Challenge Corner discussion

For fans of Wilder Girls comes a nightmarish debut guaranteed to keep you up through the night, about an idyllic small town poisoned by its past, and one girl who must fight the strange disease that's slowly claiming everyone she loves.

Wren owes everything she has to her home, Hollow’s End, a centuries-old, picture perfect American town. Tourists travel miles to marvel at its miracle crops, including the shimmering, iridescent wheat of Wren’s family farm. Until five months ago.

That’s when the quicksilver mercury blight first surfaced, poisoning the farms of Hollow’s End one by one. It began by consuming the crops--thick, silver sludge bleeding from the earth. Next were the animals. Infected livestock and wild creatures alike staggered off into the woods by day—only to return at night, their eyes, fogged white, leering from the trees.

Then, the blight came for the neighbors.

Wren is among the last locals standing. And the blight has finally come for her, too. Now, the only one she can turn to is the last person she wants to call: her ex, Derek. They haven’t spoken in months, but Wren and Derek still have one thing in common—Hollow’s End means everything to them. Only there’s much they don’t know about their hometown and its renowned miracle crops. And they’re about to discover that miracles aren’t free.

Their ancestors have an awful lot to pay for, and Wren and Derek are the only ones left to settle old debts.

Ch 1-4 (view spoiler)[ Wren's parents were doing something dangerous to get their crops to grow like that and now it's gone bad and infected everything. Right?

I feel bad for the animals, especially Wren's dog (hide spoiler)]

Ch 5-8 (view spoiler)[ The narrator makes it sound like Wren is constantly about to cry and I don't love it. She's been through a lot already and I understand that she'd be upset, but it feels constant.

Sucks the parents all played with magic and now their kids have to be the ones to deal with it.

I wonder what the blight wants and what the rings have to do with it? (hide spoiler)]

Ch 9-12 (view spoiler)[ No wonder Derek and his mom shut Wren out. She killed his sister! I know it wasn't on purpose, but still.

I hope she really can figure out how to heal herself and the others. (hide spoiler)]

Ch 13-End (view spoiler)[ I didn't totally understand the blight thing, but I'm glad her parents and friends were okay. Kind of a weird book and reminds me of Wake the Bones (hide spoiler)]

Starting this now!

Whoo!

Ch 1-5: (view spoiler)[I'm suspicious of her parents and these crops. (hide spoiler)]

Aly wrote: "Ch 1-4 "

Leave the dog alone!

Alaina wrote: "Aly wrote: "Ch 1-4 "

Leave the dog alone!"

Right? Poor thing

Ch 6-10: (view spoiler)[Wow. These parents really suck, don't they? How rude of them to leave the kids to deal with the consequences? (hide spoiler)]

Alaina wrote: "Ch 6-10: [spoilers removed]"

Exactly

Aly wrote: "Alaina wrote: "Aly wrote: "Ch 1-4 "

Leave the dog alone!"

Right? Poor thing"

I will riot.

Aly wrote: "Alaina wrote: "Ch 6-10: [spoilers removed]"

Exactly"

Seriously, what assholes.

Ch 11-15: (view spoiler)['What's done is done' No. I do not accept that. Let's regroup and think of a new solution/plan. K people? (hide spoiler)]

Ch 16-Finish: (view spoiler)[That was an odd and weird ending, right? Like everything was interesting but now I don't know what to say, think, or feel. Kind of awkward. (hide spoiler)]

Alaina wrote: "Ch 16-Finish: [spoilers removed]"

Yeah, pretty odd

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RESTARTING JULY 25TH, 2022

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Starting this one a little early since it's almost due back at the library

I'll be starting tomorrow! My current book is taking me way longer then I expected.

