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A review by emleemay
The Knife of Never Letting Go by Patrick Ness
5.0
“Knowledge is dangerous and men lie and the world changes, whether I want it to or not.”
Every once in a while I find myself back on the Goodreads page of a book I read and adored a few years ago. I see the cover and remember first holding it in my hands and not knowing I was in for a magical experience. My eyes scan the description and I get goosebumps as I'm taken back into the story, feeling echoes of the emotions I felt once again. Then I glance down... and see my "review".
That's when I start to wonder how I possibly made it through high school English. I mean, really. Some of the words I used aren't even words. Which is totally unacceptable for a book - a trilogy, in fact - as fantastic as this one.
And it is amazing. I have read all three books several times and count them amongst my all time favourites, across all genres, adult, YA or otherwise. It shouldn't be so incredible - an adventure/survival story about a thirteen year-old boy and his dog doesn't sound so impressive - but, oh, it's just so much deeper, thought-provoking, sad, funny, chilling... everything than you would imagine. It's one of the most rich, meaningful stories I've ever read.
It tells the story of Todd, the last boy in Prentisstown, who will become a man on his 13th birthday. Prentisstown, though, is not your average town - everyone in the town is male and they can hear one another's thoughts (called "noise"). In a town like this, you'd think keeping a secret would be impossible.
But we soon find out that noise can lie and that Prentisstown has some very dark secrets. What really happened to the women of Prentisstown? What lies on the other side of the swamp? And why is it so important that Todd, just one boy, reaches his birthday and becomes a man?
It's a novel with fantastic characters and possibly my favourite animal character ever. And it's built on some seriously dark themes. You might not expect that from a YA book promising talking animals and adventure, but there are underlying themes of dehumanization, colonization, slavery, racism and sexism. And - as if that wasn't enough - it's a ridiculously addictive pageturner that demands you pick up the sequel immediately after (I'm warning you).
When I try to put words together for the books I really love, they never seem like enough. I read back over my review and get frustrated because nothing I say seems to capture that inexplicable pull of wonder, excitement, horror and delight that was flooding through me while I read the book. I'm sorry for that. At least, though, I have written a better review than before.
You may be thinking "that's a bit arrogant of her to come along and say that this is a better review". But, really, you should have seen the last one.
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Every once in a while I find myself back on the Goodreads page of a book I read and adored a few years ago. I see the cover and remember first holding it in my hands and not knowing I was in for a magical experience. My eyes scan the description and I get goosebumps as I'm taken back into the story, feeling echoes of the emotions I felt once again. Then I glance down... and see my "review".
That's when I start to wonder how I possibly made it through high school English. I mean, really. Some of the words I used aren't even words. Which is totally unacceptable for a book - a trilogy, in fact - as fantastic as this one.
And it is amazing. I have read all three books several times and count them amongst my all time favourites, across all genres, adult, YA or otherwise. It shouldn't be so incredible - an adventure/survival story about a thirteen year-old boy and his dog doesn't sound so impressive - but, oh, it's just so much deeper, thought-provoking, sad, funny, chilling... everything than you would imagine. It's one of the most rich, meaningful stories I've ever read.
It tells the story of Todd, the last boy in Prentisstown, who will become a man on his 13th birthday. Prentisstown, though, is not your average town - everyone in the town is male and they can hear one another's thoughts (called "noise"). In a town like this, you'd think keeping a secret would be impossible.
But we soon find out that noise can lie and that Prentisstown has some very dark secrets. What really happened to the women of Prentisstown? What lies on the other side of the swamp? And why is it so important that Todd, just one boy, reaches his birthday and becomes a man?
It's a novel with fantastic characters and possibly my favourite animal character ever. And it's built on some seriously dark themes. You might not expect that from a YA book promising talking animals and adventure, but there are underlying themes of dehumanization, colonization, slavery, racism and sexism. And - as if that wasn't enough - it's a ridiculously addictive pageturner that demands you pick up the sequel immediately after (I'm warning you).
When I try to put words together for the books I really love, they never seem like enough. I read back over my review and get frustrated because nothing I say seems to capture that inexplicable pull of wonder, excitement, horror and delight that was flooding through me while I read the book. I'm sorry for that. At least, though, I have written a better review than before.
You may be thinking "that's a bit arrogant of her to come along and say that this is a better review". But, really, you should have seen the last one.
Blog | Facebook | Twitter | Instagram | Tumblr