The Ask and the Answer: With Bonus Short Story (Chaos Walking)

Patrick Ness must hate Suzanne Collins. Why? Raise your hand if you've ever heard of The Hunger Games Trilogy. Now raise your hand if you've ever heard of Chaos Walking Trilogy? That's why. 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. The biggest difference? Chaos Walking is better--much better. So why hasn't anyone heard of Chaos Walking? I don't know, but I'm about to do my part to correct this gross injustice. For starters, check out what Wikipedia has to say for Chas Walking: On the overall series, the Costa Prize Judges said that they were "convinced that this is a major achievement in the making," while the Guardian stated that "I would press Patrick Ness's Chaos Walking trilogy urgently on anyone, anyone at all. It is extraordinary." In their review of the final book, Publisher's Weekly called the series "one of the most important works of young adult science fiction in recent years." Robert Dunbar wrote in The Guardian that the series "will almost certainly come to be seen as one of the outstanding literary achievements of the present century, whether viewed as fiction for the young or for a wider readership." 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. The second book was also received well, with praise from Publishers Weekly, Children's Literature and Kirkus Reviews, all noting the excellent plot and cast. It was named as one of "the best YA science fiction novels of the year" by Publisher's Weekly while Kirkus called the characters "heartbreakingly real" and praised the questions brought up about "the meaning of war and the price of peace." The book won the 2009 Costa children's fiction prize and was recognized widely for its success. The third book, Monsters of Men, has received greatly positive reviews and won the 2011 Carnegie Medal. It was also nominated for the Arthur C. Clarke award for best science fiction novel, only the second time that a young adult novel made it on to the shortlist. All three books have been shortlisted for the Carnegie Book Award. [...] Convinced yet? Let's ask Wikipedia what it thinks of The Hunger Games: Praise has focused on the addictive quality of especially the first book, and the action. John Green of The New York Times compared The Hunger Games with Scott Westerfeld's Uglies series. Catching Fire was praised for improving upon the first book. Mockingjay was praised for its portrayal of violence, world building, and romantic intrigue. [...] Not exactly gushing, is it. The Chaos Walking Trilogy makes people gush. How about some of my favorite quotes? "We are the choices we make." ― Patrick Ness, The Knife of Never Letting Go "Faith with proof is no faith at all." ― Patrick Ness, The Ask and the Answer "Choices may be unbelievably hard but they're never impossible. To say you have no choice is to release yourself from responsibility and that's not how a person with integrity acts." ― Patrick Ness, Monsters of Men "It's not how we fall. It's how we get back up again." ― Patrick Ness, Monsters of Men 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: Don't give up if you feel frustrated at the writing style after the first few pages. Patrick Ness uses his words as part of the story, and so his style feels a bit awkward at first. For example, some words are spelled fonetiklee because Todd can't read. Also the books are full of stream of consciousness sentences that would earn you an "F" if you tried to use them in English class. But it's intentional. The author's use of words adds to the feeling of the story and endures you to the characters. And speaking of the characters . . . The characters in Chaos Walking are some of the best I've ever read. Every character--from Todd and Viola even down to the horses they ride--is powerful and flawed and full of meaning. Todd, Viola, the Mayor are the major players, but there are no minor players. Everyone is important. Many times I'll describe a book as "character driven" or "plot driven." These books are both--enduring characters living through a powerful story. And speaking of the story . . . I typically don't like 1st person narration because it's so hard to get it right. The Chaos Walking Trilogy is written entirely 1st person--and it couldn't be any other way. It's what makes the story work, and I'm extremely impressed. Todd narrates the first book, Todd and Viola narrate the second, and the third book is narrated by Todd and Viola and one other special guest who I don't think I'll divulge . . . but just know that it works great. And speaking of great . . . Read Chaos Walking. For you parents out there, here's what else you need to know. Chaos Walking has the same level of violence and death as that other trilogy. Also, there is some PG-13 language. I rate all three books 16+.

