LSSL 5385: Book 8

The Knife of Never Letting Go

By Patrick Ness

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

Todd Hewitt is a twelve year old boy who lives in Prentisstown, which is a town occupied only by men. He is anxiously awaiting his thirteenth birthday when he will become a man in the eyes of his community. Todd is the youngest boy in his town, and since the other boys have become men they no longer talk to him. When they arrived in the New World the men were infected with a germ by the Spackle and can hear each other’s every thought, which they refer to as the “Noise.” When he was young Todd’s parents were killed by the Spackle and he was left in the care of Ben and Cillian.

One day Todd is out in the swamp collecting apples for Ben when he and his dog, Manchee, discover a quiet and silence. When he gets home later that afternoon Cillian and Ben hear Todd’s thoughts about the silence and realize that he is in danger. They had prepared for this day and have a plan in place for Todd to escape. Ben takes Todd to the swamp, gives him his knife, urges him to run, and to use the map in rucksack. He assures Todd that he will know what to do and to rely on his instincts. While Ben was helping Todd get away, Cillian stayed back and tried to keep the men from capturing Todd.

As Todd is running and trying to escape he comes across the silence again, and it’s actually a girl named Viola. He saves her from Aaron, and from then on they are running away together. Even though they get off to a rough start they quickly learn they can count on one another and support each other on their journey. One of the first things they encounter is Viola’s parent’s spaceship that crashed, she gathers what she needs, and eventually shares with Todd what happened to them. They head off again in the direction the map states but they hear the men from Prentisstown approaching. A bridge is up ahead and they cross it but have to think fast. Viola burns the bridge in attempt to put some distance between them in the men. They come across the settlement they are looking for, and they offer them food and security. The men of Prentisstown soon arrive though and wreak havoc on the settlement.

Viola and Todd finding themselves running again, and follow the instructions of a woman from Farbranch. Eventually Aaron finds them again, knocks Todd out, and kidnaps Viola. When Todd comes to he knows he has to go after Aaron and find Viola. With the help of Manchee they are able to track Aaron after a few days near the river. Todd hatches a plan to save Viola with Manchee’s help. He is able to save Viola but has to sacrifice Manchee in order to do so. The loss of Manchee is hard for both of them but they know they must keep running. Viola has to steer the boat while Todd fights a fever from his injuries, and she comes across a doctor in Carbonel Downs. Once Todd is better and they’re about to continue on their journey they discover that Ben is still alive. They get Ben to agree to run with them, and during one of their rests he shares the truth with Todd.

Ben shares with Todd that the Spackles were not the ones responsible for the germ and that it was simply there when settlers arrived in the New World. For some reason the women were immune to the “Noise” but they men were not. After time the settler were looking for someone to blame and they chose the Spackles. The men of Prentisstown got tired of the women not being affected by the germ, and they decided to get rid of them. They were responsible for the death of all the women in their town, not the Spackles. After Ben shares the truth, the mayor’s son comes ridding up and he sends Todd and Viola ahead to keep running. They’re very close to reaching their end destination, Haven, when they come across Aaron again.

Todd finally realizes who Aaron means when he talks about the sacrifice. Aaron believes that Todd is destined to kill him, and when he does Todd will become a man and Aaron a saint. That is the reason he’s be chasing them, and trying to provoke Todd into killing him. It’s not in Todd’s nature to kill, but he does start to fight with Aaron. Viola saves Todd from having to do it and kills Aaron herself. They are finally almost to Haven when Viola is shot by Prentiss Jr. Todd manages to spook his horse to get rid of him, picks Viola up, and runs the rest of the way to Haven. When he gets there though the town is deserted and Mayor Prentiss steps out to greet Todd. With Viola dying in his arms, Todd surrenders to save her life and is left with an uncertain future.

The Knife of Never Letting Go was the book I was least looking forward to reading, and I was pleasantly surprised with how much I enjoyed it. I was left wanting to unravel the secrets right along with Todd, and will be reading the rest of the trilogy very soon. Ness keeps his audience intrigued all throughout the book and leaves readers with a heck of a cliffhanger. He created characters that you can’t help but root for, and did an amazing job of giving a voice to man’s best friend. Manchee’s death was hard to read about and showed how there are always tough choices to make. This book is great for teaching perseverance and to always have hope in the face of adversity.

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