The Knife of Never Letting Go by Patrick Ness

Ness, P. (2008). The knife of never letting go. Boston, MA: Candlewick Press

Summary: Todd is the last boy in his home of Prentisstown. In his village, boys become men when they are 13 and Todd is almost 13. Todd lives on a planet called New World where there are only men and all of them have been afflicted by a Noise germ, a germ that allows all of the men to hear what each other are thinking, that was released by an alien population. Todd goes out on a walk one day and comes upon a place where there is no noise and he meets a girl named Viola. He returns home and tells his parents that he has stumbled upon this and they force him to leave home for his own safety. Todd leaves with his dog Manchee and his parents are killed for sending him away. As Todd travels with Viola he learns that everything he has been told is a lie and that his village is looked down upon for starting a war with an alien race and believe that they are an army of god. Todd and Viola visit a mixed gendered city called Farbranch that is quickly over taked by the Prentisstown army forcing Todd and Viola to run away in search of Haven. They eventually make it to Haven only to find out that Prentisstown has over taken the city and Todd surrenders in order to help Viola who was shot by Aaron, a man who was tracking Viola and Todd. 

Strengths: This books does a great job of showing the psychological and sociological impacts of hearing other's thought and what happens when you find out a secret that shatters your world view. 

Book Trailer:  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MPIhj9hVARM

Similar Books: 

• Uglies by Scott Westerfeld
• Shatter Me by Tahereh Mafi
• Matched by Allie Condie
• Cinder by Marissa Meyer

Other books by Patrick Ness:

• The Ask and the Answer
• Monsters of Men
• More Than This
• The Rest of us Just Live Here

LSSL 5385 Requirement Met: Read the Knife of Never Letting Go