I don’t want to give too much away for those who haven’t
read book 1 yet, so this will be tricky. Todd, the main character from the
first book, is back. He and his friend Viola have been captured by their enemy,
Mayor Prentiss, and separated. The Mayor tells Todd that the only way to keep
Viola safe is to comply with everything he says and become a part of his new
regime. Todd is constantly worried because he has no way of knowing if Viola is
safe or even still alive, as he struggles to keep her safe while doing things for the Mayor that he knows are wrong.
With this page-turning beginning, the story continues
against a backdrop of increasingly disturbing changes the Mayor is making to
the society he is now ruling, and increasing violence against the Mayor’s
regime by a rebel group called The Answer. Where The Knife of Never Letting
Go had more of a post-apocalyptic feel to
it, with Todd and Viola fleeing from their enemies, The Ask and the Answer
is decidedly more dystopian, focusing in on the new society that the Mayor is
trying to create. Of course, both books are still in the sci-fi realm, with
plenty of action, adventure, and suspense thrown in. It’s an enticing
combination.
Like the first novel in the trilogy, The Ask and the
Answer is a very violent story, with
similar fighting and combat but also plenty of bombing in the mix from the
rebel group. However, this second book introduces lots of thought-provoking
ethical questions, about war and violence, torture and terrorism. Ultimately,
it investigates an age-old question that applies as well to our own world as it does to Todd and Viola's: do the ends justify the means?
The action and suspense build to a final stand-off between
the rebels and the Mayor’s organization, but once again, the book ends with a
surprising twist that left me yelling, “What?? No, not that!” Now, I can’t wait
to read the third and final installment of this exciting trilogy.
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