AWARDS
Booktrust Teenage Prize Winner 2008
The Booktrust Teenage Prize "is a national book prize that recognises and celebrates the best in contemporary writing for teenager," and is awarded annually.
http://www.booktrust.org.uk/books-and-reading/books/28824
Guardian Children's Fiction Prize Winner 2008
The Guardian Children's Fiction Prize is awarded annually and is"the only children's book award judged by children's authors."
http://www.guardian.co.uk/books/2008/sep/27/booksforchildrenandteenagers
James Tiptree Award Winner 2008
The James Tiptree Award is "an annual literary prize for science fiction or fantasy that expands or explores our understanding of gender...[it] is intended to reward those women and men who are bold enough to contemplate shifts and changes in gender roles, a fundamental aspect of any society....."
http://tiptree.org/award/2008-winners
Carnegie Medal Award Shortlist 2009
The Knife of Never Letting Go was shortlisted for the award, and the third and final book in the series, "Monsters of Men", won the 2011 CILIP Carnegie Medal Award. "The two previous books in the trilogy, The Knife of Never Letting Go and The Ask and the Answer were also shortlisted for the CILIP Carnegie Medal, in 2009 and 2010 respectively, the first time this has been achieved by all books in a series."
"The CILIP Carnegie Medal is the UK's oldest and most prestigious prize for children's and young people's writing. Over the last seven decades it has come to be regarded as the arbiter of quality in writing for children and young people, and has frequently spotted fresh talent ahead of the market."
http://www.carnegiegreenaway.org.uk/pressdesk/press.php?release=pres_2011_ann_carnegie.htm
ALA Best Books for Young Adults 2009
The list is compiled annually by the Young Adult Library Services Association, a division of the American Library Association. "The books, recommended for those ages 12-18, meet the criteria of both good quality literature and appealing reading for teens."
http://www.ala.org/yalsa/booklistsawards/booklists/bestbooksya/09bbya
Booklist Editor's Choice 2008
The list is compiled annually by the American Library Association, and is "committed to providing a broad selection of outstanding books that mixes popular appeal with literary excellence."
http://www.ala.org/template.cfm?template=/CFApps/awards_info/award_detail_home.cfm&FilePublishTitle=Awards, Grants and Scholarships&uid=B6F23B93B65A54FE
LITERARY REVIEWS
"You only have to read the first sentence to see how fantastic it promises to be: 'The first thing you find out when your dog learns to talk is that dogs don't got nothing much to say.' It's so cunningly written that I was 100 pages in before I even realised what genre it was. It lives up to the thrill of that first sentence." -The Guardian (U.K.) www.guardian.co.uk
"Furiously paced, terrifying, exhilarating and heartbreaking, it's a book that haunts your imagination." -The Sunday Telegraph (U.K.) www.telegraph.co.uk
"Some of the central conceits of the drama can be hard to
swallow, but the pure inventiveness and excitement of the telling more than
make up for it. Narrated in a sort of pidgin English with crack dramatic and
comic timing by Todd and featuring one of the finest talking-dog characters
anywhere, this troubling, unforgettable opener to the Chaos Walking trilogy is
a penetrating look at the ways in which we reveal ourselves to one another, and
what it takes to be a man in a society gone horribly wrong. The cliffhanger
ending is as effective as a shot to the gut."-Booklist www.booklistonline.com
More:
Positive Reviews:
“High
tension; action packed; interesting concept; character growth; good use of
literary techniques to achieve the above; great message.”
-SF Signal
-SF Signal
“The Knife of
Never Letting Go is a
rollercoaster ride that I can't wait to continue. Packed with lies, brutal
honesty, danger, adventure and Noise, I think I may have found a new favorite
series.”.
http://lvngbooks.blogspot.com/2011/11/review-knife-of-never-letting-go-by.html
http://lvngbooks.blogspot.com/2011/11/review-knife-of-never-letting-go-by.html
“This
book is…stunning. Exhilarating. Exciting. Brutal. Poignant. Heartbreaking.”
