Spoiler Free!!
The Knife of Never Letting Go incorporates many themes that can be found in other Young Adult lit books and can serve as a starting point for discussions into the important associations with growing up and the world of youth.
Outside Influence
The "Noise" exists on New World. Everyone can hear the thoughts of everyone else. Even Manchee, Todd's not-too-bright dog, can communicate to humans with his thoughts. The theme of an outside voice or influence impacting the main character can be found in several other Y.A. Lit novels. Its important in this particular genre as outside influences have a large impact on establishing identity, an important part of growing up.
Feed by MT Anderson takes place in a future where most humans have an internal computer that streams information directly to the brain, allowing them to message each other directly or purchase products without moving a muscle. People are also advertised to through the Feed. Anderson displays this influx of information can have on teenagers, and Todd is experiencing the same influx of information on New World, just simply in a different manner. Both novels detail the impact this has on teenagers.
In Golden Compass by Phillip Pullman, humans never alone without her Daemon in the form of an animal companion. It is seen as an identifying part of a human.
Masculinity
There are no women in Prentisstown. Todd has never met one and has only seem them in films, pictures, or the noise of other men. He is also seen as the only boy in the town, as he is the youngest and has not yet turned 13, the age at which a boy becomes a man in Prentisstown.
This tradition is thrown into doubt when we learn that New World years are 13 months instead of 12, meaning that back on Earth, Todd would already be considered a man. Later on in the book Todd fights with the arbitrary nature of when a boy becomes a man, forcing the reader to confront his or her own ideas on the subject as well.
The Chocolate War takes place in an all-boys school.
Growing Up
The arbitrary nature of becoming an adult in The Knife of Never Letting Go is covered in the masculinity section of above and can be compared and contrasted with how the topic is represented in other books as well.
In The Golden Compass there is a distinct moment when a human's animal Daemon takes on a specific form and the person's identity is established, as opposed to the arbitrary nature shown in Knife of Never Letting Go.
The Chocolate War gives us high school boys that are on par with the adults. 'The Vigils' are a group of boys in a powerful secret society that have more influence on the events on the school than the men who run it. There is hardly a distinction between the two.
Dead/Absent/Unmentioned/Bad/Limited Parents
Todd's parents are dead. He lives with Uncle's Ben and Cillian, and even then he has problems with Cillian. Limited parent interaction is common in Y.A. novels and can be seen in many books:
-The Catcher in the Rye
-The Outsiders
-The Chocolate War
-The Golden Compass
-Persepolis
-Harry Potter
-Just about every Y.A. novel ever (citation needed)
This trend seems to suggest that Y.A. readers can attach or identify with independent or entirely alone protagonists.
