The Purpose for Pets

Use this forum to discuss the September 2019 Book of the month, "The Crystilleries of Echoland" by Dew Pellucid.
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The Purpose for Pets

Post by Washboard »

What do you think was the purpose of the orphanage giving pets to the children residing there? It seemed like it wasn't explained, other than it was a standing tradition. I almost felt the children choosing pets was a strange and unnecessary addition to the story. What do you think?
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Post by Kro92813 »

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.
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Post by Washboard »

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 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.
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Post by Kro92813 »

Washboard wrote: 03 Sep 2019, 21:14
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 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.
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...
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Post by Brenda Creech »

I liked that the children were given pets but I do wish it would have been explained why. Perhaps as a form of comfort to them so they wouldn't feel alone without family?
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Post by Noosh »

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.
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Post by Chrystal Oaks »

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.
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Post by Washboard »

Kro92813 wrote: 03 Sep 2019, 23:37
Washboard wrote: 03 Sep 2019, 21:14
Kro92813 wrote: 03 Sep 2019, 04:34
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...
Agreed. 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.
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Post by Washboard »

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.
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.
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Post by Washboard »

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.
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.
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Post by Washboard »

B Creech wrote: 04 Sep 2019, 01:33 I liked that the children were given pets but I do wish it would have been explained why. Perhaps as a form of comfort to them so they wouldn't feel alone without family?
I think that was probably the intention, but wasn't actually explained anywhere.
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Post by Noosh »

Washboard wrote: 04 Sep 2019, 23:40
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.
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.
Okay, why is everyone comparing this to HP?
Am I the only one who doesn’t see it? :lol:
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Post by Chrystal Oaks »

Washboard wrote: 04 Sep 2019, 23:37
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.
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.
That makes sense. It would have been nice to see how the tradition started.
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Post by Washboard »

Noosh wrote: 05 Sep 2019, 00:04
Washboard wrote: 04 Sep 2019, 23:40
Noosh wrote: 04 Sep 2019, 02:04
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.
Okay, why is everyone comparing this to HP?
Am I the only one who doesn’t see it? :lol:
I didn't think it was that similar to Harry Potter for the most part, but the pets thing made me think "Oh... Like a patronus."
“Perhaps one did not want to be loved so much as to be understood.” ― George Orwell, 1984.
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Post by Letora »

I read this book back in February and I still think there was no reason for there to be pets. I think it was thrown in as a tool for some conflict, but it never really had a solid place in the books.
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