The Knife Of Never Letting Go by Patrick Ness

The Knife Of Never Letting Go by Patrick Ness.

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?

MY REVIEW:

To say that I loved the characters of this novel would be a HUGE understatement. I felt so connected to the characters of this novel. They were so realistic and I felt as if I was with them every step of their journey.

Todd hates the noise and you feel his disgust towards the noise.  He was a very realistic character, reacting as a normal person in his situation would be expected to react. He, very much like a typical boy, doesn't like to ask for help from others. His emotions were very vivid, his curiosity, anger, fear were all very realistic and vivid. He also shows his soft side towards Viola. His character development was really well written as the reader develops such a connection to him in the novel. I loved his relationship with Viola and felt that they added some great romantic conflict to the novel.

Viola was a character I really liked. She was sometimes stubborn and snarky, but I really enjoyed her character. I really liked seeing the soft side to her shining through in her relationship with Todd.

Manchee. He was adorable and totally a bad-ass pup. He was so protective of Todd and Viola and he was so caring and loving. I also enjoyed the idea of a talking dog as I think everyone sometimes wish to know what their pets are thinking about...or is that just me ?

The villains of this novel were just awesomely evil! Mayor Prentiss was really intimidating and evil. He was quite scary as the threat of him was evident throughout the novel. I thought it was quite frightening the idea of the town turning against Todd so suddenly also. 

The plot was super fast paced. To say that this book was gripping is an understatement. I was glued to the pages of this novel until I had finished. An aspect I enjoyed of the novel was the cliffhanger style chapters, where at the end of every chapter there was something exciting that made you want to continue reading ! The plot was action packed and very intriguing as the concept of a town without women and the voicing of with other peoples thoughts in your head was very interesting. I've never read a book similar to this, and I do mean this in a good way.
The writing style of this book was very different. If you have read this book, you'll know what I mean. If you haven't read this book and you're thinking of reading it, then definitely before you buy it or get it out of your library- read the first couple pages because some people are put off by this writing style. The writing style was very unique, I had definitely never read anything like this before. The dialogue was fresh and really helped us connect to the characters. The writing style really helped the book feel more authentic and definitely added to the world building and the characters. It did take some getting used to but, for me, it enhanced the book and pulled me into the story. Overall, a must read for fans of the dystopian, post-apocalyptic genre.

OVERALL RATING: 15/15
A five star book
* * * * *
(an instant favourite!)