Review: The knife of never letting go

The knife of never letting go: Chaos walking, book 1 by Patrick Ness

Todd Hewitt is the youngest boy in Prentisstown, where all the women died of a virus shortly after he was born, and the virus caused all the men and boys to hear each other's thoughts and the thoughts of animals as well. Todd is a month away from turning 13 and becoming a man, when one day he "hears" silence in the swamp when he's gathering apples. It turns out the silence is a girl, Viola - the first one he's ever seen.

When the other members of the town hear about Todd's encounter with silence, his caregivers tell him to run away. Todd doesn't understand but he and his dog Manchee go and take Viola with them.

Off they run, beyond the limits of the town to where Todd has never been and he believes nothing - and nobody - else is out there. Turns out that is the least of the lies he has been told: not only are there other towns, but there are women who are alive. With crazy Prentisstown preacher Aaron and an army of Prentisstown men on their tail, Todd, Viola and Manchee set out to make it to the city Haven while they still can.

The knife of never letting go was a fast read. Even though it is almost 500 pages long I whipped through it in 2 days, staying up late to finish it. But wow, is it ever dark! It even seems to me that it's darker than The Hunger Games, but perhaps that was because, apart from Todd's dog Manchee ("Poo. Poo, Todd."), there was not much lightness or humour in the book. I did find it amusing that the only thing sheep think is "sheep!", though. Heh.

This is not a book for the faint of heart. It is a testament to Ness's abilities that the story could wrench my heart so acutely, because it really did some serious wrenching. One scene made me gasp aloud and put the book down for a moment to regain my composure. As awful and painful as this book can be, it is masterfully done, and Todd is a wonderful and compelling character.

This is the first book in a trilogy and it ends on a huge cliffhanger. The second book is out in the fall, so if you find cliffhangers frustrating then you'll want to wait to read it. Otherwise, I highly recommend it.

4.5 stars out of 5 for The knife of never letting go: Chaos walking, book 1.

The knife of never letting go won the Guardian Children's Book Prize in the United Kingdom.