"We are the choices we make."
Book: The Ask and the Answer (Chaos Walking #2)
Author: Patrick Ness
Genre: Young Adult, Science Fiction, Dystopian
Synopsis: 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...
"The Ask and the Answer" is a tense, shocking and deeply moving novel of resistance under the most extreme pressure.
What I think about it...
In all honesty, I only continue reading this series because I love Patrick Ness and I vowed that I will read all his work because again, I love him. There.
I also read the The Wide, Wide Sea (Chaos Walking #2.5) after reading The Ask and the Answer because they are related and we are supposed to read it first before Monsters of Men (Chaos Walking #3) because there are hints written here of the things yet to come in the final book. I actually think that there are characters here that will make an appearance in Monsters.
The Story
The story is, of course, a continuation of the ending of book one. It revolves around the development of Haven under the new President - known as Mayor Prentiss to Todd - but some people are not happy with how the way things are so there's a war between Mayor Prentiss' followers and the terrorist (as Mayor Prentiss puts it) who calls themselves as Answer.
I’m tired of this series. It’s a struggle for me to pick it up and continue reading. I mean it when I say I don’t like it. But hey, that doesn’t mean that it’s not a good book cos actually it is a good book. The plot is unique. It is intelligently and creatively written. But the problem is with me.
I get tired with the continuous (and actually never-ending) exchange of arguments and killings. It’s survival of the fittest, I know, but it’s exhausting. I don’t like how weak these characters are and how irrational they think. That fight (war of the minds) between Mayor Prentiss and Todd towards the end was absurd, lame and horrible, for me.
The Characters
Even though this bores me to death I can’t say the same with what happened to the characters because I love their character developments. Todd Hewitt became a Lieutenant, Viola became a healer and Davy became kind of friends with Todd. There’s the appearance of the Spackles and we are introduced to more characters here. As what is hinted in the first book, there was the return of Mayor Prentiss – now President Prentiss – and the rest of the Prentisstown men.
My Verdict
I didn’t like it but that doesn’t mean that it is not a good work. This ending has left me very intrigued as to how this series will end therefore I will finish it along with its sidestories.
MY RATING
★★☆☆☆
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