English Q1 BM: JCruz Book review+ Creative Piece

The Knife of Never Letting Go 

“But a knife ain’t just a thing, is it? It’s a choice, it’s something you do. A knife say yes or no, cut or not, die or don’t. A knife takes a decision out of your hand and puts it in the world and it never goes back again.” -Patrick Ness, The Knife of Never Letting Go

The story starts in a town named Prentisstown, though it isn’t like other towns. The settlers of New World were infected with the noise germ. Their world became full of noise. Overwhelming noise of thoughts. Todd, our antagonist and his dog Manchee, whose thoughts Todd can also hear. It is a month before Todd’s birthday when he finds out that the town is hiding something, a secret. Because of this awful secret Todd and Manchee must run but that is nearly impossible with everyones thoughts and secrets floating around in the noise. How could you escape your pursuers when they can hear your thoughts? With Todd’s pursuers not far behind he runs into silence-- a girl. A girl who is silent, where was the girl from and why wasn’t she killed off by the germ like all the other women in the town Todd didn’t know. Todd must then run from the men from his town and Mr. Prentiss the leader of the town. Accompanied by his dog and a oddly silent girl, Todd has to unlearn everything he was lead to believe in order to find out who he truly is.

The reason I enjoyed this book was because of Patrick Ness. The book is beautifully written.  The Knife of Never Letting Go started off as a gift from a friend. After reading the first book of the Chaos Walking trilogy I couldn’t wait to move on to the next and read other writing by Ness. The Knife of Never Letting go is creative and powerful. Though I would say the writing is a bit funny, the writing at first seems quite dragged out and rambly but once you get past a few chapters the storyline draws you in. The book is filled with grammatical errors, Patrick Ness uses these errors as a way to convey the story in the protagonists point of view. The writing style gives the read flare.This book is not for those who won’t give the book some time to rope you in. I suggest the reader invest a little time in it and Ness is sure to draw you in. He hits you right in the gut with those feelings. Ness’s world where our protagonist residences is unique and intriguing. The book contains strong characters that keep you engaged. They give the plot a life, providing flavor and diversity. There is continuous dramatic and emotional twists and turns. There is minor vulgar language and gory violence, the other all theme is a bit complex for younger readers as well. In order to enjoy the books and all it’s aspects I’d recommend the reader be a teen or older. Otherwise a great read. The ending will have you running to the door to buy the second book of the Chaos Walking trilogy, The Ask and the Answer.

And so Patrick Ness’s Knife of Never Letting go is only one of the first installments to Ness’s incredible series. It’s also won some awards like the Booktrust Teenage Prize, Guardian Award and James Tiptree Award. The book is for those looking for a dynamic protagonist and evil, sinister antagonists. I’d also recommend reading Ness’s novel, A Monster Calls, after reading the Chaos trilogy of course! I believe that Patrick Ness needs more attention from book companies so i’d highly recommend the book for those mature enough. There are always good books sitting on bookshelves that have yet to be discovered Patrick Ness’s The Knife of Never Letting Go is just that type of book. 

Book Info:

Title: The Knife of Never Letting Go

Author: Patrick Ness

Publisher: Walker Books

Date of Publication: 5 May 2008

Number of Pages: 479

Genre: Teen, Fiction Novel