Todd, soon to become a man, lives in a town where no women exist and all men's thoughts are heard by everyone. And his dog talks to him. . . . A strange, strange premise that takes very little time to accept. Suddenly, all that Todd knows seems a lie and he's running for his life with a companion that will mean the world to him. Highly unusual, highly recommended. ( )

On several occasions recently, I have heard about a book that has received good reviews or hype, only to pick it up and be a little disappointed by the blurb on the back cover. Almost every time it has been a young adult book, that I am slowly moving away from reading, despite the recent flurry caused by my joining the 2009 YA Challenge. Despite this, almost every time I actually read one of these books, the quality of the writing far outweighs the cover blurb and I am forced to remind myself that these are not written by the author, but by the publishing house. It is far better to attempt reading the first few pages of a book, to see if it strikes any accord with me before I decide whether or not to buy/borrow it.

On that note, The Knife of Never Letting Go was no different. And yes, I read it, and oh yes, I loved it. Although off to a slightly lukewarm start, with a character I could not immediately identify with, in a setting that felt all too familiar, Ness soon established his tale as something quite different. Our main character, Todd is a young man on the cusp of adulthood. His home, Prentisstown, is a somewhat backwards town, with a notable difference from own our world. Here, a race of alien beings called the Spackle have introduced a virus that has wiped out all the women, the mothers, daughters, all of them. The men have survived, but the virus has had an interesting effect on them. No man's thoughts are his own. Everyone can hear everyone else's thoughts all the time, nothing can be kept to oneself. Another interesting side effect of the virus is that they can also hear the thoughts of other animals, though usually more primative and instinctual, such as those of Todd's dog, Manchee.

Although strange to us, this is the world Todd has grown up in, so his entire world is shaken when one day he finds a spot of quiet by the swamp. Soon Todd discovers that many many truths have been hidden from him and nothing is truly as it seems. To say any more about the plot would reveal too much, but suffice to say that the action is perpetual, with few chances to take a breath or pause to absorb the events. The Knife of Never Letting Go is not a happy book. Don't get me wrong, there are laughs here, or rather moments that make you smile, usually concerning the adorably dim Manchee and his affection for Todd. However Ness does not hold back, and his characters are forced to experience the truest darkness of human nature, either by their own hands or others, which creates a rollercoaster ride of emotion for the reader. I was quite exhausted by the end.

I honestly did not expect to find this book live up to its reviews. The plot and opening pages seemed a bit woolly to me, but very little perseverence was required for me to quickly discover the sheer astounding quality of Patrick Ness' writing and storytelling. To call it absorbing or gripping would be an understatement. I loved the concept of Noise, and the allusions to the tremendous dividing line of gender and what that means for society. Again, I cannot say any more without giving the plot away.

Suffice to say, here is yet another book where the blogging world has been right on the button. A fantastic novel, whether young adult or not (this book is quite violent in places), it was not unexpected that I would feel drained and perhaps a little unfulfilled at the end. This is of course because there is a sequel, the Ask and the Answer, which I shall shortly be hunting down at the library, though I'll be lucky to get my paws on a copy!

My message to you dear reader...get out there and read this. It is surely one of the best young adult fantasies I have read in a very very long time.

Todd Hewitt is the last boy in Prentisstown and, in one month, he will be a man. But Prentisstown isn't like other towns. First, there are no women in Prentisstown - they all died years ago, when the aliens called Spackle released a germ that created Noise. And that's the second thing... the Noise. Every one can hear everyone else's thoughts, from the tiniest squirrel to the loudest man. It's an overwhelming, never-ending stream of Noise that cannot be ignored. There is no quiet, no privacy, and no room for secrets.

Or is there? When Todd and his dog, Manchee, are exploring the swamp one day, they discover a pocket of silence, where there is no Noise. And the source of the quiet is a girl, something that Todd never expected to see. Todd does his best to keep the girl a secret from the rest of Prentisstown. But Todd isn't the only one keeping secrets - the men of the town have been hiding something from him, something about their past and the legacy that belongs to each boy that becomes a man there. Soon Todd finds himself running for his life, trying to escape a past he didn't know existed. But how can you run when those chasing you can hear your every thought?

The Knife of Never Letting Go is the first in the Chaos Walking series. I thought it was a little slow to start with - this is a world that feels recognizable when you see the settler life that Prentisstown is leading, and you think you know where things are going when the rug gets pulled out from under you. Todd knows almost nothing about his town's dark history or the surrounding world, so you are constantly having to revise the way you understand Todd's world. This got to be a little bit overwhelming, which is how it should be for Todd, but wore on me as I was reading.

The concept of Noise, of trying to keep your thoughts private or calm or layering them so that you can keep something to yourself, as really intriguing, and I liked the connection the author made between the way we're bombarded with all kinds of information today. The way Noise is expressed in the book is very powerful, and I would've liked to have seen that appear a bit more throughout. You also got a strong sense of the desperation that Todd and Viola must feel and the hopelessness of their journey, which can be a bit crushing to the reader... particularly when it comes to Chapter 31. I had a good cry at the end of that chapter.

This book does have one of my all-time favorite openings: "The first thing you find out when yer dog learns to talk is that dogs don't got nothing much to say. About anything." With such a great opening, it can feel like a bit of a slog to continue those first few chapters. However, this book is worth it! ( )

First in a series. Dystopia, fast-moving action, a gripping read. All the women have disappeared and the men can hear each others' thoughts but the results are sinister. We are not sure where or when this is and someone new arrives from another world. Won Guardian Children's Book Award

Este libro es bastante impresionante. Conciso, imaginativo, honesto, emocionante, muy bien escrito. Como libro de aventuras y ciencia ficción para jóvenes es de lo mejorcito que he leído. La pena es que forme parte de una trilogía y que todavía no se han publicado las continuaciones. ( )