The Knife of Never Letting Go

The Knife of Never Letting Go

Ness, P. (2008). The knife of never letting go. Massachusetts: Candlewick press.

With its interesting character dialog, vocabulary and dialog, The Knife of Never Letting Go,  book one of the Chaos Walking series, brings readers 13 year old Todd Hewitt who, at the age of 14 should become a man because in Prentisstown, that’s just the way it is.  In a town where no one’s thoughts are private and people’s thoughts are scrutinized, Todd exhibits typical adolescent feelings of resentment and frustration, especially once he discovers the pocket of silence in the swamp where thoughts are private and then eventually that there is more to the world than what he has always been taught.  When his guardians, Ben and Cillian, realize Todd has made this discovery, they become frightened for his safety and encourage him to escape.  Todd also meets a girl named Viola, and girls are something else Todd has not ever encountered.  As the two embark on their journey, they are constantly faced with obstacles all while being pursued by an “army” from Prentisstown.  Because the book ends with Todd trying to save Viola’s life after Mr. Prentiss shoots her readers will want to read book two in the series.  Because of Todd’s developmental stage, readers from middle grades on up can easily identify with his character, but a more reluctant reader may shy away from the number of pages this book has.