Recommended Reads – The Knife of Never Letting Go

This week's Recommended Read comes from Jen Tomkins, our Communications Manager, who has been reading about the trials of self discovery in The Knife of Never Letting Go by Patrick Ness.

What does lie on the 'other side of silence'?

In Prentisstown, The Noise inside men’s heads is something that other people can hear roaring in the outside world. Todd has an opportunity to escape and the novel is a fast-paced chase to try and find a new way, and place, to live. He suffers so much - physically and emotionally – that the growing pains of the likes of Adrian Mole pale into complete insignificance. Todd's journey is about having to face up to some of those deep, dark things inside him - to learn things about himself he didn't even know he had to learn - and continue, no matter what, to keep running forward.

Doing what's right should be easy. It shouldn't be another big mess like everything else.

As a 'grown up' reading this, I've been wondering whether these growing pains ever stop. Aren't we all learning all the time? And aren't some of those lessons really painful? That's why I don't think this is a book just for young adults but for any of us that are still learning how to live in the world, still making mistakes and still finding out about ourselves.

A frightening, sensitive, and utterly gripping novel.

Patrick Ness, The Knife of Never Letting Go, Walker (2008).