The Knife of Never Letting Go
ISBN13
9781406357981
Review published
21/01/2015
By Reviewer
Helen
Star Rating
By Author / Illustrator
Patrick Ness
Age range(s)
11+
Review
Amazing story from Patrick Ness. Part classic growing up and navigating the world story, part speculative fiction adventure. Todd's world is alien to us - yet really his experiences are those of a normal teenager. Told in the immediacy of first person, the narrator is honest and funny, not understanding more than the reader at any time. Ness uses strange spellings to show his lack of formal education and different fonts to show thoughts rather than speech - sometimes spilling over the page to great effect. Todd Hewitt's world is strange yet familiar to us - a place where all men's (and animals') thoughts can be heard, but women are loud in their silence. How do you understand a woman when you can't hear what they're thinking? How do you keep things secret? What makes someone a man and not a boy? How do you carry on when your family are gone? Could you kill another person? Winner of the Guardian Children's Fiction Prize, Booktrust Teenage Prize and Carnegie shortlisted, among other awards, this is fantastic book for boys and girls, teenagers and adults too. 479 pages / Ages 12+ / Reviewed by Helen Swinyard, librarian.
