Goodreads Mobile | see what your friends are reading

Jan 24, 2012

The Holy Terror rated it:

Things that didn't bother me:

The grammar and misspellings - normally this would bother me, but I quickly got used to it, so I don't fault him there.

The swearing - you will notice from my status updates that I don't mind a well-placed curse.

The violence - I play violent video games, watch violent movies, and I don't mind violence in books when it makes sense.

The cliffhanger - maybe if I didn't have a copy of the second book on hold at the library I More...

48 comments like (27 people liked it)

Mar 24, 2011

Nancy rated it:

Young Todd Hewitt is on the verge of manhood and living in Prentisstown, a world without women and where the thoughts of men and “creachers” can be heard. Todd’s dad died of illness and his ma was the “last of the women”, according to Ben, one of two men who are raising him. Todd likes to go to the swamp to collect apples, because it is the only place where he can get a break from men’s “Noise” – their secrets, their thoughts, their memories. While out on a walk with his talking dog, Manchee, More...

30 comments like (39 people liked it)

Jan 19, 2012

Rachel rated it:

Boy oh boy. I can't remember the last time I felt so simultaneously positive and negative about a book. Hence the three stars, averaging everything out.

(Just realized that I reviewed this at my blog but not here. Here's the cut-n-paste)

This review will, by necessity, have lots of spoilers, because the things I liked (and disliked) are very specific. Insofar as I can give you something spoiler-free, here goes: I love the concept; the world is unique and well-realized; t More...

18 comments like (18 people liked it)

Feb 14, 2011

Joyzi rated it:

Complete, Edited and without effing Spoilers!

Caution: This book is not for sensitive and fainthearted readers. The book contains murder, misogyny, gore, violence against children, children doing brutal things and foul language. Seriously IMO this fits more to adult readers, it was just so sick and disturbing that a part of me believed that this probably should not be in the YA category (or maybe that’s just me). 16 years old and plus will do (I copy the same censorship of Elfen Lied More...

52 comments like (45 people liked it)

Dec 03, 2011

Misty rated it:

I am a big fan of dystopic & post-apocalyptic fiction, and The Knife of Never Letting Go is one of the most compelling pieces of dystopia I have read in awhile.

Todd Hewitt is the last boy in Prentisstown. His birthday is coming, when he will take his place among the men of his community: a community of only men, where each can hear the others thoughts. The inhabitants of Prentisstown -- man and beast alike -- are afflicted with Noise: a continual stream of thoughts and images fro More...

4 comments like (17 people liked it)

Jun 17, 2011

K.D. rated it:

What I find original in this novel is the concept of people hearing other people's (or even animals') thoughts. Not sure if it is indeed original as I am not really a big fan of science fiction or dystopian novels. I also liked the fast-paced engaging plot and the simple innovative storytelling style: first person narration of a 12-y/o boy who is not formally educated thus inventing his own words and spelling. His innocence is adorable and his vulnerability makes me want to go to his world and s More...

22 comments like (16 people liked it)

Sep 17, 2008

Tasha rated it:

On the shortlist for both the Booktrust and Guardian Children's Fiction awards, this book will not disappoint.

Todd Hewitt is the last boy in his town. The youngest in a community of only men, he has only a few weeks before he too becomes a man. Todd can't escape the Noise of his town, where everyone can read everyone else's thoughts, literally. There are horrible things in men's minds, things that boys should not be exposed to, but Todd has to face them every day of his life.
More...

1 comment like (17 people liked it)

Jan 14, 2012

Jo rated it:

Initial Final Page Thoughts.
OMFG. Proceeded by a scramble to buy the next book. I think this book had a more intense cliff hanger than The Italian Job.

High Point.
This could also be a low point… but I’m going to class it as a high point, for I have found a series that grabbed me as much (maybe more… WOAH) as The Hunger Games. And yes, I may become a hermit and forget to eat while I read these books, but that’s a risk I’m willing to take. Manchee! I LOVE the writing More...

2 comments like (10 people liked it)

Jan 11, 2011

Rollie rated it:

What if you’re in another world; another planet? What if you haven’t seen a woman before? What if you hear people’s thought; what if animals’ too? What if you’re living with aliens? What if…what if… your dog talks?

Harry James Potter the boy who lived.

Katniss Everdeen the girl on fire.

And finally: Todd Hewitt the boy who can’t kill?

Well, I was hesitant to buy this book actually, for despite of the reason why I really wanted to read this book because More...

40 comments like (20 people liked it)

Dec 02, 2011

Stacia ~ platonic rated it:

Goodness. Talk about conflicted feelings. I really wanted to love this book as much as so many others have, but I just couldn't. I'm very much an emotional reader and this book failed to incite any emotion in me until close to the end. It felt so mechanical in places, almost as if I was going through the motions and skimming just to get to a point where things would pick up.

