The Knife of Never Letting Go

by Patrick Ness


Todd Hewitt is the youngest boy in Prentisstown, in fact he’s the only boy in Prentisstown, where boys become men on their thirteenth birthday. The town is dying. There are no women in Prestisstown. And there are a few other strange things about the place. Men’s thoughts can be heard by others. So can dogs’ and squirrels’ and any other creature. Soon before his thirteenth birthday, Todd finds a hole in the noise and everything about his world will be changed because of it. Fearing for his safety, Todd’s guardians, Ben and Cillian, send Todd and his dog, Manchee, away from Prentisstown and set him on a journey to find safety.  Along the way, Todd discovers that the world is not at all as he had been told and the prospect for the future is grim. 

I liked nearly everything about this book. I loved the characters and their distinctly different voices and how their voices came through loud and clear throughout the book.  The plot moves quickly, mixing suspense with all kinds of conflict throughout the novel. I couldn’t put it down. I felt such a stake in the book that at the end of Part V when something happens in the story that made me really angry, I almost had to walk away from it.  I objected to that. I’m still a little mad about it.  Even so, I highly recommend the book.