The Knife of Never Letting Go by Patrick Ness

On the shortlist for both the Booktrust and Guardian Children’s Fiction awards, this book will not disappoint.

Todd Hewitt is the last boy in his town.  The youngest in a community of only men, he has only a few weeks before he too becomes a man.  Todd can’t escape the Noise of his town, where everyone can read everyone else’s thoughts, literally.  There are horrible things in men’s minds, things that boys should not be exposed to, but Todd has to face them every day of his life. 

When Todd goes out into the swamp to gather apples, he finds an area of silence where there is no Noise at all.  He can’t even hear the Noise of his dog by his side.  This lack of Noise is something he has never before encountered.  Though he tries, Todd can’t keep his discovery out of his own thoughts and therefore his own Noise.  His discovery threatens the community he lives in, and Todd is forced to flee into the wilderness with only a book he can’t read and a vague map to a destination he doesn’t understand.

Let me be straight with you.  This is a brutal book, filled with violence, cruelty, murder, maiming and tragedy of epic proportions.  This is not a book for children to read, no matter how advanced their reading levels.  This is a book for teens that will enthrall them and leave them breathless until the very end.

Ness manages to make a completely successful science fiction book that has real heart and a thrilling story.  His book is a definite response to our own inter-connected world of Internet, cell phones, and information overload, but it manages to break free from that and become something much larger.  Ness’ writing is as fast paced as the novel itself, often rushing headlong and leaving the reader stunned.  He is a fearless author, and after a few of his stunning events, readers know that they are in for a real ride where there is no predicting what will happen next.  It is thrilling to read a book that breaks so many conventions and finds its own path.

Highly recommended, this is the best science fiction novel I have read in many years, not just this year.