Chapter 4
(view spoiler)[I'm not sure if I have ever read book from POV of infected person. Not zombie book at least. That's interesting change. (hide spoiler)]

Chapter 8
(view spoiler)[It slowed down quite a lot and it's starting to be boring. But I wonder what was real start of the blight. Like why now? And what does it want to do with rings? Maybe these is something in that box what can stop it but who knows. (hide spoiler)]

Chapter 12
(view spoiler)[Well, that didn't end well but it look like everything is reversible. But I don't like this type of ending where everything is fixed. So we will see. (hide spoiler)]

Finished
(view spoiler)[That ending sucked! It feels way to happy because everyone was dead at one point and they are okay in the end and I don't get it. A lot of these people were decaying for months but only thing (beside mental trauma and maybe even not that because she never mention it) are scars. This is exactly type of ending I really don't like. (hide spoiler)]

Sorry, actually starting this one soon! I managed to get it extended

17% (view spoiler)[ I'm getting the impression that the founding families did something in exchange for their four miracles and that Wren knows something about. I'm curious about what she could have done that would have unleashed the blight. (hide spoiler)]

46% (view spoiler)[I was expecting something more witchy like a pact made with a supernatural entity but I'm also on board with alchemy/experimentation (hide spoiler)]

75% (view spoiler)[ I honestly don't know how they can kill or trap the blight again. Unless they find like a mine of rainbow quartz or something? (hide spoiler)]

100% (view spoiler)[Part of me thinks the pacing was good, but also, the ending seemed a little tidy? I appreciate that people were still reeling with the aftermath, but I would expect more-- if not from the town, from the people outside. Even if they'd been told it was only a mercury spill, wouldn't there be someone hounding to see how people were doing during the quarantine?

I still really enjoyed the story, especially the relationship with alchemy and the town. (hide spoiler)]

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RESTARTING OCTOBER 25TH, 2023

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Still missing my copy. If this goes on I'll just get the ebook from the library, although I really was hoping to read my print copy.

Celia wrote: "Still missing my copy. If this goes on I'll just get the ebook from the library, although I really was hoping to read my print copy."
Oh nooo, sorry to hear you could find your copy, Celia! I started last night, but if you want to press the hold button for right now, I could totally do that too. LMK what you want to do.
So far I have only read the first two chapters, I made it to page 33. It is an interesting set-up.

No I got the ebook. I'll read it this weekend probably. And then of course my copy will show up when I finish it...

Celia wrote: "No I got the ebook. I'll read it this weekend probably. And then of course my copy will show up when I finish it..."Hahaha, always the way! Okay, I will dive back into it tonight!

Actually I hadn't realized I didn't get it and the ebook at my library is checked out. Maybe we can put it on hold until next weekend, the 5th or so? In the meantime I'll keep looking for my copy and hopefully it can be even sooner?

Celia wrote: "Actually I hadn't realized I didn't get it and the ebook at my library is checked out. Maybe we can put it on hold until next weekend, the 5th or so? In the meantime I'll keep looking for my copy a..."Sounds good to me! Holding until next weekend, unless I hear from you earlier! :)

Good news, I found my copy. I knew I had seen it, I had just put it on the wrong shelf. I should be good to start this weekend as planned.

Celia wrote: "Good news, I found my copy. I knew I had seen it, I had just put it on the wrong shelf. I should be good to start this weekend as planned."Yayeee! That is great news, Celia. Glad you found it. Okay, I am going to restart it Friday night! Fingers crossed we both love it!!

I restarted this one tonight and made it to Chapter 5 before I had to put it down to cook dinner. I am loving it. I love the tone the author is setting and how the blight is (view spoiler)[turning the people and animals into zombies a bit. (hide spoiler)] I am also liking the dynamic of our MC and her ex having to work together. The town lore, as far as the founding families, etc., is reminding me a bit of The Devouring Grey, which I really enjoyed. Definitely excited to get further into this over the weekend!

Made it to page 99 earlier. Things have slowed down a bit now. Wren and Derek (view spoiler)[have reached Derek's farm and are catching their breath after their eventful evening searching for Wren's parents. I have to remind myself not to rush through the quieter moments, as they too are important for building out the characters. We learned a lot about Derek and Wren's relationship, particularly about why they broke up. I don't blame her, I wouldn't have been able to forgive him either, but he's definitely keeping her secret now. Worried for Wren as she is already showing signs of contamination. (hide spoiler)]
Excited to get farther in this one! I'm hoping for a happy ending, but at this point, I don't see how that's possible!

