Good Marketing, Mr. Ness

~ Cheryl

I’ve been hearing good things about Patrick Ness’s YA Novel, The Knife of Never Letting Go, (and I must admit that I love the title), but this Guardian article, prompted by his book being deemed a health hazard by the ever-watchful Daily Mail, has made me want to go out any buy the book. I particularly enjoyed his characterization of the different type of comments you get on the Mail and Guardian web sites.

3 thoughts on “Good Marketing, Mr. Ness”

  1. The health hazard in the world of the novel has more to do with adults than with knives–which of course makes it a proper YA novel. The hazard in this world is entirely to your wallet. The perfect cliffhanger ending is utterly unbearable. If you read the novel, you WILL buy the sequel.

    There are a few possible pairings with other 2008 YA novels that make for interesting reading and discussion: pair with Terry Pratchett’s Nation for two views of liminality in the transition from boyhood to manhood. Pair with Margo Lanagan’s Tender Morsels for a comparison of male and female experiences of liminality. Pair with Cory Doctorow’s Little Brother and Allegra Goodman’s The Other Side of the Island for a multi-faceted discussion of civil disobedience. And then go read Neil Gaiman’s The Graveyard Book, just because. Yes, I do think it was an unusually good year in YA.

  2. Cheryl, I totally agree with Susan. I´ve read an unusual amount of really good YA books in 2008. The Knife of Never Letting Go is definitely one of them.

Comments are closed.