Synopsis: Imagine you’re the only boy in a town of men. And you can hear everything they think. And they can hear everything you think. Imagine you don’t fit in with their plans… Todd Hewitt is just one month away from the birthday that will make him a man. But his town has been keeping secrets from him. Secrets that are going to force him to run… The new edition of this unflinching novel about fear, flight and the terrifying path of self-discovery features the short story, The New World. Set before the events of The Knife of Never Letting Go, it is the story of Viola’s dramatic journey to the New World.
Title: The Knife of Never Letting Go
Author: Patrick Ness
Publisher: Walker Books
Pub Date: 2nd May 2013
Pages: 528
ISBN: 9781406344462
This month has not been a good reading month from me (as you can tell by the lack of reviews!). I’ve been in a huge reading slump and just haven’t been inspired to stick with any books. I resorted to reading The Knife of Never Letting Go, as it’s a children’s book (which normally kicks me out of my slumps) and it’s been highly recommended by at least 3 people.
I started reading last night at 8pm…. I finished at 1.30am this morning. I think that pretty much says it all, really.
The story is definitely not what I expected; If I’m honest, I’m not actually quite sure what I expected – but generally a children’s book makes for light (or lighter) reading and there’s always a happy ending. But this? I haven’t read a book this dark since Angelfall by Susan EE – Ness actually makes Angelfall look like a walk in the park!
With an original and terrifying concept; Ness keeps you on your toes the entire way through. I started reading last night with the intention of reading a few chapters before getting an early night. Each time I got to the end of a chapter, I convinced myself I’d read ‘just one more’. I honestly believe that, had I had the second and third book with me, I would have continued through the night till I got to the end of the series.
So why not 5 stars? Well, I’m sleep deprived and grumpy at work and I blame the book. There is another major reason but to avoid a spoiler, I will only say… Manchee!
A fast-paced, completely addictive start to what I can only imagine is an incredible trilogy. I’ve got the next two books to read this weekend and I think it’s safe to say I’ll have no sleep or social life till I finish.
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