Discussion Forums about Books and Reading | The Purpose for Pets
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I agree. I felt like the pets didn't progress the plot at all, other than maybe showing Will's compassion a bit more by rescuing Wolfea and caring for her. It felt really out of place to me.Kro92813 wrote: ↑03 Sep 2019, 04:34 Yeah it definitly was not explained why they were given a pet (maybe to have a companion since the children there have been cast away from their families?). I think it was a way to tie in Damian and Dea - the wolf and falcon at the beginning of the book, but I mean Will choosing Wolfea really wasn't that significant to the plot. Wolfea's story was getting adopted by Will, tied up in a tree kennel, then escaping to Olam Shone with Will. She didnt significantly help Will in any way and wasn't a very helpful supporting role.
I also think there was a lot of missed opportunity for the pets - namely Wolfea - to be heroic in some way. When the group visited olam shone, Poudini and Wolfea just trotted on ahead of the group. When Peter and Will were clinging for dear life in the raging river, Wolfea could have rescued them...or when the spiders were attacking she could have attacked back. When Warloch killed the wolf pups she could have done something...Washboard wrote: ↑03 Sep 2019, 21:14I agree. I felt like the pets didn't progress the plot at all, other than maybe showing Will's compassion a bit more by rescuing Wolfea and caring for her. It felt really out of place to me.Kro92813 wrote: ↑03 Sep 2019, 04:34 Yeah it definitly was not explained why they were given a pet (maybe to have a companion since the children there have been cast away from their families?). I think it was a way to tie in Damian and Dea - the wolf and falcon at the beginning of the book, but I mean Will choosing Wolfea really wasn't that significant to the plot. Wolfea's story was getting adopted by Will, tied up in a tree kennel, then escaping to Olam Shone with Will. She didnt significantly help Will in any way and wasn't a very helpful supporting role.
Kro92813 wrote: ↑03 Sep 2019, 23:37Agreed. There were many opportunities for the pets to play a larger role. Maybe they will in future books, if there is a follow up story.Washboard wrote: ↑03 Sep 2019, 21:14I also think there was a lot of missed opportunity for the pets - namely Wolfea - to be heroic in some way. When the group visited olam shone, Poudini and Wolfea just trotted on ahead of the group. When Peter and Will were clinging for dear life in the raging river, Wolfea could have rescued them...or when the spiders were attacking she could have attacked back. When Warloch killed the wolf pups she could have done something...
I enjoyed the pets being in the story, it just seemed like it wasn't well explained to me why they were there. I went with the assumption that they were there to comfort the children, as well as the other reasons you mentioned. I wish the tradition had been explained more fully and have the pets play a bigger role in the story.Chrystal Oaks wrote: ↑04 Sep 2019, 21:21 Maybe I'm reading into something that isn't there, but I saw the adoption of pets as a way to teach children about responsibility and compassion. Plus, Echoland can be volatile at times and a pet can offer comfort. There was also a scenario where Poudini and Wolfea comforted each other. If the animals hadn't been included, I'm not so sure I would have liked this book as much.
It almost seemed they were put in place to create a parallel to a patronus in Harry Potter series or daemons in the Golden Compass series, but weren't given the backstory to make it work.Noosh wrote: ↑04 Sep 2019, 02:04 Yeah, I agree. When something is said to be a tradition you obviously expect something interesting from it. Like, when you choose the pet, it'll be some sort of a guardian. Or, the pet, idk, can turn into sth else when you're in danger and help you... But no, here there was no use for the pets, which was a disappointment.
Okay, why is everyone comparing this to HP?Washboard wrote: ↑04 Sep 2019, 23:40It almost seemed they were put in place to create a parallel to a patronus in Harry Potter series or daemons in the Golden Compass series, but weren't given the backstory to make it work.Noosh wrote: ↑04 Sep 2019, 02:04 Yeah, I agree. When something is said to be a tradition you obviously expect something interesting from it. Like, when you choose the pet, it'll be some sort of a guardian. Or, the pet, idk, can turn into sth else when you're in danger and help you... But no, here there was no use for the pets, which was a disappointment.
That makes sense. It would have been nice to see how the tradition started.Washboard wrote: ↑04 Sep 2019, 23:37I enjoyed the pets being in the story, it just seemed like it wasn't well explained to me why they were there. I went with the assumption that they were there to comfort the children, as well as the other reasons you mentioned. I wish the tradition had been explained more fully and have the pets play a bigger role in the story.Chrystal Oaks wrote: ↑04 Sep 2019, 21:21 Maybe I'm reading into something that isn't there, but I saw the adoption of pets as a way to teach children about responsibility and compassion. Plus, Echoland can be volatile at times and a pet can offer comfort. There was also a scenario where Poudini and Wolfea comforted each other. If the animals hadn't been included, I'm not so sure I would have liked this book as much.