The Knife of Never Letting Go by Patrick Ness

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Stars: ****1/2

I was sent this book for review. It will not count for most of my challenges because I started it in 08 and finished it in 09.

Summary: Todd Hewitt is the last boy in Prentisstown. But Prentisstown isn’t like other towns. Everyone can hear everyone else’s thoughts in a constant, overwhelming, never-ending Noise. There is no privacy. There are no secrets. Or are there? Just one month away from the birthday that will make him a man, Todd unexpectedly stumbles upon a spot of complete silence. Which is impossible. Prentisstown has been lying to him. And now he’s going to have to run…

This book was AWESOME. So why didn’t it get a 5 star review? I wasn’t impressed at first although I love the first line:

“The first thing you find out when yer dog learns to talk is that dogs don’t got nothing much to say.”

There were a few things that bothered me:

– the boy beats his dog!
– the people use hitting to punish too
– words are spelled wrong on purpose.

About that last one. As you can see in the first line quoted above, the book is written as if a boy of that age were talking, especially one who hasn’t had much schooling. That is fine with me. However what is the purpose of spelling words wrong like cemetery is sematary and creatures is creachers. They are pronounced pretty much the same so it doesn’t show that he doesn’t speak quite right and if it’s supposed to be that he can’t spell well either, that doesn’t make sense because he can barely read, let alone write. So any writing of his would be a million times worse.

However, despite these things, the book was really interesting. A storyline I have never heard before for sure. I read the first 192 pages in one sitting and only put it down because I couldn’t stay awake any longer. The next day I read the rest of the pages (479 in total) with barely any breaks in between. Where possible I read while doing other things (cooking, eating, bathroom, helping children, everything.)

This book takes place in the future so it’s Futuristic Science Fiction. This is not a genre I normally read which is odd I guess since the few Sci-Fi books I’ve read I’ve loved. Hmm.

The characters are all well made I think. I was never shocked at something a character did after being introduced to them, everything they do fits with their character.

My only other qualm with this book is that it’s the first in a series entitled Chaos Walking and the end is a CLIFFHANGER! I hate having to wait for the next book which is why I don’t often read series’.

Other’s Reviews

Librarilly Blonde
The Well-Read Child
The Page Flipper

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About Kathleen

I've been a nonfiction lover for as long as I can remember. I love children's nonfiction as well and love to share my knowledge and the books I gained them from, with the world. I wish more people would give nonfiction a chance.