If you're looking for answers, look elsewhere. The Answer is just the rebels made up of mostly women. The question, at least in my mind, is what causes men to turn into cattle, whether it's the mayor turning otherwise intelligent people into subservients or what really happened to all the others that are literally being kept in pens. But I can't figure out why. Both are series about dystopian futures staring young people trying to overthrow oppressive leaders. Both were published at the same time. Both sold film rights to Lions Gate Entertainment. Both are great. I loved this book. Loved it really hard. If you will recall my review of The Knife of Never Letting Go, I loved that book a lot, too. I also hated it, and the result was the most passionate three stars I've ever given a book. But I am not imagining how upset I am at the turn of events. I really do choke up a bit at where the two end up. And I’m left feeling so many, many things: angry, sad, confused, a bit more sad, and whole lot more angry. No sophomore slump here. None. I imagine Viola, reluctant healer, the worst in fact, bumbling around; Todd working, slaving away. And I imagine their growing closeness despite everything that’s going on around them; despite the forced physical distance between them.

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. With his 'Chaos Walking' success, Ness is much in demand as a writer. One of his own priorities is to find ‘joy’ in his work. ‘I look for a writer having a great time, who wants to share [that]’ ( The Independent, 2 May 2010). In 2010 he was asked to complete a project begun by the writer Siobhan Dowd, who died from breast cancer in 2007. ‘The idea was so good, I started to get my own ideas about how I would write the story… I've taken the baton from a really great writer,’ comments Ness. A Monster Calls, about a boy whose mother is ill, is published in 2011. There weren’t many new characters but the characters we know developed and I expected the change in some characters which was awesome and devil! Ready to give it a try? I'm not going to recap the synopsis, you can read that anywhere. Here's what you need to know from me that you can't get anywhere else: It's also questionable whether the book couldn't have been cut in half instead of making it unnecessarily long. (To be fair, ever since I started working full time I've been questioning the purpose of long books on a regular basis.)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.

Most of the things I had issues with in the first book aren't a factor here, except for one. And it's kind of a big one. I'm going to have to meditate upon this for a time before I can write a proper review. Over all, though, I liked this one much better. Ness does relentlessly horrible like nobody else, and I say that with all the love and respect in the world. The Ask and the Answer is supposed to be a children's book. Yes, for sure it is. I mean, that seems crystal clear, huh? The main characters are young, aren't they? Features a bonus short story, The Wide, Wide Sea. Introducing new characters and set before the events of The Ask and the Answer, it is a story of love and loyalty in a divided world.

This series is rapidly becoming my favourite trilogy of all time. What started as an original science fiction story with "noise" as an interesting character in its own right, has evolved into a grand coming of age saga with high emotion, vicious baddies and a duo that are destined for love so strongly they make Romeo and Juliet look like amateurs. The writing has maintained the same incredibly high standard found in book one. The sense of cliff hanger endings to every chapters has fallen a small degree but that's no bad thing, as it leaves the reader hoping for, and yet dreading, a super epic ending to this volume of the trilogy. 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. Usually, when I read dystopian YA of substance, I am full of emotions which propel me to inspiration, and I have no problems putting them down in a review. Usually most of those feelings are positive. And just as always, I try to balance my personal feelings with objective overview of the qualities of writing, plot, storytelling and so on... But sometimes, like right now, my emotions let me down and my objectivity starts failing...