Author: Patrick Ness
Series: Chaos Walking #2
Date Started: May 30th 2013
Date Completed: May 31th 2013
Genres: Adventure, Mystery, Action, Dystopian, Romance
Rating: Four stars
Review:
I read this book in one day straight after finishing the first book because the cliffhanger was so good I had to know what happened next. This suspense was continued throughout the whole of this book and I'm already reading Monsters of Men - the final instalment of the Chaos Walking trilogy. I don't usually read books that keep me questioning what's happening throughout the whole story, but this did it in a way that made me just want to keep reading and keep reading and keep reading. I don't know what I'm going to do when I get to the end of the series.
The Ask and the Answer continues immediately on from the end of The Knife of Never Letting Go. (I've just realised how hard it is to write a synopsis that doesn't include any spoilers for the previous book.) Todd and Viola are now in the clutches of New Prentisstown and with little hope of escape. The Mayor's power has grown and Todd and Viola find themselves in the middle of a dangerous game between the ruling force and the rebels. When they're separated against their will, can the friends still trust each other from becoming manipulated into aiding the wrong side?
I often say how author's writing changes over the course of a series because they've grown more comfortable and adventurous with their style. But I've never read such a dramatic progression as in this book. I like Ness' writing well enough in the first book, but this time I was completely engaged throughout the whole thing and I could picture a lot of it more vividly than in The Knife of Never Letting Go. Patrick Ness definitely has a unique way of writing, that suits a younger age group - yet The Ask and the Answer has turned the series more into a Young Adult trilogy in my opinion.
I admit, the writing is still fairly simple and I would still class it as a children's book-style writing; but along with the development of characters and story, this could sit quite comfortably in YA in my opinion.
In my review of The Knife of Never Letting Go I said how the plot didn't really involve much - running from one place to another until they were caught. I was expecting a similar sort of basic structure for the story in this novel: I was very wrong. From something that started off so simple, a huge, conflicting, complex plot line emerged.
The story was the main thing that made me start considering this series as a Young Adult trilogy since it was twisted with as many turns as the Hunger Games (although, I admit, I think the Hunger Games is much better written and the characters are more fitted to the story. But still - it's pretty impressive for a trilogy aimed at young teenagers.)
Another thing I loved about it was the fact that I didn't mind who's chapter it was: I wasn't speeding through certain chapters to get to a particular character I liked because they were all presented so well. (I also have some admiration for him dealing with the violence so sensibly - it wasn't overdone for drama and the after-affects were how you might expect them. I also think he used it appropriately in the right places.)
I'm still in love with the characters. Todd just gets better and better. I first thought that having his age at 13/14 was risky because adults usually portray younger characters unrealistically (I don't object to young people becoming heroes - I approve greatly - I just think that the affects it has on the characters aren't thought through and shown properly). However, I have a feeling Ness deliberately showed Todd as a younger character so he could present how his adventures had changed him - which is shown very well in the book.
I still love Viola and connect with her character very well (although I do feel she was shown as slightly weaker than I would have liked (But I'm already reading the third book and am happy to say that that changes)). The two characters work very well together and have chemistry that is believable - and the story includes it but doesn't focus around it. Just how I like it.
I said in my review of The Knife of Never Letting Go how I wish particular characters had had more time in the books. I was definitely repaid in this book: Davy came back and I really admire the changes in his character throughout the novel; Wilf was also included which made me happy - because who doesn't love Wilf?
I was also interested to learn about some new characters. The great thing about Ness is that he knows exactly where to stop adding things in to stop from overdoing his writing. All his characters are involved with just the right about of 'screen-time' and they're always relevant to the story. (I'll stop rambling about characters now. After one more...)
I love Lee. Lee is amazing. Lee is perfect. I feel very sorry for him, but I agree with how Ness has written it.
Carrying on from Lee, I'm happy that Patrick Ness avoided the love-triangle opportunity. It's definitely still there - but Ness focuses more on the story than the romance. I know this is a very hard thing to do, but it works well in making the characters realistic but also not creating a romance novel. It makes me happy to know that some authors can still write without becoming obsessed with relationships.
Again, Ness created a brilliant ending that made me go straight onto the third book. It has so much potential - I hope it gets even better, just as this did from the first novel.
(Perfect title again.)
I would recommend the book to anyone who wants a reasonably easy read and who likes dystopian, action, mystery books. Most definitely read The Knife of Letting Go first, because otherwise not a lot will make sense and it will reveal a million and one spoilers for the first book.
