The Knife of Never Letting Go by Patrick Ness

Title: The Knife of Never Letting Go by Patrick Ness

Release Date: May 5, 2008

Publisher: Walker

Pages: 479

Received: Purchased

Star Rating: ★ ★ ★ ★ ★

Todd Hewitt is the only boy in a town of men. Ever since the settlers were infected with the Noise germ, Todd can hear everything the men think, and they hear everything he thinks. Todd is just a month away from becoming a man, but in the midst of the cacophony, he knows that the town is hiding something from him -- something so awful Todd is forced to flee with only his dog, whose simple, loyal voice he hears too. With hostile men from the town in pursuit, the two stumble upon a strange and eerily silent creature: a girl. Who is she? Why wasn't she killed by the germ like all the females on New World? Propelled by Todd's gritty narration, readers are in for a white-knuckle journey in which a boy on the cusp of manhood must unlearn everything he knows in order to figure out who he truly is. [goodreads]

My Thoughts

I have a loss of words, it's ineffable, to show my love for this novel. This is actually my 2nd Patrick Ness novel and he might be already on my auto buy list. I originally borrowed this from the library maybe 2 years ago and I barely tried to get into it. But I knew it was collecting dust on my shelf and it had to be done. The writing was easy going and it shook me at first because it was very shortened. But I was very mesmerized in the story and the obstacles the characters had to face.

The story essentially follows Todd Hewitt in a town where everyone can hear each others' thoughts. He has around a month until he comes a man (13 years old) in this town. Prentisstown only inhabits men because all the women supposedly died from the disease that makes men hear each others' thoughts. This concept really intrigued me and it was action packed.

At times, I felt like it was a video game I could play. Todd Hewitt is very unaware of other people's own feelings because he can be just a plain dumb kid. The first story arc of his was lots of heavily packed action. There was a time where he just made it safe somewhere, then there's another guy ready to kill him. He will never rest! As mentioned in the synopsis, he meets a girl and I can't dive in depth because spoilers. But just know she is very reliable and an interesting character.

I do not own the sequel and the following novel, but I know I'll have to purchase them in the new covers. I think this is a very unique premise and the descriptions were so raw. The Knife of Never Letting Go is a journey that impacts your thinking and provokes your fascination. 

5/5 STARS