Page 113!!! (view spoiler)[the clawmarks from people's fingernails as they're dragged into the forest... (hide spoiler)] 😳 OMG

Through to Chapter 7: (view spoiler)[ oofh, that was a heartbreaking interaction with her Mom. Interested to see what her Dad is keeping in the cellar, it's got to be a clue to how the founding families got their magic crops. Also, seems we have a hive mind situation happening with the blighted. (hide spoiler)]

Through to chapter 7
I'm surprised by how much I'm enjoying this. I read the first six chapters in one sitting.

megs_bookrack wrote: "Through to Chapter 7: [spoilers removed]"

(view spoiler)[I agree about the hive mind. Is that how Wren is going to be able to figure out the mystery of where the blighted are going?

And yeah. I want to know all the secrets, about the history and the cellar and just everything right now. (hide spoiler)]

And (view spoiler)[with Teddy, at first I was like, why did they have to take the DOG??? Nooo! But now that I see how much it affected the relationship with Derek... (hide spoiler)]

Finished chapter 9 (55%)

(view spoiler)[All of Wren's identity entangled with the blight is really confusing... which I know is how it's supposed to be written. Still, the fact that she just exposed everything... wow. (hide spoiler)]

Finished chapter 11 (65%)

(view spoiler)[Okay, it was pretty likely that Claudette was going to try to betray Wren. But then that stuff with Mr. Flores... downright creepy. How could he be both able to talk to her sensibly about the government's goals to replicate the blight and still be part of the blight, far more than Wren's mother.

I'm not surprised by the role of the government. I didn't come to that conclusion by myself, but it makes a lot of sense. Does make me wonder, though... with the publication date, I'm really hoping that Ann Fraistat isn't one of those people who thinks the government had a role in the pandemic... except for I guess perpetuating it by not doing anything. But it makes total sense with what we know of the US government...

We now know that even the long-blighted retain their sense of self, if what we saw with Mr. Flores was anything to go by. So is there a cure? Will Wren and Claudette survive this, and manage to get everyone else back as well? Or will this go in a much more sinister direction? (hide spoiler)]

Edit (view spoiler)[Oh, crap, they got Claudette. I had to reread that part at least twice before that made sense. (hide spoiler)]

Finished

(view spoiler)[Whoa. I did not see any of that coming. Except the sacrifice, I kinda wondered...

I'm shocked that the blight was created by the founders. The whole story reminds me a lot of Oliver Crum and the Briarwood Witch, in the way all the town's secrets and history, and something the ancestors did, completely destroy the present.

I had a creeping feeling that this was going to end in Wren sacrificing herself. What I couldn't tell, especially as it was happening, was whether Wren would die or not. Things seemed so certain one moment, and then uncertain the next. But the ending wasn't bad.

Mrs. P. shocked me in the series. She fought so hard to keep the town's secrets, even when the last thing she could possibly do to save everyone was to give them up. The fact that she cared way more about the money surprised me.

Angie's initial hatred and distrust of Wren after Derek was taken surprised me too. I guess it makes sense in some ways that she would be so distrustful, but I was surprised that she came around at all.

This is definitely one that I'll hang onto and reread. (hide spoiler)]

Celia wrote: "Through to chapter 7
I'm surprised by how much I'm enjoying this. I read the first six chapters in one sitting.

megs_bookrack wrote: "Through to Chapter 7: [spoilers removed]"

I agree about the h..."Yeah, totally, but I never have fun with (view spoiler)[dog plotlines. I'm always so stressed about the dog's health and happiness. LOL -- like even when she was chasing them and smashed into the truck door, I thought, OMG, the poor dog. Is she okay? Poor baby! (hide spoiler)]

megs_bookrack wrote: "Celia wrote: "Through to chapter 7
I'm surprised by how much I'm enjoying this. I read the first six chapters in one sitting.

megs_bookrack wrote: "Through to Chapter 7: [spoilers removed]"

I agr..."

Exactly.

Through to Chapter 8: (view spoiler)[the contents of the secret room in the basement have been quite interesting. I love that we have the four classic elements coming into play, one representing each of the four different founding families. I always find this kind of thing interesting... (hide spoiler)]

Through Chapter 9: Holy smokes, that was terrifying 😳 (view spoiler)[all of them huddled under the table in the dark, hiding from the monsters outside, seeing their eyes in the window. Wren opening the door without realizing. (hide spoiler)] That was so well written 👏 👏👏