The Ask and the Answer

Ness, P. (2009). The Ask and the Answer.
YA Lit / Dystopian, Post-Apocolyptic

I gave this 5 out of 5 Stars on Goodreads

Well I just burned through this and now into Book 3, Monsters of Men.  This should be one giant book because there really is not natural breaking point between where The Knife of Letting Go finished, this one, and the next.

Another page turner with some very interesting pieces of information coming to light.  Viola, our female lead from book one, really becomes formidable and the readers see her much more clearly.  Todd is much more tormented than in the first book (both physically and mentally), and for good reason. And the Mayor. . .boooo, hisssss. He is one evil dude and honestly, I kept turning pages to see what he was going to do next and if he'd keep getting away with his dastardly deeds.  Old characters are more defined, and new characters are introduced - good and bad - and some you can't ever figure out!

I haven't read all books in a series, back-to-back, since The Hunger Games came out some years ago.  This series has my attention for all 1600+ pages.

On the Clean-O-Meter rating, this is a 3 out of 5.  As with Book One, The Knife of Letting Go, Ness's writing style gives you the impact of swear words without the offense. In Book Two, the violence is more intense and the descriptions are pretty graphic, so that's where some younger kids might be in uncomfortable territory. (This moved my rating from a 3.5 on Book One.)There is no sex or sexual situations or even sexual references. (1- naughty, naughty ------- 5 - squeaky clean)

Boys will still enjoy this book even though Viola takes on a more prominent and powerful role.  It's war in all its awful gore and glory.

Here's a video of the author, Patrick Ness, reading an excerpt from The Ask and the Answer. Enjoy!