Play Book Tag discussion

The Knife of Never Letting Go by Patrick Ness - 4* - My Review

This is the first book in a dystopian trilogy set on New World, a planet colonized by people from Earth looking for a better way of life. Protagonist Todd Hewitt is a twelve-year-old boy, the youngest resident of Prentisstown. He will come of age at thirteen, which is a month away at the beginning of the story. A virus has caused the men to be able to hear each other’s thoughts, as well as those of animals. The women have been killed by another virus released by the native inhabitants. At least, that is what Todd’s been told. He is told by his guardian that he must leave for his own safety but is soon pursued by a group of men from Prentisstown. During his journey, accompanied by his dog, he meets Viola, a newly arrived girl whose spaceship has crash-landed on the planet. The storyline follows their journey and eventual understanding of a secret about the town’s past.

It felt almost like a western at times (horses, posses, guns) but other times like a mix of fantasy and science fiction. It is narrated in first person present tense by Todd. The reader learns about the world through his eyes as he encounters other humans, creatures, and native inhabitants. The narrative is filled with action and violence. This book contains high quality storytelling and humor to help offset the darker topics. It took me a while to get used to the “backwoods” dialect, but it flows well. There are some wonderfully creative beings and beasts. I particularly enjoyed the chapter entitled Wilf and the Sea of Things. Overall, it is an action-packed page turner, which I do not read often, but it is very entertaining and contains a positive message of being true to oneself.

PBT Steeplechase - tagged "secrets" x11:
https://www.goodreads.com/work/shelve...

BWF March Extra N - also tagged "coming of age" x160:
https://www.goodreads.com/work/shelve...

Content warnings: (view spoiler)[gun and knife violence, murder, death of a dog, cursing (hide spoiler)]