The Knife of Never Letting Go
by Patrick Ness
★ Top 25 book of 2008 · #15 on Best Books of 2008
Todd Hewitt is a month from becoming a man in a town where he is the only boy and the men can hear each other's thoughts. Secrets kept from him force him to run in this unflinching novel about growing up's impossible choices.
Best for: Readers who like unflinching novels about the hard choices of growing up
The Knife of Never Letting Go is #15 on BookWard's Best Books of 2008, out of 46 2008 books that cleared our data bar.
What The Knife of Never Letting Go is about
Todd Hewitt is the last boy in Prentisstown, a settlement on New World, a planet humans have only recently colonized. In a matter of days he will turn thirteen, the age when boys there count as men. On this world a germ called the Noise makes every thought of men and animals audible, so nothing stays private, and Todd has learned to live inside the constant din with his dog, Manchee.
Then, in the swamp, he stumbles on something impossible: a patch of silence. It turns out to be a girl named Viola, whose scout ship has crashed. Todd's adoptive parents have long prepared for the day he would have to flee, and soon he and Viola are on the run from Aaron, the town preacher, and the forces of Mayor Prentiss. They head for Haven, where a cure for the Noise is rumored. Urgent and emotionally raw, this first book of the Chaos Walking series explores secrets, violence and what it means to become a man.
The Knife of Never Letting Go on the Best Books of 2008
The Knife of Never Letting Go came out in 2008. Of the 46 books first published in 2008 that met BookWard's data bar, it ranks #15 on our Best Books of 2008 list.
Why it made the list: 295 readers have shelved it on Open Library; readers rate it 4.2 out of 5 (25 ratings). The list ranks each year’s books on how many readers have picked them up, how highly readers rate them, and how many are reading them right now.
Nearby on the 2008 list
- In Defense of Food Michael Pollan, #13
- Predictably Irrational Dan Ariely, #14
- The Tales of Beedle the Bard J. K. Rowling, #16
- Duma Key Stephen King, #17
See all Best Books of 2008 Best books by year
More years: Best Books of 2007 Best Books of 2009.
The numbers behind it
- Readers: 237 want to read it, 16 are reading it now and 42 have read it, according to Open Library.
- Ratings: 4.2 out of 5 from 25 Open Library ratings.
| Signal | This book (0 to 100) | Weight |
|---|---|---|
| Reach | 57 | 55% |
| Reader love | 65 | 25% |
| Being read right now | 70 | 20% |
Questions about The Knife of Never Letting Go
When was The Knife of Never Letting Go published?
The Knife of Never Letting Go by Patrick Ness was first published in 2008.
Was The Knife of Never Letting Go one of the best books of 2008?
The Knife of Never Letting Go is #15 on BookWard's Best Books of 2008, out of 46 2008 books that cleared our data bar. 295 readers have shelved it on Open Library; readers rate it 4.2 out of 5 (25 ratings).
Why is The Knife of Never Letting Go on the Best Books of 2008 list?
295 readers have shelved it on Open Library; readers rate it 4.2 out of 5 (25 ratings).
More of the best books of 2008
- The Hunger Games Suzanne Collins, #1
- End of Days Sylvia Browne, #2
- The Last Straw Jeff Kinney, #3
- Amulet Kazu Kibuishi, #4
- Outliers Malcolm Gladwell, #5
- Michelle Obama in Her Own Words Michelle Obama, #6
See the full Best Books of 2008, the Top 100, or new books on Rising.
How we know
This page uses public data: Open Library reader counts and ratings, and Wikipedia page views for recent years. The description is paraphrased from real source text. Rankings reflect reading interest, not quality or sales, and can be affected by data gaps. Lists update monthly.
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