Seed is set inside a nature cult, called Seed. The members are ruled by Papa S, who leads them in worship and controls the community. They aren’t allowed any unsupervised contact with the outside world, so Pearl has spent her 15 years of life within a very closed community. When a new family come and join Seed, they bring knowledge of life without Papa S, which shakes up Pearl’s life a lot.
When the book starts, Pearl, who narrates the book, is having a minor emergency. When the situation is resolved (and it doesn’t take very long) Pearl finds herself trapped in an underground room. This gave me my first taste of life inside Seed, and made me feel that not everything was quite right. The book is set in modern day and, I think, in the UK, so the fact that Seed was so different to ordinary life was very strange for me. This was one of my favourite aspects of the book, because I got to learn about how other people live. I was fascinated by the descriptions of every day life for Pearl and her family because it was so new and unusual.
Throughout the book you can see how Pearl is changing and adapting as a result of the new members, and this forms a large part of the plot. My favourite part of the book was the end, when you can see how much Pearl has changed and how much knowledge she has gained. Not to give anything away, but the ending is thoroughly shocking!
I loved reading Seed, which was a very compelling and exciting book. I would recommend it to people who enjoy books that are less adventure-y but like to read gripping stories. I would give it 5 stars, and I can’t wait for the sequel to come out next spring!
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