He has another year left of high school, after which he hopes to escape the Christian path laid out for him by his parents. Parents who seem to know but refuse to actually acknowledge that Adam is, in their words, 'a little bit gay'.
Adam is navigating his first broken heart, determined to move on with his new boyfriend Linus, but struggling to let go of whatever it was that he and Enzo shared. And to top it all off, he is about to have the worst day. Pretty much ever.
In a similar style to his last novel, The Rest of us Just Live Here, Patrick Ness has given us an astounding mix of real world young adult life struggles, with a hint of supernatural woven throughout.
As Adam moves through each disaster that the day presents to him, he is unaware of the dead girl who emerges from the lake, her story told in a parallel to Adam's as she moves through the town, searching for answers about her death.
I must admit that I have adored Patrick Ness ever since I devoured the Chaos Walking series (which has remained one of my favourite series ever, even leaving off the 'young adult' label). His characters climb right out of the book and burrow into my being, they reflect so much of what I remember teen life to be and capture relationships, love, loss, family and friendships without over dramatisation, but more importantly without trivialising anything either.
Release left me feeling optimistic, but devastated all in the same breath, and this in my humble opinion is the trademark move of Patrick Ness. I highly recommend to get your hands on a copy immediately.
Title: Release
Author: Patrick Ness
Publisher: Walker Books, $24.99
Publication Date: 4 May 2017
Format: Hardback
ISBN: 9781406331172
For ages: 16+
Type: Young Adult Fiction