Reviews with content warning for Torture - The Ask and the Answer

This was DARK. One of the darkest YA if not just in general I've read in a long time. Really takes its time showing the horrors of war and police occupation. This is becoming one of my all time favorite series. It really dives deep into the complexities of the choices that we make.

Just like the first, it was a little long for my taste. It's also still bio-essentialist and I don't think it's going to address that. There are things (losses) I wished it lingered on more but I understand that during wartime you don't always get time to process your feelings.

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lizzieuch's review against another edition

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adventurous dark sad tense fast-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? It's complicated

4.5

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andreapap15's review against another edition

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adventurous dark emotional 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

3.75

definitely a slower paced book than the constant terror of the first one, but with a more fleshed out villain and a more interesting dual POV.

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asourceoffiction's review against another edition

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challenging dark emotional sad tense fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

I feel like Viola and Todd just can't catch a break in this series; this second installment starts with them thrown into a whole new state of constant peril. But I love that this story is totally different from The Knife of Never Letting Go, where the characters are fleeing from the Mayor of Prentisstown. Here they have reached Haven but it does not provide the safety they desperately sought. Instead the pair are thrown onto opposite sides of a war.

It's so clever that Viola and Todd's chapters are written in different fonts, which makes all of the writing feel like their Noise. So the story is told from inside their heads rather than from an objective external source. It makes the different behaviours they encounter from their 'leaders' all the more intriguing; it's clear that Todd doesn't agree with the Mayor (who really ramps up the insidious in this book), but is stuck in his position and has to shut down to cope. But at the same time you can see that Mistress Coyle is not a wholly innocent party acting purely in defence. It really pulls you into the politics and shows how easy it is to become complicit to keep yourself or those you love safe.

As with the first book, this ends on a HUGE cliffhanger where things are clearly all about to go (even more) horribly wrong. Suffice to say I can't wait to read Monsters of Men.

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