Totally up my alley! This was a thick book for young adults, but I managed to read it in just a couple of days! I was hooked and can’t wait to read the next book in the series.

The Knife of Never Letting Go is the first book in a series called Chaos Walking. It’s from the point of view of a twelve year old boy named Todd Hewitt. He will be thirteen in a month and once he turns thirteen he will be considered a “an” by his town, Prentisstown. The setting is odd though. At first when I was reading, he talks about the history of his town and how they are settlers in the New World. With this, I assumed maybe it was like they came from one part of the globe to a new part that was unsettled, however, that’s not the case at all. Come to find out, they landed in ships, like spaceships, and are literally on a new planet. On this planet the population was made up of creatures called Spackles. They ended up going to war with these creatures because they (humans) told everyone that the Spackle gave them the Noise germ. Everyone can hear everyone else’s thoughts! Even the animals! And all the women died from the disease. BUT, there is a catch…and when Todd discovers a silent spot in the noise, his guardians, Ben and Cillian, send him and his dog Manchee out of their town and out to find the truth. The truth is twisted and sad. He meets a girl, Viola on the way, and discovers her silence; he can’t hear her thoughts! It’s a journey for truth and full of hope.

I laughed at Todd’s naivety and at Manchee’s emptiness in his head, I was intrigued when Viola comes along and knew she was a key piece, I was curious as to why the towns men were after Todd, and I cried when something tragic happens to his dog…I couldn’t put this book down! And the ending leaves you completely hanging! So I will absolutely have to read the next!

Click on the image to visit the author’s Amazon page to find more books written by Ness.

Ness, Patrick (2008). The knife of never letting go. Boston, MA: Candlewick Press.