The Knife of Never Lettng Go

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

Genre: Science Fiction (telepathy, space colonies, dystopia)

Subjects: Young Adult fiction - social issues, telepathy, human-animal communication, space colonies

Audience: ages 16 & up

Todd is an orphaned teenage boy that lives in Prentisstown.  It is a town without women and the men can hear each other's "noise" or thoughts which makes it impossible to keep your thoughts a secret.  Just shy of fourteen when he will become a man, Todd and his dog Manchee are in the woods picking apples when they stumble upon a disturbing silence and discover that things may not be as Todd was led to believe.  Todd returns to his foster fathers and when they hear his noise, they know about the silence and tell him that he needs to leave. They give him his mother's journal, but it is useless to him because the town does not educate the boys.  Todd and Manchee run back to the woods and find that the silence is a girl named Viola who has crash landed her ship on the New World.  Together they run from the Prentisstown men that are trying to kill them.  They hide in a town where there are men and women that know the secrets of Prentisstown, but the Prentisstown men burn it down and Todd and Viola continue on to Haven. During their journey, the find a creature and Todd kills it.  While they are distracted, Todd is stabbed by the Preacher from Prentisstown, Aaron who also takes Viola.  Todd and Manchee find Aaron and trick him to get Viola back and Manchee is killed in the process.  Todd and Viola float down the river and are rescued by Dr. Snow who tends to Todd's wounds.  They are there for several days and discover that the Prentisstown men are outcast because they killed their women and the creatures.  As the men approach Dr. Snow's village, Todd and Viola continue on to Haven but just when they are almost there, they run into Aaron again.  He chases them into a church under a waterfall and Viola kills him.  Just when they think they are safe,  the Prentisstown Mayor appears and introduces himself as President Prentiss.  The story continues in the next novel in the series.  Ness narrates the story from Todd's point of view, emphasizing his lack of education and knowledge in his improper speech and misspelled words.  He creates excitement and interest with his memorable characters and fast paced suspenseful story.

Awards:
Guardian Children's Fiction Prize (2008)
Manchester Book Award Nominee for Longlist (2009)
Odyssey Award for Excellence in Audiobook Production Honor (2011)
James Tiptree Jr. Award (2008)
Milwaukee County Teen Book Award Nominee (2010)

Carnegie Medal Nominee (2009)

Green Mountain Book Award (2012)

Teaching Resources:
Author's Website
Interview with Author
Lesson Plan from Candlewick Press
Book Trailer