THE KNIFE OF NEVER LETTING GO

Ness. P. (2008). The Knife of Never Letting Go. Somerville, MA: Candlewick Press.

Todd Hewitt lives in a town called Prentisstown with his dog Manchee and about 100+ men and no women.  Todd wasn’t allowed to get an education, so he couldn’t read, but along with the other men can hear everyone’s thoughts which they call noise.  He’s been told that all the women were killed by the Spackle (aliens).

One day, his foster parents, Ben and Cillian, hear Todd’s noise about what he experiences earlier and urge him to leave town forever.   As Todd is trying to leave, he has to get through Aaron (a crazy preacher), will not stop following him to try to kill him.  He finally comes to an area where this weird, amazing thing happened, silence.  And what do you know, it’s a girl (Viola Eade)!  She was the only survivor left from a ship that was going to this New World. 

On the go again, now together they run to different towns trying to escape being killed by Aaron.  Wondering why Aaron will just not stop and will just not die!  He finally catches up to them and Viola takes Todd’s knife while they’re scuffling, killing him.  Turns out that in order to become a man in Prentisstown, the boy, Todd, had to kill. 

This is such a fascinating science fiction story, although I can’t believe the author would just leave the reader hanging like that.   I’m so very looking forward to reading the sequel to this dystopia world.  This YA novel will keep YA and adults engaged and on their toes.   

We can see some form of manipulation in this story, how people get others to do what they want.  For example the mayor getting Aaron to think that his purpose was to get killed.  Something that baffles me, how does someone get so powerful?

The journey that Viola and Todd took is relatable to a lot of readers, there’s hope, hope for a better world or a better life. They accepted themselves and relied on each other to be able to get through difficult situations.   We’ve all been there wanting a better life, we can’t just sit there and do nothing.  I love that Todd goes from being this weird kid, to feeling remorse about killing someone (alien), to actually caring for Viola.  He can’t hear Viola’s noise, but he knows what she is saying.  She too, is looking for hope.  This novel is on the list of required YA literature. 

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