The Knife of Never Letting Go

What if your every thought was exposed to the world and completely out of your control? In the first book of the Chaos Walking trilogy, Todd Hewitt has grown up with the Noise of his town bouncing around in his head day and night. There is no privacy and no room for lies. The only perk may be the animals being able to talk, especially Todd's lovable dog, Manchee. The Noise is described as constant and loud, and it's easy to understand the abundance of it once you see it written on the pages of the books.

So why is life this way in Prentisstown? Todd was taught that when the settlers landed on New World, everyone was infected with the Noise germ released by the natives. The men became victims of each other's unfiltered thoughts, and the women were literally wiped out of existence. The small population of Prentisstown is decreasing more and more as time goes on. Todd is the only boy left in a town of men, and will become a man himself in one month's time.

But one day, Todd's life is flipped upside down. His family forces him to run away from the only town he's ever known without so much as an explanation. All Todd has left of his old life is his dog, his mother's journal, and a knife. He's confused, frustrated, lonely, and lost in a world he realizes is much bigger than he thought.

Then he finds something he's never seen before: a girl, without any Noise.

The adventures that follow Todd and Viola's initial meeting are some of the greatest, funniest, most heartbreaking experiences I've had reading a book. I think I felt every emotion humanly possible while reading, and I can't wait to read them all over again!

This sci-fi trilogy fits right in with the dystopia craze, but to me it should be in its own category. Not many people have heard of Chaos Walking, but I think it's just as important, if not more important than the more popular titles.

Throughout the trilogy, there are themes of loyalty, hope, love, courage, and the fight for peace. The two leads, Todd and Viola, are both my absolute favorite characters in any book I've ever read. Todd is compassionate and honest and very easy to relate to, while Viola shows bravery and loyalty when no one else will. They compliment each other perfectly, and I know you'll love them as much as I do!

The Knife of Never Letting Go is nearly impossible to put down, as are the other two books, The Ask and The Answer and Monsters of Men. Each book ends with an earth-shattering twist and cliffhanger, so be sure to have the next book handy to keep following Todd and Viola's beautifully written story.

I highly recommend these books to anyone looking for more than just a shallow summer read, because these books are deep and thought provoking, and you won't be forgetting them anytime soon.

Latest reviews