BUT...and this is a big BUT here. I very much enjoyed the last 100 or so pages. The turning point for me w More...

15 comments like (6 people liked it)

Feb 25, 2011

Amelia, the pragmatic idealist rated it:

Pure and simple, The Knife of Never Letting Go is EVERYTHING The Hunger Games could have been. It had a dystopian/post-apocalyptic world that was original, exciting, but not ridiculous. This is a world that ACTUALLY is terrifying in a way that HG really isn't. And it has a main character you can actually care about, relate to, feel for, and root for. A character who isn't an emotionally-challenged doormat. And no love triangle. Pure and simple, this is *the* dystopian book to read and love. More...

23 comments like (16 people liked it)

Nov 15, 2011

Emilie rated it:

co winner (with Filter House by Nisi Shawl) of the 2008 Tiptree award for science fiction and fantasy that explores our understanding of gender in a thought-provoking and imaginative way.

Patrick Ness writes that part of the inspiration for this story was thinking about the current state of information saturation. he started wondering what if you really literally couldn’t get away from all the information coming from everyone else. and then he wondered how you would keep hold of your More...

4 comments like (9 people liked it)

Jul 16, 2010

Amanda rated it:

In a world where we're bombarded with technology, our senses are often overwhelmed by the amount of noise in the world and it's becoming increasingly difficult to find true quiet anymore (especially since most of us just plug into our computer or iPod as soon as it is quiet). A constant stream of noise and images feed us information, prod us toward rampant consumerism, and entertain us. I've become increasingly aware that many of my students seem uncomfortable with simple quiet--always wanting More...

2 comments like (15 people liked it)

Mar 31, 2011

Emily rated it:

I'm always hesitant when it comes to reading books categorised as for 'children', but this is one of those books that is so important, clever and gripping it does not deserve to be limited by calling it merely a 'children's' book.

I'm finding it difficult to put into words just how much I loved this novel, I could not put it down. It makes you think, makes you laugh, makes you cry... this really is a literary triumph. It should be compulsory reading for everyone.

It tells t More...

0 comments like (14 people liked it)

Sep 01, 2010

Mark rated it:

As I plowed through the last 100 pages of this book or so, I was left with the same comment over and over in my head. "Dude, you should be enjoying this book more." I should. The voice is phenomenal and there is plenty of action to keep my boyish brain satisfied. But I have so many things that just aren't sitting well and the book ended! Please comment. Are my complaints justified? Did I miss something?

Spoiler Alert!

"The Knife of Never Letting Go" begi More...

6 comments like (9 people liked it)

Mar 22, 2010

Tatiana rated it:

I've never heard of Patrick Ness or "Chaos Walking" trilogy before. Luckily for me, "The Knife of Letting Go" was a November pick of one of my YA book groups.

"The Knife of Never Letting Go" is one of those "boy" books - there is a lot of action, there is a chase, a lot of mystery and very little sappy romance. The dystopian/sci-fi setting is exciting - an alien planet where people can hear each others thoughts. The protagonist - Todd - is a 12 More...

6 comments like (16 people liked it)

Jun 24, 2008

Monica rated it:

After reading a review of this book I requested an ARC from the publisher. I casually started reading it and then was unable to stop till I was done. Boy oh boy; it is one hell of a read.

The Knife of Never Letting Go is a dystopic novel involving settlers who created a New World because they wanted a simpler life (a la those Mayflower passengers of our yore). According to Todd, the last boy of the settlement of Prentisstown, years earlier an illness resulted in all males being able More...

3 comments like (9 people liked it)

Aug 20, 2011

Catie rated it:

I am totally drained after reading this book. The story is very original and by the end of this ordeal I felt like I knew the characters. They became real to me. The writing is fast paced and there's an interesting use of different fonts through out to express the constant "Noise" that Todd has to deal with. The one criticism I have is that the "lull the reader into a sense of comfort and then punch her in the face with shocking information" was used so regularly that it More...

2 comments like (8 people liked it)

Dec 28, 2010

Iyah rated it:

Note:I got this book as a gift from Sir KD-our group moderator-during the Christmas meet up of our group, held last December 18'2010.

Thanks Kuya!!!

I didn't mention the synopsis of the book for this review. So you might wanna read the book description and synopsis before reading this.

***spoiler alert***

If you haven't read the book, then don't read this review.

Don't say I didn't warn you!

Well I'm making this review the Todd H More...

25 comments like (9 people liked it)

Nov 09, 2010

Monique rated it:

If this book represents the relatively-new (to me) genre called 'dystopia', then I guess 'dystopia' is just not for me.

I didn't get it. I simply didn't.

