Weave Posted January 22, 2010 Share Posted January 22, 2010 Title of Book: The Knife of Never Letting Go Name of Author: Patrick Ness ISBN-10: 1406320757 ISBN-13: 978-1406320756 Number of pages: 496 Synopsis ~ Imagine you're the only boy in a town of men. And you can hear everything they think. And they can hear everything you think. Imagine you don't fit in with their plans... Todd Hewitt is just one month away from the birthday that will make him a man. But his town has been keeping secrets from him. Secrets that are going to force him to run... ‘The Knife of Never Letting Go’ is the first book in the Chaos Walking series. The story begins with Todd Hewitt, a 12 year old boy who lives in Prentisstown which is part of the New World. Todd has grown up with the Noise, which means he can hear all the thoughts of the men in the town, there are no women left as they died following the release of germ (which caused the Noise) by ‘The Spackles’, a group of natives who died in the war which started because of the germ. Not only did the germ kill the women but it also made the animals talk. Todd is the last boy in Prentisstown, he will become a man on his thirteenth birthday until then he spends his time working on his farm with his guardians Ben and Cillian who raised him following the death of his mother and his talking dog, Manchee, who Todd particularly does not like but tolerates him. Prentisstown is dying and everyone awaits the day that Todd will become a man, especially Lucas, a religious man whose ideas are questioned but never spoken in open and all of the men have learned to hide their thoughts in Prentisstown because of Mayor Prentiss who controls Prentisstown, so much so, the town is named after him. What begins as an ordinary day for Todd becomes strange when he hears a void in the Noise, its quiet, so quiet in fact it makes him want to cry, the void is a girl called Viola, who can hear the Noise from Todd but Todd cannot hear Viola's thoughts. Todd day’s ends him with running away from his home with Viola and Manchee, being pursued by Mayor Prentiss, Aaron and men from town, Todd is told by Ben and Cillian he must go to Haven, he will be safe in Haven. Todd and Viola’s journey is full of danger and he finds out more and more about Prentisstown, the secrets that have been hidden for too long. I do not want to give too much away about the story, you must read it to appreciate it fully. The story is well written, the characters are raw and realistic, especially Todd who narrates the story, you see him growing up as the story progresses, he becomes a man in more ways than one which highlights how wrong everything is in Prentisstown. An interesting and intense read, I had some genuine ‘oh no’ moments because I did not know what would happen next, you want Todd and Viola to get Haven, there are so many hurdles on the way but they keep going. I personally feel that ‘The Knife of Never Letting Go’ is one of the best young adult books out there, a must read. Rating: 10/10 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fi. Posted January 22, 2010 Share Posted January 22, 2010 Great review Paula! It sounds really familiar to something I read a couple of years ago which - annoyingly - I can't remember the name of and can't find in my book journal but I've just reserved this at the library Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Weave Posted January 25, 2010 Author Share Posted January 25, 2010 Good stuff Fi, I hope you enjoy it Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Reader25 Posted February 24, 2010 Share Posted February 24, 2010 I finished reading it and I have to say its much better than I thought it would be.Great book sometimes i thought it was a littlle long winded but overall a really good book. Weave great review, helped me get excited about the book Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Weave Posted February 24, 2010 Author Share Posted February 24, 2010 I finished reading it and I have to say its much better than I thought it would be.Great book sometimes i thought it was a littlle long winded but overall a really good book. Weave great review, helped me get excited about the book Good stuff Reader, and thanks Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CornflowerBlue Posted May 29, 2010 Share Posted May 29, 2010 I loved this book! One of the best opening lines ever, and the character of Todd's dog Manchee has really stayed with me. I still imagine my dog looking at me, saying 'Good poo, Nona'. I think this is one of those books that suggests Philip Pullman's phrase is right - that some subjects are too big for anything but children's fiction. I have The Ask and the Answer in hardback, but just can't find time to read it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mia Posted May 30, 2010 Share Posted May 30, 2010 I loved this book! One of the best opening lines ever, and the character of Todd's dog Manchee has really stayed with me. I still imagine my dog looking at me, saying 'Good poo, Nona'. I have The Ask and the Answer in hardback, but just can't find time to read it. It's very good. And the third book is out at the beginning of October, so you'll have to have read it by then! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CornflowerBlue Posted May 30, 2010 Share Posted May 30, 2010 A friend of mine is a children's book buyer. She's read the third book and said it's superb. Where will I find the time!? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chesilbeach Posted May 30, 2010 Share Posted May 30, 2010 A friend of mine is a children's book buyer. She's read the third book and said it's superb. Where will I find the time!? Can she get me a job doing that? Sounds like heaven Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CornflowerBlue Posted May 30, 2010 Share Posted May 30, 2010 Me first!! I've made it very clear if she ever needs a reader, I'm free! As it is, she occasionally sends me proof copies (she works with my housemate), and I get recommendations a lot. She runs the Book Talk Groups company too, so she knows everything there is to know about children's books. She really does have an amazing job; Patrick Ness sent her a signed copy of the third book to thank her for all her hard work. I've done a lot of sessions with Lancashire Children's Librarians recently, I wonder if they knew I was getting a bit Gollum-y about their jobs? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mia Posted May 30, 2010 Share Posted May 30, 2010 A friend of mine is a children's book buyer. She's read the third book and said it's superb. Where will I find the time!? That sounds like a dream job! I don't know how you can find the time - perhaps you can try and give up unnecessary drains on your time such as working, cooking, sleeping... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CornflowerBlue Posted May 30, 2010 Share Posted May 30, 2010 No one will mind if I don't shower or do laundry for a few months, right? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mia Posted May 30, 2010 Share Posted May 30, 2010 Nah. Just so long as they stay upwind of you. Still, it's good to see you are getting your priorities right! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chesilbeach Posted January 11, 2011 Share Posted January 11, 2011 This book was excellent! I finished it yesterday and loved it. Here's my review: The story expands from starting with the small scale of the farm in Prentisstown, gradually revealing the wider landscape of New World and in parallel Todd's character expands as the experiences force him to develop from boy to man, and because of the first person narrative, the reader learns at the same time as Todd what all the secrets are, and begins to understand what has happened in this broken society. There is no doubt that violence, rage and corruption play a big part in making this story seem very real, but it is the possibilities of what might be at the end of the quest that keep it from spiralling into a nightmarish, dystopian tale, and give the reader a sense of hope and optimism rather than despair. The author has chosen to write Todd's speech and thoughts in dialect, so there is some unusual spelling and grammar used, but it is written very much as it would be spoken, so I never felt that it jarred or took me out of the story, more that it added to the feeling of authenticity. I don't want to say too much about the other characters because it might give away too much, too early, but the story and the characters affected me, and I don't mind admitting I shed a few tears at various points in the story, as I could feel the heartbreaking emotions that simple words on a page can evoke. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Weave Posted January 11, 2011 Author Share Posted January 11, 2011 This book was excellent! I finished it yesterday and loved it. Here's my review: The story expands from starting with the small scale of the farm in Prentisstown, gradually revealing the wider landscape of New World and in parallel Todd's character expands as the experiences force him to develop from boy to man, and because of the first person narrative, the reader learns at the same time as Todd what all the secrets are, and begins to understand what has happened in this broken society. There is no doubt that violence, rage and corruption play a big part in making this story seem very real, but it is the possibilities of what might be at the end of the quest that keep it from spiralling into a nightmarish, dystopian tale, and give the reader a sense of hope and optimism rather than despair. The author has chosen to write Todd's speech and thoughts in dialect, so there is some unusual spelling and grammar used, but it is written very much as it would be spoken, so I never felt that it jarred or took me out of the story, more that it added to the feeling of authenticity. I don't want to say too much about the other characters because it might give away too much, too early, but the story and the characters affected me, and I don't mind admitting I shed a few tears at various points in the story, as I could feel the heartbreaking emotions that simple words on a page can evoke. Great review Chesil, nicely done, I felt the same about Todd's speech, I found after awhile I got used to it, I loved Manchee too, what a lovely dog. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chesilbeach Posted January 16, 2011 Share Posted January 16, 2011 Thanks, Weave. I adored Manchee and sat sobbing over my Kindle both when I knew Aaron was going to kill him, and when Todd woke up and realises he's lost him. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
iguana Posted February 4, 2011 Share Posted February 4, 2011 Sounds interesting. Thanks for the review. I will get it now. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nursenblack Posted February 27, 2011 Share Posted February 27, 2011 I added this to my wishlist and am going to download it on my Kindle. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Weave Posted February 27, 2011 Author Share Posted February 27, 2011 Thanks, Weave. I adored Manchee and sat sobbing over my Kindle both when I knew Aaron was going to kill him, and when Todd woke up and realises he's lost him. I was the same Chesil, we both need hugs :hug: I added this to my wishlist and am going to download it on my Kindle. Its really good nursenblack, I am considering a re~read of the series Thanks for all of your comments everyone, I am sorry if I did not reply right away Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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