Reviews

The Ask and the Answer by Patrick Ness

maryhungerford's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging dark emotional sad tense fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.25

cgreaderbee's review

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4.0

Sadly I didn’t write a review at the time of reading this (almost 4 months ago), but this series as a whole has stuck with me. Starting right off with the groundwork established in book 1, this sequel blew the scope of the world & story wide open. Introducing the horrors of war, the gray area that exists between opposing factions, the greed of men. Who’s right, & who’s wrong? The answer is never as easy as you’d like to believe.

mikaelajane's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging dark tense medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

madsylvie's review against another edition

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4.0

3.5 stars but one extra for davy :(

xesme135's review against another edition

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5.0

oh my god this book was incredible this series is amazing, i will be buying book 3 asap

emleemay's review against another edition

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5.0

This stunning sequel to The Knife Of Never Letting Go manages to measure up to its predecessor in a way I never thought possible. After reading the first book, I felt sure that Ness would be incapable of delivering something equally brilliant. But he did.

This is an even more important book than part one, though admittedly not quite as fast-paced. It deals with feminism, terrorism, war and genocide. The alternating narrative works well and develops the reader's bond with the character of Viola. For me, it was an even darker novel than the first book, with Ness sparing no details on the violence and torture undergone by those suspected of being members of the Answer.

It's a very shocking story and it questions what makes a person 'good' and whether an individual is solely responsible for their actions or if society and social factors can be blamed. Ness openly tackles the possibility of redemption in the most dire cases and he carefully blurs the lines between hero and villain.

Is it okay to sacrifice one innocent person for the greater good? How about a thousand? Is terrorism a crime or a fight for freedom? The answers you think you have now may not be so easily applied when reading the book. It may make you question all that you've ever believed in.

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shxx2's review against another edition

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adventurous dark tense medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Plot
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.25

celestemaniconereads's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging emotional fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.5

xanburne05's review against another edition

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dark tense medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.0

gordonk's review against another edition

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4.0

From the moment that they met, Todd and Viola had a special connection. Together they are strong, I, as the reader know that. Mayor Prentiss knows that too. What follows is a set of events that is frustrating, baffling and very intense. Forget what you thought you knew at the end of the first book. Whatever direction you thought this was likely to take, you are more than likely wrong. I didn’t see this coming, I don’t think you will either. Patrick Ness is a master wordsmith. He doesn’t just put words onto paper he put ideas into your mind. I started this book with no doubts about who I thought the villain of the story was, but Mr Ness made me doubt myself. That doesn’t happen too often. My opinion changed several times before the book ended, by the end I was under no illusions. This book really did get inside my mind. In some ways this is a stronger book than book one, but due to the fact that first book was enthralling all the way through and this one had much less going on in the middle, I had to rate this one a little bit less. A very strong story overall though. I’m excited for book three.