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The Knife of Never Letting Go (Chaos Walking, #1)

Patrick Ness

Start date: August 1, 2017

Finish date: August 30, 2017

Discussion: Monthly Group Reads

Why we're reading this: The diversity topic we are covering in August is Men & Masculinity.
The Knife of Never Letting Go (Chaos W…more
[close] The diversity topic we are covering in August is Men & Masculinity.
The Knife of Never Letting Go (Chaos Walking, #1) by Patrick Ness

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Aug 10, 2017 Candace rated it really liked it

In one months time twelve-year-old Todd Hewitt will become a man. He is the last boy in a town of men to reach manhood. There are no women because they were all killed off by the virus. That same virus allows the men to hear each other's thoughts, their "noise" so to speak. It also allows them to hear the animal voices as well.

When Todd comes across a patch of silence, he and his dog, Manchee, must check it out. What they discover is a girl named Viola Eade. Todd is forced to leave Prentisstown, In one months time twelve-year-old Todd Hewitt will become a man. He is the last boy in a town of men to reach manhood. There are no women because they were all killed off by the virus. That same virus allows the men to hear each other's thoughts, their "noise" so to speak. It also allows them to hear the animal voices as well.

When Todd comes across a patch of silence, he and his dog, Manchee, must check it out. What they discover is a girl named Viola Eade. Todd is forced to leave Prentisstown, the only town he has ever known exist, for another town beyond the swamp. On his way through the swamp Todd comes across Viola again. They team up against first Aaron, the preacher of Prentisstown, and next against the Prentisstown army pursuing them. Todd, Viola and Manchee run, run for their lives; run to survive.

Soon they'll discover that men lie, even in the depths of their noise. Not all secrets are revealed in men's thoughts. Nor do past or present truths reveal the full truth.

I struggled through most of this novel. The writing on the "noise" (thoughts of others) would give me a headache. I'm glad I kept reading. The book is well worth the struggle. The cliffhanger socker punched me. (I didn't know there was a second book at the time of my reading this YA novel.)

Todd and Viola were endearing characters. Throughout the journey, Todd is learning how to read Viola's silence. We witness the growing friendship through their struggles and disappointments. Through it all these characters learn how to hope.

Manchee, the dog, is a special character. Todd starts out not really wanting the dog to calling him a "ruddy good dog." Manchee's thoughts provide the humor in the story.

It takes a while for the plot to come to fruition. We learn the truth behind Prentisstown and the army's pursuit of Todd and Viola. We also learn why Aaron, the priest, is so persistent in his pursuit of the pair. (The man is a fanatic.) We learn why there really are no women in Prentisstown.

The world building is realistic. I believe one of the words used to describe this novel is dystopia. The others would be suspense and adventure. I recommend this book for those who like any or all of this type of story. There is adult language in this novel. ...more

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May 04, 2011 Rose rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Shelves: survival, action, favorites, adventure, sci-fi, suspense, thriller, dystopia, all-time-favorite-series

A few things to preface in this review before I share my thoughts. One - I rarely rate any book a full five stars, but Patrick Ness's "The Knife of Letting Go" had me up many a late night reading past my normal sleeping hours, and the tension kept rolling within every chapter of Todd Hewitt's journey from Prentisstown into the larger New World. Two - I understand fully that there may be people who may not like this book for a multitude of reasons (flawed hero, strong dialect, unrelentingly tragi A few things to preface in this review before I share my thoughts. One - I rarely rate any book a full five stars, but Patrick Ness's "The Knife of Letting Go" had me up many a late night reading past my normal sleeping hours, and the tension kept rolling within every chapter of Todd Hewitt's journey from Prentisstown into the larger New World. Two - I understand fully that there may be people who may not like this book for a multitude of reasons (flawed hero, strong dialect, unrelentingly tragic scenes and just being utterly depressing in points, cliffhanger ending, etc.), but I loved every moment of it.

Todd Hewitt is a 13-year-old boy who can't wait to become a man in the small settlement of Prentisstown. He's the only one in his town that has yet to become a man by the town standards, and he's counting down the days when he'll be finally able to make something of himself. He also has to contend with being able to read the thoughts of each of the people in town at a constant streaming level (what Todd calls "Noise").

It's only when Todd's out with his dog Manchee one day that he notices something strange - an area of quiet that is distinct from all the usual noise that Todd hears in Prentisstown. When he returns home to his family, that's when the rug gets pulled from under him. Not only is Todd sent away abruptly, he's running for his life from people he thought he knew, and learning things about the larger world around him that he never thought possible (and/or were otherwise lies told to him). "Knife of Never Letting Go" is as much a sci-fi/dystopic novel as it is action, adventure, journey, thriller, and survival story all rolled into one. Todd himself is a hero with a multitude of flaws - he can't read, he's impulsive, and he sometimes makes (utterly!) insufferable decisions when you'd think he'd know better, but so much happens to this kid that I can't help but feel sorry for him. And the action in this book doesn't pull punches (dog-lovers, you will likely cry reading this novel, but I won't say anything because I don't want to spoil the experience).

The language didn't bother me at all; I know there were some who probably mentioned this was a major turn off - not for me. I'm fine with the interplay of vulgar language with alternatives (some of it was for humor purposes, others the harsher language was used for emotional emphasis), and I'm also fine with the dialect, because its an intentional inclusion pertinent to the character voice.

Only two things about this novel somewhat bothered me in the reading of it - the true reveal/climax of the novel is a bit into the book, so you're not really sure what's going on until it pretty much hits you on the back of the head, and while it makes sense, there are some unanswered questions that make it less than complete. And well, the cliffhanger bugged me slightly, but it was a minor quibble in the mix of things. Overall, I thoroughly enjoyed this novel and I would give it a high recommendation, because I think it shows quite a bit of dimension and well-roundedness about the things we think we know, but utterly do not until we step forward into the world around us. Now where this might take Todd from here on out, I can't say yet, but I'm willing to find out.

Oh, and the audiobook version probably gave this book the extra edge for me. Wonderful performance by Nick Podehl.

Overall score: 4.5/5 ...more

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Mar 09, 2012 Jessica rated it it was amazing

Shelves: 2013, library, school, fiction, borrowed, ya

Wow. Let's see, I laughed, I cried, there was a moment when I yelled out "aaaaggghhh!", and I really enjoyed this book. Very authentic writing I thought - Manchee, the dog is such a fantastically written dog - he speaks just like I think a dog would. I definitely didn't want it to end. ...more

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Jun 21, 2014 Andrea Kemper rated it really liked it

WARNING: I threw this book across the room, but once my uncontrollable sobs had showed to silent tears, i picked it up once again.
This book had been described to me as "better than The Hunger Games;" however, I don't think that description is fair... to either book. Though I can see familiar themes, the story is so different, it truly is one of its own kind.
The Knife of Never Letting Go grips you from the first page and holds on--this is s must read! ...more

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