant. I'd be following along with the story line, comfortable in the fact that I knew what was going on, and then Ness would sweep the rug right out from under me. He never let me get too settled. Instead, this story expertly cobbles together different stories that you wouldn't even think would mesh. This is a science fiction story. It's a romance. It's a contemporary. It's about love and life. Birth and death. All the beauty and utter bleakness that make up the life of one individual. It's sad, scary, and stunning. That's exactly why I don't really know what to say about it.

      I think that all you really need to know is that this story isn't always easy to read. There are moments where things become uncomfortably real, and before you know it there are tears leaking from the corners of your eyes. I've always liked that Ness isn't afraid to address real issues. He knows that, as much as society loves to sweep things under the rug, teens face life shattering moments all the time. His characters feel real. You want to hug them. You want to save them. It's maddening that they're inside a book and you can't do either.

      Whether you read this in book form, or listen to it on audio, I think you'll be impressed. Both are equally amazing options.
    • 3/5
      The writing was ok, certainly well edited, but awfully vague and boring for the first 50 pages. After a while being mysterious about who the only character introduced so far is, with constant but vague hints that there is a story, but that the author isn't going to tell it just yet, tamp down whatever excitement and interest the reader might otherwise have felt while reading about the character's strange 'post'-death experiences. I was grateful that at least the book was not full of angsty teen dialogue that very few teenaage boys (and not many girls) I've ever known would be caught uttering, even under their breath; there were a few pages of this, of course, because as a YA novel, how could it not throw in just a dose of the angsty stuff. But it could have been much worse.

      What really dropped the star rating on this book for me (from a 4; the vague non-storytelling bits already bugged me too much for a 5) was the ending. I won't ruin it for those who have the intention still of reading this book, but it was disappointing. I understand that he is just a 17yr-old kid, and he's not expected to grasp the difference between real friends and imaginary ones yet, but seriously? There may have been ways of making the choice at the end of this story seem right, for him or for anyone else, but this novel didn't convince me. I seriously doubt that the human race has much of a future left with this kid in it, at least the portion of the human race he is plugged into.
    • 1/5
      i read quite a lot of it, maybe half but i just didn't enjoy it
    • 4/5
      I have recently discovered Patrick Ness and I think he is a fantastic writer. I have read Chaos Walking and A Monster Calls which I thought were fabulous. I didn't like "More than this" quite so much but it was still a very enjoyable read with an interesting plot and a central character who's mental confusion you are dragged into. Ness is not afraid of real life themes and it's all the better for it.
    • 4/5
      A little matrix like, a little dystopian, very Ness.
    • 4/5
      He wakes up in a world he used to know, many years before. His old street- his old house, where he lived before the unspeakable tragedy. But there is no life here now. No people, no animals, and no evidence of either. Everything is covered in a layer of dust, and the evidence that time has passed. Has it been months? Years? If you loved The Knife of Never Letting Go, and the Chaos Walking Trilogy, you will recognize some of the most exciting characteristics of those novels in More than This. Parick Ness write books that keep you guessing about what will happen next, and question what you know to be true
    • 4/5
      I have no idea what just happened.
    • 5/5
      Intense sci-fi/fantasy tale of boy who dies ... but doesn't . Seth drowns (violent, first-hand account) and then re-awakens in his childhood home. He thinks he is the Last Man on the Planet but later discovers others (Tomacz, Regine) who seem to share his fate. They are pursued by a "the Driver" -- encased in a dark, menacing car. This riveting, engaging book is a deep look at life and death and the boundaries between as well as the nature of love (There is a subtheme detailing Seth's romantic relationship with another boy, Gudmund.) The main audience for this book, adolescent males, may be put off by this but it is tastefully handled. The action is tempered by philosophic musings, but the voice and descriptions are, as usual with Ness, terrific. The half point is because this reader lost interest towards the end -- not such a big fan of fantasy.
    • 3/5
      After having drowned, Seth wakes naked and covered in bandages. Where is he and where is everyone? Is this the afterlife? And why does he find himself back in his childhood home in England, far away from the coast of Washington where he drowned. Seth must make sense of this new world and figure out a way to survive. The book leaves the reader guessing about this new world that Seth finds himself in and what Seth’s ultimate fate will be. - SB
    • 5/5
      Wow. Just wow. I'm not sure where to start on this awesome book. I picked it up for the first time yesterday and now I'm done and I'm sitting here begging for more. The writing style was awesome. I loved the dreams the most. The secrets in there threw me for such a loop that I stopped reading and had to process my emotions. I was on the edge of my seat for the entire book. A
    • 2/5
      So disappointed in this book! The cover design, introduction and recommendations seemed super promising but the book itself really didn't do much for me. Up till page 172 it's very calm and much the same and I had to push myself to keep reading. Then suddenly something big happens and the whole feeling of the story changes - thats cool! But after that it kinds of just keeps going back and forth between the boring part and the super extreme part, which I think could have been done with more profundity in between. The idea of a plot like this is great. But I feel like Patrick Ness has chosen the easy way out. No explanation, for none of those different parts of the story, quite predictable at a lot of moments, plus an open ending which left me feeling pretty bland about it all. So sorry, but pretty unsatisfactory... Maybe the target audience is just really much younger than me. I normally love reading YA books but this might just not been the right pick!
    • 5/5
      Personal Response-- I devoured this book in less than a week! It was very well written and talking about difficult subjects like suicide and homosexuality is not common in literature. I thought it brought up some good thoughts in how technology is over taking everything and that people are unaware of so much that is going on around them. We must be aware of that we can impact others yet having assumptions can change everything. Relationships with parents and students are meaningful but only if they are truly aware of what their own specific impact they have towards a person. Curricular connections- This would be great for high school but some issues on the controversial subjects of a suicidal gay teenager probably wouldn't be acceptable in the regular classroom. I do see this as a valuable novel in recognizing individuality and letting go of the past.
    • 4/5
      I need a new shelf called "Books that are Impossible to Review without Spoiling." Yet, I will attempt a review later (probably on the blog, combined with the hard-to-review We Were Liars). 4.5 stars, could be bumped up to a GoodReads 5 later.
    • 5/5
      This is going to be the worst review I’ve ever written about one of the best books I’ve ever read.Like a movie critic reviewing the latest Christopher Nolan film, I feel that to reveal almost anything about the storyline would absolutely destroy the pleasure of discovering the novel’s secrets as they unfold. I chose it based on the back cover copy, which only describes the action of the first twenty pages. That alone made it seem promising yet it barely scratches the surface of this novel’s myriad delights. Suffice it to say, this one has it all – it’s thought-provoking, with amazing characters, nail biting suspense, humor, pathos, spirituality, and, ultimately, provides a moving, universal message. It’s incredibly sophisticated; I never felt as if I was reading something that’s written for a YA audience, despite the fact that it is. And I think I can venture to say, without giving anything away, that in More Than This, author Patrick Ness has created probably the most unique and delightful literary character I’ve ever encountered. And despite its 480 page length, it seemed way too short. I was so sad to leave the amazing world he’d created. As a matter of fact, nine pages from the end, I stopped reading and took a long, hot bath just to forestall finishing it. Such was my enjoyment. Kudos, Mr. Ness.I hope this novel finds the huge audience it so richly deserves. I’d love to see it made into a film. I intend to pick-up his Chaos Walking trilogy and A Monster Calls post haste. I have a feeling I won’t be disappointed. Please, read this one.
    • 4/5
      "A book...it's a world all on its own. A world made of words...where you live for a while."

