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. This is the second title in the “Chaos Walking” trilogy.
(Excerpt from GoodRead)
WHAT THE FLIPPIN’!!! OMG! I think I’m going to lose my mind!
Well, I will say this, Mr. Ness, you are the king of cliffhangers and I scowl at the torture!
Moving on.
So, this is book two of the Chaos Walking series. If you’ve read book one, The Knife of Never Letting Go then you know that Mr. Ness has once again punched us in the gut and left us sprawled in the dirt, holding our insides in. Book two, The Ask and The Answer picks up where it ended in book one, only, where it was all flowers and sunshine and fluffy puppies in book one, (are you rolling your eyes and wondering what I’m on? Yeah, me too) book two is a screaming roller coaster of death and terror. That’s right. Ms. Nass outdoes himself. The action is just as suspenseful, the horror just as terrifying. I won’t tell you much, because once again, Mr. Nass has made it near impossible to divulge anything without telling everything.
But I will tell you this.
We get to hear from Viola this round. That was a treat. I’m not usually into the whole head jumping, but it was interesting to see how Viola saw this new and scary world that she was thrown into. I found that, although she was a little smarter than Todd when it came to most things, she was also stupider. There were a few things she’d do that made me want to facepalm, but you just have to keep in mind that she’s a twelve/thirteen year old girl, alone, in a world that isn’t her own and has no one to trust.
Once again, highly recommended! Bring your own tissues, because it doesn’t get any easier from here.
So, in conclusion:
Will I read the next book? Absolutely!
Will I tell my friends about this book? Yes.
Did I enjoy it? Yes.