In short: The Knife of Never Letting Go by Patrick Ness was an outstanding novel with inspiring, heart-breaking prose and an utterly fascinating premise. 
 So, I'm giving this book 6 Stars. I know that's kind of cheating my rating system, but I need some way to indicate how much I LOVED this book more than anything else I have reviewed on this blog without resorting to rerating every other book one star lower. I'm going to say this, and I don't say it lightly: The Knife of Never Letting Go is one of the best books I've ever read, second only to Harry Potter. Those that know me - and have eyes and know what my blog is all about - know how truly significant that statement is. 
 The Knife of Never Letting Go is so difficult to describe without revealing too much about the plot. But I'll give it a shot: Todd lives on a strange new planet in which men's thoughts can be heard by everyone - an effect known as "Noise". He lives in a town that is populated only by men after the events of a war with the native alien species, called Spackle. One month away from the birthday that will make him a man, Todd must escape his town when it is made apparent that the men who run everything are after him for a terrible reason. So, what genre is this? Sci fi, dystopian, fantasy? I think it's somehow all three. This aspect is what makes The Knife of Never Letting Go so utterly bizarre - and yet so utterly awesome, as well. 
 Patrick Ness' writing is just achingly beautiful. Written in a sort of flow of consciousness of Todd's thoughts with limited grammar and phonetic spellings, it is meant to reflect the ever constant Noise that men on the planet have. I was nervous a bit about the style of writing at first, thinking I would find it hard to get into and it would feel awkward. But the reverse of that couldn't be more true: the flow of consciousness of thoughts made the writing flow quickly and smoothly. I also felt that it had the effect of making me feel very deeply for everything Todd goes through. The Knife of Never Letting Go was an extremely emotional read for me because of this. There was one scene in particular in which I had to stop reading and I did not continue, nor read anything else, for a few days until I had calmed down. 
 This review wouldn't be complete without mentioning one more thing: Manchee, Todd's talking dog. You heard right: animals on this planet also have Noise, so they can, in essence, talk. I can't adequately express the deep love I felt for Manchee. He is a legit dog who says things a dog would actually say - none of that ridiculous sarcastic talking dog stereotype that seems so prevalent in our culture to be had here. Think Dug from Up. 
 Overall, The Knife of Never Letting Go was the best, most interesting, and most heart-breaking book I read in 2011. I'm not sure I did a good enough job in this review describing how truly incredible this book was - I find it's hardest with the books that you are most affected by. But I hope that doesn't deter you from reading it. Also, don't be afraid of the page count! I found the plot to be very fast paced. I highly recommend adding The Knife of Never Letting Go to your TBR pile.