Review: The Ask and The Answer - Patrick Ness

The Ask and the Answer by Patrick Ness

Chaos Walking, Book 2

Genre: Dystopian, sci-fi, YA
Pages: 544
Published: 2009

We were in the square, in the square where I'd run, holding her, carrying her, telling her to stay alive, stay alive till we got safe, till we got to Haven so I could save her - But there weren't no safety, no safety at all, there was just him and his men...

Fleeing before a relentless army, Todd has carried a desperately wounded Viola right into the hands of their worst enemy, Mayor Prentiss. Immediately separated from Viola and imprisoned, Todd is forced to learn the ways of the Mayor's new order. But what secrets are hiding just outside of town? And where is Viola? Is she even still alive? And who are the mysterious Answer? And then, one day, the bombs begin to explode.. 

I was blown away by book 1, and even if this wasn't that mind-blowing it was still a great book. The first was What, what, what!! And this one was more what, what, what?

Ness has this gift for total confusion. Who to trust, who to believe, I haev no idea. Everyone is telling things, everyone is lying. There is chaos walking the planet.

Todd has made it to Haven with the dying Viola, but there he is met by Mayor Prentiss and the army and Viola is taken away. He is put into jail, and later forced to work with the now President Prentiss's son, putting the alien Spackle to work. All this while Prentiss is being really nice to him, and telling him things so that he does not knwo what to believe any more.

There is Todd chapters and Viola chapters as she goes down another road and hears another versions of the same story. All while they just want to find each other again.

I still do not know what to believe. Why were all the women in Prentisstown killed? I know the President is poison, but still, what to believe?

The thing here is that things escalate, the president is yes a monster and whatever he seems to say he does not trust women. I mean they did kill all the women in their town. But then there is those that oppose him and they are not right either. The next book will be called Monsters of Men, and this is something that Viola and Todd says in book 1 or 2, war makes monsters out of men and that is so true in this book.

This is chilling Dystopian fiction that should be read. It will grab hold of you with a bunch of questions, and how that planet will get peace I do now know. The first book was about them on the run, things happening all the time. This book is more lies and propaganda, and trying to stay human when everything is chaos around you.

I am truly looking forward to book 3, not only cos this book ends with a major cliffhanger just like book 1 did.

Cover thoughts: Not a fan.

Reason for Reading: Library book

Final thoughts: Great! I loved it.