The Knife of Never Letting Go by Patrick Ness

My review
Rating: 5 of 5 stars

What an entrancing read. It made me stay up late, made me forget to eat, made me want only to finish and see what the ending brought. It does start with a great first line:
The first thing you find out hwen yer dog learns to talk is that dogs don't got nothing much to say.

And there are you, right in the middle of Todd's head, just like you are in the middle of every man's head in Prentisstown. See, on this world, you can hear everyone's thoughts. All the time, like the tv, internet, radio and movies are all playing loud all the time and there is no way to drown anyone out. There are no secrets....but are there? How does one survive in such a world? And now that Todd is the last boy in a town full of men who are waiting for his 13 birthday so that he can join them as a man, something unexpected happens that forces Todd down a path he never imagined, to find out answers to questions that he didn't think to ask.
This book is beautifully written. It is descriptive and engrossing. The chase and fight scenes are so real as to make your heart race. The choices that Todd faces are heart breaking and I still am grieving for a certain someone. Not only is this a wonderful read, but it is chock full of great ideas to talk about. The nature of silence and talk. How do you really know someone? What makes a boy a man? Is murder in self defence justified? What will happen next, so this is just book 1.

This is a bit of a dark read, but man, is it great.