The Ask and the Answer immediately follows The Knife of Never Letting Go; Todd and Viola have reached the capital of haven, only to find it already under the control of Mayor Prentiss and his army. Todd is imprisoned and made to work for Prentiss; Viola, horribly wounded, finds herself in the Houses of Healing under the care and auspices of Mistress Coyle. This is a much different story than Knife, where urgency was created through the pursuit of Todd and Viola. There is no chase here, but Ness keeps up the tension as Mayor Prentiss exerts his totalitarian and misogynistic control over "New Prentisstown." Todd's sections alternate with Viola's this time, and we get a much better view of her character. Todd is made to participate in Prentiss' oppression of the native Spackle as they are rounded into a labor camp. Viola's story follows the rebel "Answer," who resist the regime using a mix of terrorism and guerrilla warfare. Ask can be a disturbing read at times, and it's to Ness' credit that he could keep me reading despite the horrors of torture, concentration camps, and genocide. The novel raises a ton of thought provoking questions in a scenario that feels scarily all too real. Are Mistress Coyle's actions in any way justified given the situation? How complicit is Todd in the mayor's crimes? Both Todd and Viola can be aggravating at times, acting extremely stupid out of concern over the other. Todd definitively breaks at one point, robotically following orders out of a belief that Viola may be complicit with the opposite side. Viola goes after Todd on her own at another point, willingly subjecting herself to personal injury. That said, this is still a must read if you were intrigued by the ending of the previous book. Be aware, however, that Ness once again ends on a major cliffhanger.

A week ago I reviewed The Knife of Never Letting Go with "SSQQUUEEESSSS" of excitement and soooo glad I had this next book in hand to hop right into it. Life happenings this past week may have slowed down my reading but this week I was able to spend some good quality time one on one with Todd and Viola. The Ask and The Answer is not as light a read as The Knife Of Never Letting Go. This book has put our characters right in the heat of battle... once again told in Patrick Ness's phenomenal style... we have alternating chapters from Todd and Viola's perspectives. There are so many things I want to rave about Patrick Ness's writing style. It is creative. It is brilliant. It makes me want to hug the pages and say, "YES! This is how to write!" When words make me feel... I am sold out. But more than that even, as I told a friend earlier today.... Patrick Ness finds no character indispensable. In a "take no prisoners" style, Patrick Ness brings characters tot he books... and he takes them out. Period. No holes barred. And I am left shocked and thinking, "Oh no.. he did not just do that...." But he did. And shocked, and confused.... I love it. If The Knife Of Never Letting Go held me.... The Ask and The Answer stuck me to the wall. I absolutely can not wait to leap into the pages of Monsters Of Men. My opinion? If you liked Hunger Games... you will LOVE this series. If you LOVED Hunger Games.... The Chaos Walking series is about to blow you clean off the planet.

I ordered the whole series (this is the 2nd of 3) and I loved it! This one was the one where you mentally are thinking "no, no, don't do that! Oh they did it...WHAT?! This is crazy, what's happening!" but it keeps you on the edge of your seat and I could not put it down! This book is necessary to the series, because it supports a lot of characters as you see them develop further, and you get to read from two/three different characters' point of view. This was beautifully written, and I strongly recommend this book, as well as the other two books in this series.

Oh my what a story. Todd and Viola keep getting beat down but they always get back up. These two characters have been through total hell and every time you think they’re going to be ok something knocks them back down. Patrick Ness did an amazing job building this world, while I’m reading I feel like I’m on New World living through every hardship they are going through. I couldn’t imagine having to listen to what goes on in my husband’s head all day and all night, that by itself would be torture, and add having to build everything from scratch and start a harvest and keep your family from starving it would bring the strongest person to their knees. Let’s start book 3 and keep your fingers crossed Todd and Viola pull through and come out on top because both the tyrant and the terrorist need to be took down!

