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A review by asourceoffiction
The Ask and the Answer by Patrick Ness
challenging
dark
emotional
sad
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
I feel like Viola and Todd just can't catch a break in this series; this second installment starts with them thrown into a whole new state of constant peril. But I love that this story is totally different from The Knife of Never Letting Go, where the characters are fleeing from the Mayor of Prentisstown. Here they have reached Haven but it does not provide the safety they desperately sought. Instead the pair are thrown onto opposite sides of a war.
It's so clever that Viola and Todd's chapters are written in different fonts, which makes all of the writing feel like their Noise. So the story is told from inside their heads rather than from an objective external source. It makes the different behaviours they encounter from their 'leaders' all the more intriguing; it's clear that Todd doesn't agree with the Mayor (who really ramps up the insidious in this book), but is stuck in his position and has to shut down to cope. But at the same time you can see that Mistress Coyle is not a wholly innocent party acting purely in defence. It really pulls you into the politics and shows how easy it is to become complicit to keep yourself or those you love safe.
As with the first book, this ends on a HUGE cliffhanger where things are clearly all about to go (even more) horribly wrong. Suffice to say I can't wait to read Monsters of Men.
It's so clever that Viola and Todd's chapters are written in different fonts, which makes all of the writing feel like their Noise. So the story is told from inside their heads rather than from an objective external source. It makes the different behaviours they encounter from their 'leaders' all the more intriguing; it's clear that Todd doesn't agree with the Mayor (who really ramps up the insidious in this book), but is stuck in his position and has to shut down to cope. But at the same time you can see that Mistress Coyle is not a wholly innocent party acting purely in defence. It really pulls you into the politics and shows how easy it is to become complicit to keep yourself or those you love safe.
As with the first book, this ends on a HUGE cliffhanger where things are clearly all about to go (even more) horribly wrong. Suffice to say I can't wait to read Monsters of Men.
Content Warnings
Graphic: War, Misogyny, and Torture
Moderate: Gore
Minor: Rape