Ness, P. (2008). The knife of never letting go. Boston,
MA: Candlewick Press
The book setting begins in a small community of Presntisstown
where everyone can hear everyone else’s thoughts. The main character is a 12-year-old
boy, Todd Hewitt who is about to turn 13 and become a man. His parents are dead,
and he lives with his caretakers Ben and Cillian, and his dog, Manchee. In Presntisstown there are no women. Quickly
at the beginning of the book the reader can immediately tell that Todd is not a
very educated boy due to the grammar mistakes in his dialogue. Todd is excited
to turn 13 and he is also the last child in Presntisstown. Things quickly change
when he is forces to flee the town after uncovering something shocking. While
he is running for freedom and his life, he soon realizes that Prentisstown is
far from the place he thought it was.
So right from the start as the reader is was difficult
for me to attach to Todd as the main character due to his undereducation and
the style the book was written in. I am not a very big fan of science fiction
young adult literature as I am the realistic fiction due to the fact the
science fiction books don’t make sense to the logical side of me. Also, its
hard for me to have emotional ties to the characters in the books. Sadly, the
same was true for The Knife of Never
Letting Go. It is a dark, fast-paced story about a boy who has grown up in
an unkind world. He is struggling morally and intelligently to survive in this
world. I would recommend this book to young adults since this genre of dystopia
mixed with science fiction is popular. I whole heartily believe in free choice
in reading. Students should be reading books that they enjoy simply for the enjoyment
of reading. This is the first book in a
series of books it is a trilogy. The second book is The Ask and the third and final book is The Answer Below I have linked Patrick Ness website below.
Grade Level Recommendation: 9-12th
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