Finally Started This Series(and so glad that I did!)

Title: The Knife of Never Letting Go

Author: Patrick Ness

Publication: July 14th, 2009
Publisher: Candlewick Press
Source: Bought it
Series: Yes! This is the 1st book.

Rating: 5 out 5 stars

Indie Bound | B&N | The Book Depository

Synopsis: Todd Hewitt is the only boy in a town of men. Ever since the settlers were infected with the Noise germ, Todd can hear everything the men think, and they hear everything he thinks. Todd is just a month away from becoming a man, but in the midst of the cacophony, he knows that the town is hiding something from him -- something so awful Todd is forced to flee with only his dog, whose simple, loyal voice he hears too. With hostile men from the town in pursuit, the two stumble upon a strange and eerily silent creatures: a girl. Who is she? Why wasn't she killed by the germ like all the females on New World? Propelled by Todd's gritty narration, readers are in for a white-knuckle journey in which a boy on the cusp of manhood must unlearn everything he knows in order to figure out who he truly is.

Review: I've heard so much love for this series, and that only made me more nervous to start reading it. I've been wanting to, but scared that I wouldn't like it as much as everyone else. But I knew that I needed to start this series. Thankfully I picked it up after I felt like it was staring me down. 

The writing in this book is so unique. It took a little while to get used to it, but once I did it completely immersed me into Todd's life and his thoughts. The random pieces where you saw how it felt to hear the "Noise" was incredible and added even more to the story's experience. 

Todd is an incredible character, not only in who he is as a person, but also his growth throughout the story. I can't wait to see him grow and learn through the next two books of the series. I enjoyed seeing Todd bounce off and learn from the other characters in the novel as well, the men that take care of him, the girl he meets and many of the other people he meets on his journey. 

I can see why this book won a literary prize, and it was well deserved. There are so many themes and messages sent through this book, that if I discussed all of them, this would be a super long post! I will say one, and I apologize if I'm a bit cryptic in trying to avoid spoilers! I enjoyed the way that war was played into this book and specifically, the way that men (and women) reacted to war and the way that innocence was played into the whole mix. 

This book has so many great qualities it's hard to talk about them all without doing a bit of gushing.  Filled with fantastic characters, a great story and an incredibly unique world, this book will hook you in with the writing from page one. Todd's thoughts will keep you going, and then the action will kick in. This book is action-packed. I'll admit, I forgot I was turning pages after a certain point, I just had to know what was next. I'm def. looking forward to continuing this series!!

Have you read this one and if so, what did you think of it? How did you feel about the writing style? What were some of the themes of the story that stuck with you (if any, and if not what were some themes of the story that came to mind when reading)?