I was very nervous this wouldn't live up to my expectations but even though it was so different from the first book, I wasn't disappointed.This was heart wrenching to read some of the time but if I have to put the book down and walk away because I am so worried about what is going to happen (more than once!) then I figure the author is doing something right.
By the last 100 pages I was emotionally worn out and numb to everything - not necessarily a bad thing.