Patrick Ness, author of 'The Knife of Never Letting Go' was talking with Nikki Gamble at the Annual Conference of Federation of Children's Book Groups, 3 - 5 April 2009.
The Knife of Never Letting Go Amazon link.
Fantastically good to listen to, and a real empathy with teenagers. He made us all think! The issue of moral dilemmas vs. a real need to do something maybe you shouldn't. The main character in the book, Todd, who struggles with himself over whether or not he can use his knife," a big ratchety one with the bone handle and the serrated edge that cuts into practically everything in the world".
Some of the questions that came up on the day got everybody thinking.
Is evil something you are or something you do?
Should you always, ultimately be on the right side and can the actions be justified?
They speak the same language but why don't they talk the same?
How loud is the world ?
The Knife of Never Letting Go, published by Walker Books is the first book in a trilogy, called Chaos Walking.
The second book, The Ask and the Answer is due to be published in May 2009.
This was Patrick's first novel for teenagers and it won the Guardian Children's fiction prize in 2008. An exciting read, based around the whole idea that the world is full of noise and gets even noisier when thoughts are heard and nowhere remains silent.
The Ask and the Answer Amazon link.
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