I just finished The Knife of Never Letting Go by Patrick Ness. This dystopian novel is set on a planet very similar to ours with one notable difference. Every man's inner thoughts, no matter how ugly, can be heard by everyone in their Noise. But when 13 year old Todd Hewett discovers a noiseless place and a noiseless person, a girl named Viola, they must run for their lives and to save their planet.
Frankly, I have never been so conflicted by a book. I really enjoyed this book, but I also hated it! As a concept I was intrigued by the idea of a land where everyone's thoughts are public knowledge. The Noise interested me, and I especially liked the parts where Todd was walking through towns and could hear everything. The words would appear as a giant jumble on the page which helped me really feel how chaotic Todd's world can be. I also really liked a few of the characters, though Todd was not necessarily one of them.
However, this book was too intense and far too violent for me. Some of the violence made sense, but in at least on scene it was gratuitous and very upsetting. The author created a lot of action, but sometimes he just kept piling on the bad stuff in a way that made it unbelievable. Overall, I am glad that I made it through this book, but I doubt I'll read the rest of the trilogy. I definitely think that there are some readers who will really love this book though.
(Mazerunner fans, I'm looking at you!)
What do you think? Does this sound like a book you'd enjoy? Do you have any questions about this book? Feel free to leave a comment below.