“I
couldn’t put it down, I so caught up in the story, I would catch myself skim
reading ahead just to find out what happened sooner. I think I was in a state
of nervous tension the whole time I was reading it.”
“You are thrown straight away into
non-stop action for 500 glorious pages, leaving you breathless right
alongside the characters. But within this are also some incredibly touching,
quiet moments, that only emphasize just how talented a storyteller Ness is.”
“Ultimately
I think this is a story about hope. About growing up in bleak and desperate
society and the difficult choices we are forced to make along the way. About
love and loyalty between true friends, the evil that men can do, and strength
and courage to stand against it. The Knife of Never Letting Go is a
fantastic dystopian tale that surpasses any I have read before. Patrick
Ness has weaved together complex ideas of authority, control, oppression,
sexism, equality and morality in one thrilling adventure. One I won’t be able
to stop thinking about for days afterwards – the sign of a truly powerful piece
of fiction.”
---TurnThePage.net
---TurnThePage.net
“The plot of this book is very fast
paced, leaving you wanting more with each page. However, don't expect Todd to
be delivered from every situation like most young adult novelists allow! In
fact, you should probably expect to be frustrated, heart-broken, amused, happy,
then frustrated all over again.”
NEGATIVE:
“The characters are pretty
stereotypical-hillbilly, and the sexist attitude that the male-dominant town
has might disgust some female readers and feminists.”
“The story also plays a lot with
dark undertones without a redeeming sense of hopefulness, which is what makes
for competent teen dystopia. Teens can handle this kind of depressing story
arc, but they still deserve something a tad more upbeat.”
--Jason's Book Stack
--Jason's Book Stack
“There might be one or two brief
moments of happiness, but that’s it.”
“don’t even get me started on that
ending – or rather complete lack of an ending. I’m all for a well-done
cliff-hanger, but this book just stops (at yet another horrible thing) a few
pages short of an actual ending.”
--WithAGoodBook.com
--WithAGoodBook.com
“There’s
some violence, so it’s rated 14 and up; some actual swearing (and lots of
‘fake’ swearing); for stronger teen readers.”
SF Signal
SF Signal
Dr Tutt said: 'The level of
violence and adult themes in children's books is a worrying trend."
--Sarah Harris, dailymail.co.uk
--Sarah Harris, dailymail.co.uk
others problems that people seem to have with the novel:
*characters that just wouldn’t die
*phonetic spellings of words Todd didn't know how to spell
*a mystery that was too mysterious for too long
*lack of emotion within the characters (not always, but sometimes)
*one chase scene after another after another
*too much repetition (length of the novel could have been cut significantly)
*phonetic spellings of words Todd didn't know how to spell
*a mystery that was too mysterious for too long
*lack of emotion within the characters (not always, but sometimes)
*one chase scene after another after another
*too much repetition (length of the novel could have been cut significantly)
“incorrect grammar and spelling was used
for no apparent reason in the telling of the story. I think it encourages the
destruction of the English language for no apparent reason. I found the poor
grammar and spelling a distraction while reading.”
“The language – including the “ain’t” and the “thru” and
the numerous variations on spelling – is honest in its representation of a young,
uneducated boy trying to articulate his experiences.”
“Ness
certainly doesn’t hold back and this story is gruesome and rather graphic in
places, (a warning to younger readers) but always in a way that is integral to
the story, this book has an important story to tell, and the graphic nature is
an essential part of that. He is harsh on his characters too, and there are
many heartbreaking decisions and moments throughout that not only heighten the
tension while reading, but make you continue to fear for Todd, Viola and
Manchee, (the best written dog ever to grace the page) right up to the end of
the book and beyond. This one finishes on one hell of a cliffhanger and I’m
actually seriously concerned about what Todd is going to have to do in order to
survive all that’s coming and what that will mean for him as a character.”
--TurnThePage.net
--TurnThePage.net
