We feel their pain and want them to be ok. Todd and Viola are wonderful, complex characters who we care about and root for. That said, the character development continues to be marvellous. I’m not saying nothing happens, I just felt that for the high page count the story didn’t move forward as much as it could. The Ask and the Answer suffered from a common “middle book” problem: the narrative didn’t really go anywhere. At this point I should say that I’m 34 and I think this book is suitable for anyone over the age of 14 (and possibly younger, although I think some children would find many events described very upsetting).
The trilogy forces us to consider questions such as: are war and torture ever justified? What’s the difference between a terrorist and a freedom fighter? What puts someone beyond redemption? Is mutual ignorance the root of all conflict? Does your age or your experience make you an adult? Not to mention the ugliness of slavery, sexism, racism and genocide… And people dismiss YA as simple! Ha! These are dark and difficult issues which the series refuses to shy away from simply because its main characters and readers are children. What make these books so impressive are their characters and themes. While this story has sci-fi elements, they are incidental. For a bit more background, you can read my review of Book 1, The Knife of Never Letting Go. The Chaos Walking trilogy is the story of Todd and Viola, two teenagers struggling to survive on New World, an alien planet where the thoughts of men and animals are audible. Ness maintains his high standards throughout the trilogy.
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