The Knife Of Never Letting Go

Title: The Knife Of Never Letting Go

Author: Patrick Ness

First Published: May 5th 2008

Series: Chaos Walking #1

Genre: YA, Sci-Fi, Dystopia

Available As: Hardcover, paperback, ebook

Pages: 479

My Copy: Physical copy

My Rating: 8/10

Goodreads Summary

Prentisstown isn't like other towns. Everyone can hear everyone else's thoughts in an overwhelming, never-ending stream of Noise. Just a month away from the birthday that will make him a man, Todd and his dog, Manchee -- whose thoughts Todd can hear too, whether he wants to or not -- stumble upon an area of complete silence. They find that in a town where privacy is impossible, something terrible has been hidden -- a secret so awful that Todd and Manchee must run for their lives.

But how do you escape when your pursuers can hear your every thought?

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I've had my eye on this book for ages and I never got round to reading it, until now! After finishing this book, I don't really know why I put it off for so long.

In a nutshell, Todd lives in a dystopian society in the future. After a virus struck, it killed off all the women and left the men vulnerable to each other's thoughts (i.e. all their deepest thoughts are broadcasted for all to hear). Todd thinks this is normal, until he stumbles across a blank in the Noise. After that, his whole world is turned upside down.

The story is told from Todd's point of view. It's written simply, mostly because Todd is illiterate and has a limited vocabulary. There aren't any grand and fancy descriptions like we see in most books these days. This makes it a lot easier to read. But don't get me wrong! Just because the words are simple and there aren't as many descriptions, Patrick Ness effectively tells a gripping story effortlessly. It's great!

Todd is only 12, so his decisions may not be as well thought out and sometimes bordering on the line of absolute stupidity. He starts off the book as a ignorant, young boy who is only looking forwards to his 13th birthday: the day he will become a man. He's still stubborn though. He won't admit that he needs help, and relies mostly on himself. He tries to ignore others when they till him that Prentisstown has been lying to him since he was born, but having your beliefs challenged does change you quite a lot. Encountering Viola and learning that everything he has been told was a lie, he becomes tougher and more closed off. I think he doesn't like to trust many people, especially since it took him so long to finally trust Viola, despite saving each other's lives over and over again.

Throughout the whole book, Todd struggles with thoughts of killing. His father Ben has given him a knife before he fled Prentisstown, and it has come in handy many times. However, whenever Todd is faced with danger, he follows his instincts and fights. But fighting is all that he does. When it comes to making the last move - the final blow - he never seems to be able to do it. He just can't kill. And it's kind of refreshing to see that. A YA book with a character who is incapable of killing others.

Todd and Viola are a good team - when they want to be. They both seem to be better working alone, but together they are unstoppable. I wouldn't call them best friends, more like friendly allies. They still are quite wary of each other, but are willing to help each other out if they need it. 

The ending though! We've been fooled for the majority of the book, and now what will happen to Todd? Viola? Everyone?! The last sentence has me hooked! I can't wait to start the next book!

My Chosen Quote

“Without a filter, a man is just chaos walking.”