The Knife of Never Letting Go by Patrick Ness

I always find it the most difficult to write reviews of books I loved; with awful books, I find it easy to rant why I disliked it, and put my feelings on finishing it into words, but with amazing books I never know what to put to be able to recommend so others have the chance to enjoy it as much as I did. This is the problem I have writing a review for The Knife of Never Letting Go, the first in the Chaos Walking trilogy.

Twelve-year-old Todd is going to be a man in just a month. He is the youngest boy in his town, and the only one who isn’t yet a man, thanks to the war that wiped out all of the women and half of the men in Prentisstown when he was a mere baby. One day whilst out walking with his dog, Manchee, Todd comes across a patch of silence, which, when you live in Prentisstown where everyone can hear everyone else’s thoughts is a very dangerous thing; it’s time for Todd to run…

The Knife of Never Letting go was very original and gripping, with a tight plot and fast pace, and lots of wonderful twists I never anticipated. I loved all of the characters, especially Manchee the dog and Viola, although I was annoyed because we didn’t get an explanation as to why she refused to talk at first.

The intentionally incorrect spelling and grammar, like tho and yer, severely irked the grammar Nazi in me, and almost caused me to put the book down, but I am SO glad I gritted my teeth and preserved as it does eventually add to its charm, and I would have missed out on this wonderful story. It takes a while to get into and to get used to Todd’s dystopian world, but when you do, it’s impossible to put down.  I have to warn you that there are a number of gory, brutal and violent moments that I can imagine the faint-hearted reader would not like. I can very highly recommend it, and can’t wait to get stuck into the sequel The Ask and The Answer. 

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[SYNOPSIS: Prentisstown isn't like other towns. Everyone can hear everyone else's thoughts in an overwhelming, never-ending stream of Noise. Just a month away from the birthday that will make him a man, Todd and his dog, Manchee -- whose thoughts Todd can hear too, whether he wants to or not -- stumble upon an area of complete silence. They find that in a town where privacy is impossible, something terrible has been hidden -- a secret so awful that Todd and Manchee must run for their lives. 

But how do you escape when your pursuers can hear your every thought?]