The Ask and the Answer: 2/3 (Chaos Walking)

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Todd and Viola regroup and decide to make a desperate attempt to stop the Mayor. They recruit a small group of disgruntled soldiers (enticing them with promises of the Cure) and go to find the Mayor. However, they soon discover the Cure is all gone, somehow destroyed by the Mayor. They find Mayor Prentiss, but he has learned to use his Noise as a weapon, and he takes out the soldiers who were helping Todd.

If you are still not sure then remember our ‘5 minute pledge’ that if you call and pay using your credit or debit card and you are not happy with your choice of reader or reading then if you hang up in the first 5 minutes then you will not be charged. The other main benefit of having telephone readings is that it means you can connect with quality psychics who are based all around the world, not just close to your house! because they spend most of this novel apart, this becomes a novel about faith. faith in the beloved other. because while technically not a YA romance, because there isn't any kissing, it has the perfect shape to become one: the first book is spent fighting together towards a common goal, learning each others' strengths and weaknesses, making sacrifices (sob) to protect the Other, comforting each other and never letting the other lose hope or give up.it is a perfect foundation. AVAST, YE SCURVY DOGS, THAR WILL BE SPOILERS! Yaaarrr! I don't know why I hate the Global Spoiler Warning, I just do. If we had the option to dance a spoiler hornpipe instead, I would take it. I encourage you to imagine me leaping about piratically for a few moments. SPOILERS, SPOILERS, SPOILERS, yo HO!In addition, there are the same plot holes as in the first book. I still don't understand the "specialness" of Todd, there is still a lot of build-up and allusions to various secrets that end up being not that interesting or important. The Knife of Never Letting Go was received with near universal praise for its originality and narration from critics such as Ian Chipman from Booklist and Megan Honig from The School Library Journal. It went on to win several awards and recognitions, including the Guardian Award, and the 2008 James Tiptree, Jr. Award. That's the part of the book I loved, this exploration of war and what it was doing to everyone. I don't think I've ever read a book that dug into both sides in quite this way, showing the psychic cost, how things escalate, how war takes on a life of its own that nobody can control. It was brilliant and horrifying. One of the things I loved the most about this book was the dual narrative because we finally got to see things from Viola’s perspective. Her chapters are articulate, educated, compassionate and they confirmed my suspicions from the first book… she really is as cute as a button.

Viola, on the other hand, was pretty much flawless the entire way through. We get to see things from her point of view in this book, since she and Todd are separated for most of it. I spent most of the book fangirling over her, because she is so forking strong and she faced so much, but she didn't give up. She also held onto her beliefs, and didn't let anyone or anything change that. Here, have some quotes. Elsewhere, Viola awakens. Likewise her thoughts are for Todd. She is in a house of healing, a 'clinic' staffed by female healers, as opposed to male doctors, for her gunshot wound. She meets Mistress Coyle, the head of the facility, who also has previous political and activist ties. Viola also meets the apprentices Corinne Wyatt and Maddy as she recovers. Topics About Which I Know Nothing, a collection of ten short stories, showcases Ness’s talents differently again, illustrating his ‘creative, unpretentious and pleasingly bonkers’ imagination and reveling in ‘the preposterous, the weird and the downright daft’ (Lloyd Evans, The Daily Telegraph, 9 May 2004). What might seem a rather disparate collection is, argues Lezard, underpinned by Ness’s ‘substantial’ intelligence. With formats as varied as an academic paper, family letters and a newspaper report, he explores a no-less-varied range of themes, from what Evans calls his ‘distinctly edgy examination of paedophilia’ (‘The Way All Trends Do’) to the way in which ‘talent can be a poisoned chalice as well as a horn of plenty’ (‘The Gifted’). ‘Ness lays into conventions with the abandon of an incorrigible vandal,’ says Evans. ‘There are no taboos’. Through Viola, we meet the healers, and a new character by the name of Mistress Coyle. Mistress Coyle tries to develop a relationship with Viola, asking her questions about the new settlers coming in, and pumping for information about the invading army, and trying to get Viola to understand that the decision to surrender was not a unanimous one. Unfortunately for Viola, it takes her too long to figure out Mistress Coyle isn't the beacon of hope she promises to be. The side door opens and the man who let me in leans out. "Everything all right out there, Lieutenant?"

I won't lie, I am really disappointed in and exhausted by this novel. "The Ask and the Answer" is very little like the first book in the trilogy "The Knife of Never Letting Go." I loved the first book - The Knife of Never Letting Go. Although I find this second book very interesting, it hasn't yet grabbed me in the same way. I think maybe it's because Manchee isn't around anymore, and also because many of the secrets have already been uncovered. The explored themes of colonization, war, gender divides, power, coming-of-age and the good/bad binary, which all ensured this a book where you got to learn whilst you read and where you got to know yourself and your stance on these issues, too. I loved that Ness chose to show us Viola because her story and development into main character allowed her to come out of Todd’s shadow and I felt her thoughts and, most importantly, actions really added to the whole message of the book. What do you mean what?" My voice is harder now. "Your new best friend. The man who shot me, Todd, and who you ride to work with laughing every morning."

Because Todd believes Viola has joined Mistress Coyle’s cause and is lost to him, he serves Prentiss without questioning. It is not until Viola comes to try to rescue Todd from Prentiss that he realizes Viola has not changed. They come to the realization that neither Prentiss or Mistress Coyle is an ideal leader and that they must take things into their own hands. The book starts out just a little bit slow and doesn't really hit stride until chapter 16. The slow start is probably why I liked the first book just a little bit better. Towards the end there is a very long scene which goes on like William Shatner in Star Trek. Unless LEE gets involved. Argh. My loyalties were stretched with this one because Viola turns into such a girl when she’s with him (“I laughed, too hard.”)I am not going to write a real review for this one, because if it continues in the same vain, I will have to repeat myself when I finish the third and last book in the series. I am just frustrated...