The Ask and the Answer is a little bit different than The Knife of Never Letting Go...The story pretty much starts where The Knife's cliffy lets us hanging... Viola's life hanging in the balance and Todd facing down evil Mayor Prentiss with no hope in sight. But in part 2 of Chaos Walking, Viola and Todd become separated, and so the story is told from two perspectives. His and hers. Through Todd we learn Haven surrendered to Mayor Prentiss, who then changed Haven's name to New Prentisstown and declared himself President of the New World. Mayor Prentiss is a sick twist, no doubt about it, and he didn't waste time learning that the best way to keep Todd in line is by holding Viola hostage. Todd is sent to work, under Davy Prentiss Jr's supervision, as a slave-driver, keeping the Spackle prisoners clearing the land. 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. As a cold war turns red hot, Chaos Walking dives deeper into darker themes. Men and Women are separated by thought in book 1, but in book 2 they're separated by opinion, by walls, by curfews. And as President Prentiss's dictatorship thrives, he takes the Spackle servants of Haven and turns them into chattel. As President Prentiss begins to settle into his new role, revolutionaries flee, organize, and fight back; people get caught in the cross fire and terror spreads... Bringing the thin line that separates terrorism and revolution under stress. I loved getting a closer look at Davy Prentiss Jr,. In book 1, he depicted as being as awful as his father and in book 2 we get to see why that is. First he's raised by a sociopath, then he's cast in the role of forever trying and failing to achieve his father's love... And as the new president tries to keep his new government together, the more it becomes blatantly obvious that blood's got little to do with family. Todd and Viola are put under increasing pressure to conform and behave, so the other may live, so they might someday reunite... Even as they hold their survival first, they begin to recognize the cost of choosing sides in a war... The cost of lives of those stuck in the middle. And just as the story is becomes overloaded with moral and emotional dilemmas, just as a full scale war for possession of the New World begins-- Another cliffhanger ending. The only reason this story missed out on another five star rating: I felt the author became inconsistent with Todd's narration. he only remembered once in awhile that Todd couldn't spell big words...Although that may have been an attempt at removing the last of the humor and evolving the story into more serious material... I was also a little peeved at another cliffhanger.

I'm very hot and cold with this series. This book was good but not as good as the first one. I read straight through it, but by the end, I didn't really care. I bought the third book but haven't even cracked it yet. I think the author did a great job developing relationships between characters in a realistic way. This was one of my favorite things in the first book and it was even better in book two. The author is great at allowing his characters to grow, without making them unrecognizable. Because of this the author really avoided many annoying YA tropes, which I really appreciated. That being said, the motivations of the primary antagonist were very weak for me in the first book but the non-stop adventure kept me furiously turning pages and wanting more at the end. This book has the same problems with the antagonist but without the action-packed plot. To make matters worse, the author added in new antagonists (or quasi-antagonists) whose motivations were equally poorly developed.That was a bit of a problem for me. I will definitely finish the series at some point, but the end of this book just didn't leave me wanting more. I really like Ness's writing style and will likely check out other things he's written.

If you read my review from the first book in this series you already know that I loved it! This one keeps you guessing and holding onto hope. New World has something in the air which causes everyone to hear the men’s thoughts as well as animals thought. You can’t hear the women’s thoughts though. The first book showed you the dark past of being a new settler on a new planet and overcoming the struggles of dealing with this phenomenon as well and man always wanting to be In control and wage war on each other as well as any other creature that stands in their way. The main character Todd narrated the first book himself for the most part as he and a Viola journeyed across the world trying to beat the Mayor’s army. Although, when they think they are safe as they enter New Haven with a badly wounded Viola, it turns out the mayor has beat them. This second book Todd and Viola and split up for the most part forced to work and withstand excruciating circumstances. Todd has it a little harder in my opinion. The book switched back and forth as each character is going on about their life in this strange new world with nothing but hope to live off of. Hope they will be together again. Hope that Viola’s people traveling in space will arrive soon and save them. Hope the Mayor gets defeated. Hope the women won’t be prisoners. Hope to live in peace with other creatures. Hope for a better tomorrow. The Mayor from old Prentistown who likes to be referred to as President of New World gives me a colt vibe. I’m very shocked with the ending and can’t wait to see what happened with the Spackle 0017 (a human like creature with grayish skin and more frail bones). I’m holding onto hope with this book. It shows you true human nature.

