Part Five

• In part five, we see Bea return to the community after a year in the City. She sees that a lot has changed and she’s noticed that the Newcomers have been starving the Originalists and specifically Glen. The only two who have been surviving properly were Carl and Val, much to no one’s surprise. Bea decides to hang back and learn about the community while simultaneously making nice with everyone to get a good feel about who everyone is and what they’re doing. Here, we see how poorly Agnes has grappled with her mother leaving and her subsequent return. At one point, she even tries to call Bea by her name instead of “mom” showing that she doesn’t really see Bea as her mother anymore. In a later paragraph, it’s revealed that Agnes never really understood why Bea didn’t take her hand when the bus came- it seems Agnes is really hurt over the abandonment and in turn has decided to become a pseudo-adult which in my opinion shows she’s more of a child than ever. The mother themes become very clear in this chapter as we get a very stereotypical argument between Agnes and Bea where Agnes says she hates her mom. When she tries to apologize, Bea leaves their lodging and has sex with Carl effectively making her the new leader of the Community.
• We also learn that the City is not getting better. Bea tells us that so man people are being crammed into small spaces and the children Agnes was friends with in childhood have all died. But in a glimmer of hope, she tells Agnes that she knows where the Private Lands are. Previously believed to be fictitious, Bea has found where the Private Lands are and wants to take her family there.
• Agnes and Jake’s relationship is finally developing. They have decided to describe themselves as “life partners” and will have children together. However, there is some contention on this point- Jake wants to wait to have sex and wants to make sure his children are fully equipped for a life in the wild while Agnes thinks they should start now and have the children be independent by the time they are young just like animals.

Part Six

• This part starts with us being clued in to the fact that something is wrong with the Rangers and the new Administration. The Rangers have new uniforms and methods of transportation, and they are outwardly crueler. They carry guns and they force the Community out of the places they set up lodging in. It’s been a couple of years (apparently) since Bea has come back and she is definitely the leader, usurping Carl. The Community, at some point, had to take a Big Walk (the fifth in their lifetime) which was grueling and lead to their first death in a while. Eventually, the Community is instructed to make their way to a “party” at a new post that the Rangers will be hosting. They have to stop in the middle of their commute, though, because Glen has become sick again. On a split up trip to get resources, Glen has “fallen” and badly broken his leg which means death in the Wilderness. Bea and Agness say their goodbyes to him and they push on to make it to the new post. When they arrive, the Rangers tell them that the study has concluded and they must leave unless they seek out the Trespassers. Bea and Carl seem fine with this solution and make the decision for everyone, but Agnes doesn’t think it’s right to hunt people who are just trying to be safe like them. This leads to a rift in the Community and eventually Agnes runs off away from her mother. A little later, Bea catches up with Agnes and tells her that she is ruining the plan that was in place. They were supposed to meet Ranger Bob later and he was to escort them to the Private Lands. Bea tries her best to get Agnes to follow her, but Agnes is insistent that the Private Lands don’t exist and she would rather stay in the Wilderness because it is her home. She even brings up how Bea left her behind and they argue about that for a bit which has obviously been a point of contention for a while. Eventually, Agnes hits her mom in the face and frees herself from Bea’s grip effectively sealing her fate to live in the Wilderness.

Part Seven and Epilogue

I know this was not required but I read it in a short time frame and most likely won’t remember if I don’t write it down.

• With Agnes and others on their own in the woods, they have to come up with creative ways to stay hidden from the Rangers who are hellbent on finding them and bringing them back to the City. Agnes decides that they should all split up and only convene occasionally for the company. She rarely sees Jake now, or the other kids who ran with her. Eventually, she comes across a young girl whose mother and sister have died and Agnes decides to take her in. Together, her and Fern traverse the Wilderness together and try their best to avoid the Rangers. However, that doesn’t last long when she is found in a cave by Ranger Bob and he takes her and Fern to a recollection center. Here, it is revealed that everyone else has either died or been captured and there was never a Private Lands- Ranger Bob just told Bea that because she was (presumably) having sex with him. So, Agnes and Fern return to the almost city and Agnes finally realizes what it’s like to be a mother as she has taken in this child who she loves a lot but doesn’t understand and resents how she got her. The book ends in Agnes’ POV (???for some reason) talking about this new life she has forged and how she will be a mother just like her mom was.

Things I Liked:

• There was a section in part 6 that was genuinely very interesting and led me to read part 7 earlier than I had intended. It was the best section so far, but I don’t think I can tell you what happened in it.

Things I Didn’t Like:

• Glen’s death 🙁
• How fast we brushed past Agnes’ miscarriages (?). I’m not even sure if they were miscarriages that’s how abruptly the subject was changed.

Notes and Things:

• I don’t think this novel should be called dystopian. It seems like it wants to be dystopian when it tells us about the study and the Rangers suddenly go all evil, but I think it should be seen more as apocalyptic. Thinking of this as a dystopian novel really put me in the mindset to expect a big evil government baddie to come out and explain why they decided to start this study and how they have actually been doing something totally evil the entire time a la The Hunger Games or Divergent. Instead, these people were just living in the Wilderness to escape the poor conditions of their previous living place almost like The Walking Dead hence apocalyptic.
• I did not like this book. There are so many threads that are spun in the beginning that are just absolutely cut off and the worst part is they could’ve been genuinely interesting. There was so much more Cook could’ve done with the Trespassers and the Rangers and the New Administration, but they’re all just meager plot points to have Agnes realize why Bea was sometimes not the greatest mom all the time??? A little frustrating if you ask me.