The Knife of Never Letting Go

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

Todd Hewitt lives in Prentisstown.   He is the only boy left in a town of men infected with a germ called, Noise, which allows everyone to hear your thoughts.  Todd goes for a walk and finds a place where he doesn’t here a thing, the quiet place.  Todd goes tells his foster parents about the place, They tell him that he has to leave Prentisstown with his faithful dog with the men in pursuit of him.  While trying to escape he runs into Viola, who is the soul survivor of a crash landing on the new world.  The two are trying to get away and face many obstacles along the way.   When they get to Haven they were surprised to find Mayor Prentiss from Prentisstown. The town is empty. At the end of the story Viola kills Aaron.  The book ends because this is the first book of a series.

 I would recommend this book to high school student.  I thought it was a highly exciting book to read, throughout the book I had to stop and reread because I was lost.  I thoroughly enjoyed the pervasive theme of survival all through the book.  I would recommend the follow-up books:  The Ask and the Answer as well as Monsters of Men.  After reading The knife of never letting go I had to read the other two books so I would know what happened to Todd and Viola.

Image of The knife of never letting go.(n.d.). Retrieved March 12, 2016, from http://www.amazon.com/