Haven sollte Todds und Violas sicherer Hafen sein. Doch ihre letzte Hoffnung wurde zu einem Gefängnis. Mayor Prentiss kam ihnen zuvor und übernahm die Stadt mithilfe seiner Armee. Sofort beginnt er, neue Regeln zu diktieren. Seiner Ansicht nach muss New World revolutioniert werden; die Menschen müssten sich auf das besinnen, was sie wirklich sind. Dazu trennt er nicht nur sofort Todd und Viola, nein, er unterteilt auch die Bewohner Havens in Männer und Frauen und isoliert sie voneinander. Außerdem hält er das Heilmittel für den Noise, das in Haven erfunden wurde, unter Verschluss. Aus Angst, dass Prentiss Viola etwas antun könnte, erklärt sich Todd bereit für ihn zu arbeiten. Er würde alles tun, um sie zu beschützen. Viola wiederum erholt sich im Haus der Heilung von der Schusswunde, die ihr Davy Prentiss Jr. zugefügt hat. Dort lernt sie die begnadete Heilerin Mistress Coyle kennen, die mehr als nur ein paar Zweifel bezüglich Mayor Prentiss‘ Absichten hat. Sie glaubt, dass der Mayor seine Macht missbrauchen wird, um die Frauen New Worlds auszurotten und die Männer in eine tyrannische Diktatur zu zwingen. Viola entdeckt, dass Mistress Coyle bereits dabei ist, den Widerstand zu organisieren. Auf einmal geht alles ganz schnell: unter der Führung der Mistress verlassen die Rebellen die Stadt und beginnen einen Guerillakrieg gegen Prentiss und seine Soldaten. Während Bomben das Land erschüttern und Unschuldige sterben, befinden sich Todd und Viola plötzlich auf entgegengesetzten Seiten des Konflikts. Können sie Mistress Coyle und Mayor Prentiss aufhalten und zusätzlich ihre Freundschaft retten? Beim Lesen ist mir nicht aufgefallen, wie komplex der zweite Band der Chaos Walking – Trilogie ist. Doch jetzt, während ich versuchte, den Inhalt zusammen zu fassen, sind mir die vielen Wendungen und Details der Handlung bewusst geworden. Wenn ihr mich fragt, genau in diesem Punkt zeigt sich großes schriftstellerisches Können. Patrick Ness hat eine umfangreiche, genau ausschattierte Handlung konstruiert, ohne seine LeserInnen spüren zu lassen, wie viel sie verarbeiten. Ich glitt butterweich durch die Story, weil er deren Komplexität geschickt hinter seinem leichten, flüssigen Schreibstil versteckte. Obwohl in „The Ask and the Answer“ unglaublich viel geschieht, fühlte ich mich nie überwältigt und hatte kein einziges Mal Probleme, die Zusammenhänge nachzuvollziehen. Im Fokus der Geschichte stehen selbstverständlich wieder Todd und Viola, schließlich schildert Ness die Ereignisse abwechselnd aus ihrer jeweiligen Perspektive. Die Umstände sind eine ungemeine Belastungsprobe für ihre Freundschaft und ihr Vertrauen in einander. Durch den Einfluss von Mistress Coyle und Mayor Prentiss, die sich im Übrigen wesentlich ähnlicher sind, als sie selbst je zugeben würden, schleichen sich bei beiden erhebliche Zweifel ein. Das Interessante an der Situation ist, dass Patrick Ness subtil vermittelt, wie leicht Todd und Viola zu zweiten Versionen beider AnführerInnen hätten werden können, wären sie nie Freunde geworden. Ihre Beziehung erdet sie