fantasy, young adult, action-suspense
Todd is about to age into manhood in a town on a new planet.
But he encounters something strange in the woods and, suddenly, his life is
endangered. His parents force him to flee without warning.
Amy's Review
WOW! What an incredibly off-putting, upsetting story from
the very first page. Todd’s world is immediately completely crazy fantasy, but
stunning and creative. You have to dive in and accept the premise that this
town of men can all hear each other’s thoughts and the thoughts of the animals! But you do
it so you can enjoy the ride. You learn basic facts about Todd’s world along
the way and the more hidden secrets too.
I really appreciated Patrick Ness' writing style and
misspellings given that Todd, the narrator, is a mostly uneducated 12 year
old. The Knife of Never Letting Go swept me away almost immediately. It’s funny, scary, sad, and
heartwarming. And the action and turmoil for the characters never gives up! It
was exhausting sometimes to read! It was intense, gritty, and meaningful. It
made me angry quite often too!
But the ending killed me. I know it’s the first in a trilogy
but I do not like series novels ending in cliffhangers. Thankfully, this
trilogy was written many years ago so I can read the next one as soon as it’s
available at the library. But I’m not sure that I want to go through the stress
of what is coming next for Todd. I can only hope that the “hope” sought after
in the novel is going to be found in this trilogy.
Lynnie's Review
I'm a fan of Patrick Ness having read two other books by him (A Monster Calls and More Than This) and I enjoyed most of this novel as well. The idea of having your thoughts broadcast to everyone around you is a fascinating part of this novel and I found myself thinking about that more than anything. What would it be like to live in a world in which you couldn't even keep your thoughts private?
The Knife of Never Letting Go is filled with non-stop action. I truly had a hard time putting it down.
I would have given it four stars if not for the awful cliffhanger ending. But I did like the story and the adventure and the idea.
fantasy, young adult, action/suspense
Picking up right where The Knife of Never Letting Go stopped, just as Todd and Viola's luck runs out in Haven, the story continues.
As I suspected, this novel was worrisome and
stress-inducing. It was, perhaps, even more upsetting and infuriating than the
first novel in the series. The cruelty and senselessness was terrible at times.
The dimming of Todd’s spirit was depressing. The manipulation and mental abuse
was horrible. This was all exactly as the author intended. But it was often
hard to read—especially before bed time. Therefore, it took me a long time to
get through it. I just didn’t want to go to sleep being so angry.
The new and old characters were just as great as in the
first novel and the situations were just as compelling. Definitely a brutal
story but intriguing at the same time.
There is one more novel in the trilogy. Again, I’ll need a little time
to recover before reading it.
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