      This is a beautiful story of life and death and hope. It questions what it means to BE alive. I found myself fully immersed in this dystopian world. I was fully engaged with the characters. I lived for a while in this book!

      One of the best YA of 2013.
    • 4/5
      This is, in some ways, a novel-length entry into the It Gets Better campaign, but it's also a pretty good sci-fi story.
    • 3/5
      I was mostly liking it until the end.
    • 3/5
      Seventeen-year-old Seth drowns; in fact his action is deliberate. He wants to escape the horror of his existence. Racked with guilt over the fate of his younger brother, an event he feels is his entire fault, he doesn’t have much to live for. Then he wakes up, back in his old home in England, and things start becoming very weird indeed. He is wrapped in silvery bandages, and his old street is deserted. The whole place is uninhabited and overgrown. He seems to be the only person left alive in the world. He must now forage and scrounge for clothing, food and water. He wonders if this is hell. His dreams don’t help because his previous life comes back to him in huge, unwelcome chunks of memory. Then he meets two other people, with their own unique and strange tales to tell.Despite the fantastic beginning, with a description that pulled me right into the ocean with Seth, I struggled to finish this book. Parts of it were incredibly exciting and then would grind to a halt with unnecessary introspective and philosophical meanderings on the part of the main character, meanderings which became boring and one had the urge to say, “Oh, just get on with it!” The plus side: an utterly riveting and plausible story premise that comes much later on (just when you are wondering what on earth this is all about and is he dead or not, and if everyone else is dead, then where are the bodies?); really wonderful descriptions that have the reader in the grip of the moment; action and tension to add to the positively bleak and hopeless situation; events that come out of nowhere that have a cinematographic and surreal feel to them; the depth of emotion Seth feels for the loss of his younger brother and his friends. In fact, Seth’s guilt is so palpable that one is consumed with curiosity to learn the truth. The two characters that join him are so different, so lost as well, and so eager to hide the circumstances of their lives/deaths. One feels the pain of the characters as they reveal the humiliating and tragic burdens they each carry.What I did not enjoy: the flashbacks were sometimes jarring and intrusive, until I accepted them as part of the story-telling process; the fact that this world, while it began as an interesting construct, did not have enough to sustain the story and/or the last three inhabitants. I found the ending abrupt and it short-changes the reader in a way. There were many loose ends in the unfolding of this tale that I feel the author might have tried to answer. The characters were confused and, as a result, the reader becomes confused. It is as if the author didn’t bother to work things out to the last detail, which is possibly not the case, but feels that way. The reference to same sex love/relationships was dealt with sensitively and delicately, in an almost tender way. However, this might surprise readers who are not prepared for it, especially if the reader is younger than the protagonist’s age of 17. Ultimately, the characters’ thoughts on what constitutes life and death, and the option of living in a constructed world, avoiding the reality of a life too sad/tragic/hopeless to contemplate should give readers food for thought. However, I have no doubt that the intended audience of older teens and YA readers will love this book. Three stars.