Image Source: http://gatheringbooks.files.wordpress.com/
2012/03/askandtheanswer1.jpg?w=560
I read this book in one day straight after finishing the first book because the cliffhanger was so good I had to know what happened next. This suspense was continued throughout the whole of this book and I'm already reading Monsters of Men - the final instalment of the Chaos Walking trilogy. I don't usually read books that keep me questioning what's happening throughout the whole story, but this did it in a way that made me just want to keep reading and keep reading and keep reading. I don't know what I'm going to do when I get to the end of the series.
The Ask and the Answer continues immediately on from the end of The Knife of Never Letting Go. (I've just realised how hard it is to write a synopsis that doesn't include any spoilers for the previous book.) Todd and Viola are now in the clutches of New Prentisstown and with little hope of escape. The Mayor's power has grown and Todd and Viola find themselves in the middle of a dangerous game between the ruling force and the rebels. When they're separated against their will, can the friends still trust each other from becoming manipulated into aiding the wrong side?
I often say how author's writing changes over the course of a series because they've grown more comfortable and adventurous with their style. But I've never read such a dramatic progression as in this book. I like Ness' writing well enough in the first book, but this time I was completely engaged throughout the whole thing and I could picture a lot of it more vividly than in The Knife of Never Letting Go. Patrick Ness definitely has a unique way of writing, that suits a younger age group - yet The Ask and the Answer has turned the series more into a Young Adult trilogy in my opinion.
I admit, the writing is still fairly simple and I would still class it as a children's book-style writing; but along with the development of characters and story, this could sit quite comfortably in YA in my opinion.
In my review of The Knife of Never Letting Go I said how the plot didn't really involve much - running from one place to another until they were caught. I was expecting a similar sort of basic structure for the story in this novel: I was very wrong. From something that started off so simple, a huge, conflicting, complex plot line emerged.
The story was the main thing that made me start considering this series as a Young Adult trilogy since it was twisted with as many turns as the Hunger Games (although, I admit, I think the Hunger Games is much better written and the characters are more fitted to the story. But still - it's pretty impressive for a trilogy aimed at young teenagers.)
Another thing I loved about it was the fact that I didn't mind who's chapter it was: I wasn't speeding through certain chapters to get to a particular character I liked because they were all presented so well. (I also have some admiration for him dealing with the violence so sensibly - it wasn't overdone for drama and the after-affects were how you might expect them. I also think he used it appropriately in the right places.)
I'm still in love with the characters. Todd just gets better and better. I first thought that having his age at 13/14 was risky because adults usually portray younger characters unrealistically (I don't object to young people becoming heroes - I approve greatly - I just think that the affects it has on the characters aren't thought through and shown properly). However, I have a feeling Ness deliberately showed Todd as a younger character so he could present how his adventures had changed him - which is shown very well in the book.
I still love Viola and connect with her character very well (although I do feel she was shown as slightly weaker than I would have liked (But I'm already reading the third book and am happy to say that that changes)). The two characters work very well together and have chemistry that is believable - and the story includes it but doesn't focus around it. Just how I like it.
I said in my review of The Knife of Never Letting Go how I wish particular characters had had more time in the books. I was definitely repaid in this book: Davy came back and I really admire the changes in his character throughout the novel; Wilf was also included which made me happy - because who doesn't love Wilf?
I was also interested to learn about some new characters. The great thing about Ness is that he knows exactly where to stop adding things in to stop from overdoing his writing. All his characters are involved with just the right about of 'screen-time' and they're always relevant to the story. (I'll stop rambling about characters now. After one more...)
I love Lee. Lee is amazing. Lee is perfect. I feel very sorry for him, but I agree with how Ness has written it.
Carrying on from Lee, I'm happy that Patrick Ness avoided the love-triangle opportunity. It's definitely still there - but Ness focuses more on the story than the romance. I know this is a very hard thing to do, but it works well in making the characters realistic but also not creating a romance novel. It makes me happy to know that some authors can still write without becoming obsessed with relationships.
Again, Ness created a brilliant ending that made me go straight onto the third book. It has so much potential - I hope it gets even better, just as this did from the first novel.
(Perfect title again.)
I would recommend the book to anyone who wants a reasonably easy read and who likes dystopian, action, mystery books. Most definitely read The Knife of Letting Go first, because otherwise not a lot will make sense and it will reveal a million and one spoilers for the first book.
Image Source: http://gatheringbooks.files.wordpress.com/
2012/03/askandtheanswer1.jpg?w=560
No comments:
Post a Comment