Welcome to the final day of our book club readalong for OwlCrate's December book, The Poison Season by Mara Rutherford!
Just a reminder that this will be a SPOILER discussion for Chapters 40 to the end of The Poison Season, so make sure you read are finished this section before continuing.
Discussion questions are listed below, and anyone who participates in the comments will be entered to win a free OwlCrate box! Don't forget, you can also post about the readalong on Instagram with the hashtag #OCThePoisonSeason for another chance to win! We will be selecting winners on Monday, February 6th!
The story concludes...
Chapter 50:
The Hunt begins, and Jaren runs for the beach, his only hope being the boat. There he is greeted by Sage.
Chapter 51:
At home, Leelo goes to take a sip of her mom’s tea when her mom knocks it out of her hand. It smells like the poison lillies. Her aunt, as a punishment for Fiona’s betrayal, has been poisoning Fiona and her mom felt like she deserved it. Leelo ponders outloud if maybe the Hunting song won’t work, just like songs Jared previously heard didn’t effect him. In that moment Fiona has a realization - Nadia, a Watcher in her year, tried to flee Endla over the ice with her new born baby. Nadia fell through, but what if the baby survived?
Chapter 52:
Sage draws first blood on Jaren.
Chapter 53:
Leelo and Fiona run to the grove, where Sage returns with Jaren. They tell everyone that Jaren is Endlan, Nadia’s lost child. The big secret also finally gets revealed - Leelo’s uncle killed her father when he found out that he know what Fiona had done, and in turn Ketty killed her uncle so that the secret would never be revealed.
Chapter 54:
Leelo stands up in the commotion and proclaims that the Forest needs them, but they do not need the Forest. She takes an axe, and with the help of Jaren and a few other Endlans they destroy the pine grove. The Forest seems to retaliate, sending in a storm and setting a fire with lightening. Jaren, Leelo and Fiona flee to the shore, an angry mob of Endlans following. When Jaren and Leelo are in the boat, Fiona pushes them from shore. The lake is tumultuous, wind pushing the boat back towards shore, but eventually Jaren and Leelo start singing, calming the waters. Leelo sings the farewell song, and just like that the Wandering Forest is gone.
Chapter 55:
Leelo and Jaren return to his home, greeted enthusiastically by his father and sisters. They tell them that Tate has been living in town with Lupin and this father retells the tale of how Jaren came to be adopted as a baby.
They go to Lupin’s place to reunite with Tate, and they also bring Nigel, Tate’s father, who lives in the nearby countryside. They slowly start to come to terms with all that has happened.
Chapter 57:
They build a small cabin for Leelo and Tate, and once winter hits a group, including incantu and villagers, crosses the ice to the island. Fiona is alive, still recovering from her years of being poisoned. Sage is there, but Ketty disappeared when the Forest did. Sage does not come with them back to the mainland.
Fiona, Tate and Leelo live together in their cabin, and for once Leelo feels content.
Questions:
- First of all, did you enjoy the book?
- Where do you think Ketty went? Do you think the Forest took her?
- Would you like to read more books set in this world? Would you be interested in seeing where the Wandering Forest went next?
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