Fantasy Book Critic: OVERLOOKED TITLES: “The Knife of Never Letting Go” by Patrick Ness

“The Knife of Never Letting Go” by Patrick Ness. Book One in the Chaos Walking series. UK Release Date: May 5, 2008. Published by Walker Books. US Release Date: September 9, 2008. Published by Candlewick Press.

Todd 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. Who is she? Why wasn't she killed by the germ like all the females on New World? Propelled by Todd's gritty narration, readers are in for a white-knuckle journey in which a boy on the cusp of manhood must unlearn everything he knows in order to figure out who he truly is…

“Sets a high standard in an already crowded fantasy fiction genre.” —The Independent

“An impossibly good novel. It is at once endearing yet unsentimental; compassionate yet damning; exhaustingly exhilarating and yet tempered by a staid and considered emotivity. Written in the first-person present tense in an unapologetically impudent manner, this novel captures exceptionally the brash bravado and the underlying insecurities that actively teem inside the minds and explode in the actions of boys on their path to manhood.” —In the News.co.uk

About Patrick Ness:

Patrick Ness, award-winning novelist of “The Crash of Hennington” and the short story collection “Topics About Which I Know Nothing”, has written for England's Radio 4 and Sunday Telegraph and is a literary critic for the Guardian. “The Knife of Never Letting Go” is his first book for young adults.

NOTE: “The Knife of Never Letting Go” is one of four titles on the shortlist for the Guardian Children's Fiction Prize. The winner will be announced on September 24th. More details are online HERE. “The Knife of Never Letting Go” was also shortlisted for the Booktrust Teenage Prize. The prize was launched in 2003 to recognize and celebrate contemporary writing for teenagers. Booktrust administers the prize with the support of writers, publishers, teachers, parents and libraries. The winner will be announced at a ceremony in London on November 18th. More information is available HERE. “I Am Apache” by Tonya Landman is another Candlewick Press novel shortlisted for the Booktrust Teenage Prize.