Reviews tagging 'Toxic relationship'

The Ask and the Answer by Patrick Ness

3 reviews

teri_b's review against another edition

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challenging dark emotional tense slow-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? No

5.0

It took me more than two years to read the second book of this trilogy. Sometimes things cannot be forced. And I am glad that I waited as this book is even more harrowing then the first one. 

It is one masterful example of how no one really wins when there is a war and that no one can escape the ethical questions and who we want or believe to be and who we come out to be in situations of extreme pressure and need.

The book comes with all possible trigger warnings and if anyone feels like they have had enough, then let it be, stop reading and read something enjoyable.


The one question that I found raising whilst reading this book is, if it is really necessary to depict evil as it is on these pages in all its gruesomeness and all its destructive power, or if this is just another means for the evil itself to perpetuate itself and be kept alive.


The rendition of the narrator of the audiobook was fantastic and if anyone has issues with the grammar of the written book I would highly recommend to check out the audiobook as there any spelling issues  drop away, even though, I think this is one of the few series that has as its main character someone who is illiterate.

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toy_masterpiece's review against another edition

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dark emotional mysterious fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

This one's pretty stressful to be honest, haha. I'm glad we get an answer to a "what if" question I took away from the first book. The dual perspective is a format that's used pretty uniquely especially near the end of the book. Our characters get hurt, emotionally and otherwise and Ness isn't afraid to lean into that. There is an uptick in violence in general compared to the first book which is only a hint of the level of violence that happens in the last book.

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oliverlang's review against another edition

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challenging dark sad medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Plot
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

3.0

I found this book really quite difficult to read so it's taken me a lot longer to read than the first book. 

Big trigger warning for physical and emotional abuse, slavery, torture and genocide.

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