The Knife of Never Letting Go by Patrick Ness

From GR:  Todd Hewitt is the only boy in a town of men. Ever since the settlers were infected with the Noise germ, Todd can hear everything the men think, and they hear everything he thinks. Todd is just a month away from becoming a man, but in the midst of the cacophony, he knows that the town is hiding something from him -- something so awful Todd is forced to flee with only his dog, whose simple, loyal voice he hears too. With hostile men from the town in pursuit, the two stumble upon a strange and eerily silent creature: a girl. Who is she? Why wasn't she killed by the germ like all the females on New World? Propelled by Todd's gritty narration, readers are in for a white-knuckle journey in which a boy on the cusp of manhood must unlearn everything he knows in order to figure out who he truly is.

Upon finishing this book, I asked myself two questions.
1. WHY THE HELL WAS THIS AMAZING BOOK SITTING ON MY SHELVES FOR A HALF A YEAR BEFORE I PICKED IT UP?!?!
2. HOW THE HELL WOULD I HAVE SURVIVED IF I HAD READ THIS WHEN IT FIRST CAME OUT AND I COULDN'T READ THE NEXT ONE RIGHT AWAY AFTERWORDS?

Luckily, 1. I did get around to reading it, and 2. I read it now, and last week I found the second book used but in perfect condition in Joplin for 4 bucks. Yeah. I'm a beast.

I don't want to overexplain this book. All that I can tell you is that I just sat down in a chair and read the last 200 or so pages and when I was done I was like oh...three hours just passed? Huh.
And you know, it was worth it.

Read this book. It's exciting, interesting, creepy, heartbreaking, and altogether amazing. Just...read it. Don't let thiis one pass you by. I'm serious. It's worth every penny.