und erinnert sie in brenzligen Momenten daran, das Richtige zu tun. Das bedeutet natürlich nicht, dass sie nicht auch Fehler machen. Vor allem Todd lässt sich von Prentiss erst erpressen und dann einlullen, obwohl er tief in seinem Inneren weiß, dass dem Mann nicht zu trauen ist. Er möchte so sehr an das glauben, was Prentiss zu Beginn öffentlich erklärt, „The war is over“, dass er nicht sieht, dass der physische Kampf vielleicht vorbei sein mag, die psychische Seite aber gerade erst begonnen hat. Mayor Prentiss ist ein Lügner und Manipulator und Mistress Coyle steht ihm da in nichts nach – aber sie sind auch hervorragend ausgearbeitete Figuren, so wie alle Nebencharaktere. Ich empfand sie alle als absolut real, lebendig und individuell. Durch den Noise entsteht ansatzlos eine unfassbare Nähe, mit der Patrick Ness auf erstaunliche Weise spielt. Selbst mit den Tieren fühlte ich mich verbunden, weil ich ihre Gedanken hören/lesen und mir so ein klares Bild ihrer Persönlichkeit machen konnte. In Bezug auf den Protagonisten Todd unterstützt Ness diesen Eindruck zusätzlich, indem er sehr lange Sätze verwendet, wann immer Todd von seinen eigenen Gedanken überflutet wird. Auf manche mag das eigenartig wirken, doch ich empfand es als extrem realistisch. Es gibt der Geschichte und natürlich Todd selbst etwas sehr Eigenes, Besonderes. „The Ask and the Answer“ steht dem Vorgänger „The Knife of Never Letting go“ in nichts nach. Ich bin mir unsicher, ob Patrick Ness Chaos Walking überhaupt zielgerichtet als Trilogie schrieb, oder ob er schlicht drauf los erzählte und seine Geschichte später an passenden Punkten trennte. Es wirkt einfach nicht so, als hätte er zwischen Band eins und zwei gedanklich abgesetzt. Sie greifen in einander und gehören als Einheit zusammen. Es ist daher auch nicht möglich, „The Ask and the Answer“ zu lesen, ohne den Auftakt gelesen zu haben. Tatsächlich glaube ich, dass Chaos Walking auch denjenigen LeserInnen gefällt, die sonst nicht viel mit dem Young Adult Genre anfangen können. Die Geschichte bietet so viel an, so viele Facetten, dass ich finde, so etwas wie eine Zielgruppe gibt es in diesem Fall nicht. Man kann sich ihrem Sog einfach nicht entziehen, unabhängig vom Alter. Patrick Ness ist ein Genie; er weckte in mir äußerst intensive Gefühle und selten war ich in einem Buch so tief drin wie in „The Ask and the Answer“. Diese Rezension fiel mir deswegen unglaublich schwer. Ich hoffe, ich habe sie so schreiben können, dass ihr meine Begeisterung spürt und gleichzeitig erkennt, wie außergewöhnlich dieses Buch ist.

ótimo, só não dou 5 estrelas pq algumas páginas veio manchadas

絶望の1章から続く、忍耐の2章。 Mayor Prentissに捕らえられるTodd、Mistress Coyleと行動を共にするViola。 ToddとViolaの間に初めて生まれる相手への不信。 信じたいけど信じられない苦しさ。 どこに出口があるの？ それは読み進むまで読者にも分からないのです。

Nicee

When I first started reading this series I was a little hesitant, I'm not really a Sci Fi fan, but once it got going I was hooked! I loved the characters, the good and the bad, and it has one of the most unique story lines I've ever read! It's a great teen fiction series!