<Tr> <Th> OCLC </Th> <Td> 233261939 </Td> </Tr> <Tr> <Th> Followed by </Th> <Td> The Ask and the Answer </Td> </Tr> <P> The Knife of Never Letting Go is a young - adult science fiction novel written by British - American author Patrick Ness . It was published by Walker Books on 5 May 2008 . It is the first book in the Chaos Walking series, followed by The Ask and the Answer . The story follows Todd Hewitt, a 12 - year - old boy who runs away from Prentisstown, a town where everyone can hear everyone else's thoughts, after learning of a secret about its past . </P> <P> The novel was celebrated by critics, and won annual awards including the Booktrust Teenage Prize, the Guardian Award, and the James Tiptree, Jr . Award . The Knife was Ness's first work for children or young adults . According to The Guardian's coverage of its award, "He turned to children's fiction after he had the idea for a world where it is impossible to escape information overload, and knew it was right for teenagers ." </P>

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