The Knife of Never Letting Go

The Knife of Never Letting Go was probably one of my least favorite school reading books. It was very unrealistic, and the never-ending prose was more than a little bit annoying. I actually liked the overall story, but it falls at the first hurdle when it comes to realism. It’s highly unlikely that two teenagers could effectively outrun an entire army on horseback. It also strikes me as odd that a crazy priest is much better at tracking children than the actual soldiers. I also can’t seem to wrap my mind around the fact that the army ran ahead in front of the people that they were trying to catch, knowing that not only would they be going to Haven but that Todd and Viola would arrive at the exact time that the entire army is outside of the city.

The story actually happened to be very engaging, but I had a hard time emotionally connecting to the characters. I couldn’t bother to feel sympathy for Todd when he was ill while looking for Viola because it was obvious to me that starvation, exhaustion, and exposure would eventually make him sick.  The death of Manchee, while sad, gave me little pause, and I read it with a straight face. It was not a terrible book, but I felt like it was utterly forgettable.