A review by meaghanward
The Knife of Never Letting Go by Patrick Ness

adventurous dark emotional tense fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

2.5

I have never been as conflicted about a story as I am about The Knife of Never Letting Go. Did I like it? Did I hate it? I still can’t decide. Mostly, I’m left confused. 


This is not a genre I’m familiar with, which may be part of the reason for my confusion. Still … Is this story dystopian? Sci-fi thriller? Both. Kind of. Either way, it’s not for the faint of heart, featuring extreme graphic violence that left me a little disgusted and horrified. Coupled with the violence is a predictable, almost tedious, plot of constant running and extreme danger and villains who are evil for the sake of being evil (and who also happen to be indestructible and more than a little crazy).


It took a little while for me to adapt to the writing style, which reminded me a lot of Tom Sawyer with its misspelled words and slang, but at the same time I really appreciated the authenticity it gave to the character’s voice, and I feel it was a strong point of the story.


Overall, the message of the story is clear but not always well executed. The lessons to not always believe what you hear and that people can be brainwashed into hating came across (at least to me) as jarring and brushed off as no big deal. Also, Todd is supposed to be innocent — he’s counting down the days until he officially becomes a man, after all — but really he’s a character with conflicted thoughts about himself and his worldview, which sometimes leads him to do horrible things.


Still, I liked the world, the premise, and the possibility this story has to offer. Enough to read the next book? I still have not decided.

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