Majority of the time, I felt agitated and stressed out (and that says a lot because you should feel relaxed if you're engaged in a good read... right?). I didn't like the way the story progressed (which is basically just the protagonists running and hiding, albeit impossibly, and then running again and hiding from an arm More...

40 comments like (11 people liked it)

Feb 07, 2012

Lauren rated it:

The main character in this book is Todd Hewitt, a twelve-year-old boy from a small town called Prentisstown. This town is somewhere on this planet called New World, where everyone can hear each other's thoughts. The people call this 'the Noise'. Just one month away from the birthday that will make him a man, Todd and his dog Manchee unexpectedly stumble upon a spot of complete silence. Which is impossible, because there is always this constant, overwhelming, never-ending Noise, everywhere he goe More...

0 comments like (2 people liked it)

Oct 19, 2008

Becky rated it:

Ness, Patrick. 2008. The Knife Of Never Letting Go.

The first thing you find out when yer dog learns to talk is that dogs don't got nothing much to say. About anything.

This book perhaps has one of the best first lines I've encountered recently. Unfortunately, at least as I see it, it only went downhill from there. Okay, that was NOT at all fair. I'll try to explain.

Todd Hewitt is our narrator. He is a boy on the verge of becoming a man. Except that he's no ordi More...

4 comments like (8 people liked it)

Nov 22, 2008

Cindy rated it:

I can't believe I have to wait for a sequel. Fortunately, in the meantime, I can look forward to Brilliance's audio version. I can't wait to see what they do with the NOISE of the men. It should make for a very interesting recording. I think Todd should hook up with the heroine of Cashore's GRACELING. Both of them have an ability to continue trekking through awful conditions on no sleep and with no food or supplies. I'd be dead by page 43 if I were either of them. Just hooked up my electric blan More...

0 comments like (6 people liked it)

May 04, 2011

Lynai rated it:

I just have to start up my computer in this wee hour of the morning (2:15am) so that I can give the 5 stars! I'm still reeling from the "shock" of too much twists and turns, surprises and action, I cannot be coherent enough to write a decent review.

BREATHE.

But why oh why, Mr. Ness, do you have to do that to Manchee??? Nooo!

SOB.
********** REVIEW UPDATE**********
One word I can describe this book: TENSE. Yes, it’s so tense I cannot recommen More...

17 comments like (11 people liked it)

Oct 20, 2011

Lisa rated it:

“But a knife ain't just a thing, is it? It's a choice, it's something you do. A knife says 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. ”

I didn't know if I wanted to give this 3, 3 and a half or 4 stars. So I decided to just be nice and give it 4 stars.

It really only gets 4 stars because of Manchee. Manchee, the talking dog who has stolen the heart of everyone who has read this(unle More...

0 comments like (2 people liked it)

Nov 16, 2009

Heather rated it:

The Knife of Never Letting Go demonstrates my qualms with male authors perfectly. The story as a whole was a good one, and rather suspenseful to boot, but as is usually is the case with books written by male authors, the characters never became alive for me.

The story is narrated by Todd who is Twelve years and thirteen months old. On the cusp of being a man, and yet still spurned as he is technically a boy, Todd is forced to spend time with his only companion, his dog, Manchee. What More...

6 comments like (4 people liked it)

Aug 19, 2011

~Tina~ rated it:

I'm not sure how I feel about this book. On one hand I'm very much impressed how uniquely written this concept is. And on the other hand, much likes it's title, it's rather...odd.
I don't think that's a bad thing, but I'm not sure if it's a me thing.
Still, anyone looking for a different read in high fantasy and sc-fi should look to The Knife of Never Letting Go. It definitely stands out.

7 comments like (5 people liked it)

Nov 06, 2008

Tamora rated it:

Very dark. It was only when I was a third of the way in that I learned that Todd's town and culture were science fiction, not just repressive religious. He is ordered by his fathers (there are no women in his town, and he is the last boy) to escape with his dog Manchee. One by one, all the things he has been taught--about the fate of the women, of the aliens who orginally populated the world, about the other colonists--are false. He is further helped/burdened by the legacy of the colony plan More...

6 comments like (7 people liked it)

May 10, 2011

Mette rated it:

I'll write my review tomorrow. Right now, I'm just out of words. This book is too amazing! Haha.

Oops! Just forgot writing my review. Heeeere it is:

Okay, here it is:
Reading the first few pages, I just had to crease my forhead, because the writing-style and language was so weird. But it didn't take me long to get used to it, and I think the unique writing-style is part of what makes the book so good. It just dragged me even more into the story, and it didn't annoy More...

1 comment like (2 people liked it)

Jan 21, 2011

Dana rated it:

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here

4 comments like (1 person liked it)

reviews