The Knife of Never Letting Go
Book - 2008
9780763639310
0763639311
9781480660342
YAFICTION Ness


Opinion
From Library Staff

Because you liked "Fahrenheit 451"
Emotional roller coaster. An incredible audiobook too.
Pursued by power-hungry Prentiss and mad minister Aaron, young Todd and Viola set out across New World searching for answers about his colony's true past and seeking a way to warn the ship bringing hopeful settlers from Old World.
From the critics

Community Activity
Age
Add Age Suitabilityburgundy_llama_13 thinks this title is suitable for 12 years and over
JihadiConservative thinks this title is suitable for 14 years and over
Notices
Add NoticesSummary
Add a SummaryTodd Hewitt is the only boy in a town of men. Ever since the settlers were infected with the Noise germ, Todd can hear everything the men think, and they hear everything he thinks. Todd is just a month away from becoming a man, but in the midst of the cacophony, he knows that the town is hiding something from him -- something so awful Todd is forced to flee with only his dog, whose simple, loyal voice he hears too. With hostile men from the town in pursuit, the two stumble upon a strange and eerily silent creature: a girl.
Todd hears silence in a world of noise. This silence drives forward a quest to outrun his town, outwit a murderer, and reach a destination of Hope.
Todd lives in a town where there are no women, and men hear each other's thoughts all the time. As far as Todd can remember, it's just the way things are. One day, though, Todd finds someone in the forest -- a girl. More incredible, the girl has come from space; the advance scout from a colony ship. And, most incredibly, Todd can't hear her thoughts at all. When the men from Todd's town learn about the girl, terrible secrets are revealed -- and they have to run for their lives through a world larger and more dangerous than Todd ever imagined.
Quotes
Add a QuoteBut a knife ain't just a thing, is it? It's a choice, it's something you do.

Comment
Add a CommentHey, question to someone who's already read the book.
I just read a couple pages in and had to stop on this sentence. "There's lot's of life here, loads of it, just ignoring the town as you please, birds and green snakes and frogs and kivits and both kinds of squirrel and (I promise you) even a cassor or two and sure there's red snakes to watch out for but even tho it's dark, there's slashes of light that come down from holes in the roof, and if you ask me, which you may not be, I grant you that, to me the swamp's like one big, comfy, not very Noisy room."
Wow. And so many other sentences like that besides. It has such poor vocabulary and sentence structure that I'm not sure I will read any more. I understand that it's a writing style of a teenage boy's thoughts but... man. Does it get any easier to read? Is the plot good enough for me to keep reading? The book seems pretty juvenile so I need some positive affirmation that it's worth reading.
Such an amazing book! I read it for school, but then loved it so much I read it twice more!! One of the best books I ever read. Definitely recommend it! 😊
Loved this book!!!!
Definitely one of my most favorite book series!
If you are reading this.... READ THIS BOOK!
The knife of never letting go is a book that kept me hooked. This book is set in a dystopian world where there are only men. What makes this book so unique? Well people in this world can hear each other’s thoughts. I found this to be a very original concept because most YA novels follow the same theme but this one stands out. I read this book and I loved the concept it was really an amazing concept and it is definitely going to keep you hooked until the very end but I think it isn’t a book for me. I think you should read this book if you like a dystopian novel that talks about masculinity and the loss of childhood innocence. If you don’t think you would be interested still give it a try because the book is beautifully written and it’s worth reading. In the future I will try to re-read it again and hopefully I can enjoy it more! @Bookreader14 of the Teen Review Board at the Hamilton Public Library
As a child you may have fantasized about how fun it would be if you knew what others were thinking. In Todd Hewitt's small town, which strangely consists only of men, everyone can hear the thoughts of everyone else -- this omnipresent Noise is often overwhelming and occasionally maddening. At age thirteen, just days before he will officially become a man, Todd's life is thrown into upheaval when he "hears" an area of silence while out exploring the nearby swamp and is unable to conceal his fateful discovery.
This is a fast-paced survival story with some unique plot elements, which I would definitely recommend for teens interested in dystopian survival. Myself, I wanted to like it more than I actually did, so I probably won't continue the series.
This was so good. Another YA title that really is for everyone, even (and especially) for adults who mock YA. I'm beginning to think there isn't anything Patrick Ness can't do in his writing. Not only was this devastatingly good, but it contains the shortest, most heartbreaking sentence in English literature:
"Todd?"
You have to read The Knife of Never Letting Go to find out why that sentence will make you cry buckets.
book 1
This book gave my physical chills, shakes and sweats. I burst into tears over my lunch at Noodles and Company because I read about the death of a character and I couldn't control myself.
I immediately got the second book because that cliff hanger was A GATHERING OF SHADOWS level of bad. It was intense and dreadful and crazy. But here's the thing: you have to get used to it. The language, the world, the voice. It's kind of a mixed bag, with a slow start. It took about halfway through for me to really not want to put it down.
So it's not perfect but damn, it was good.
LOVE! One of the best books I have read so far. Lots of surprises , exciting from start to finish. Starting book #2.. I hope it is just as good !
About to read this book but I know it's going to be amazing (spiderman) because Tom Holland is playing the character Todd. And everything that he is in is always AMAZING(spiderman). #I<3ToddHewitt