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Ark #1
Welcome to the Ark
In a world of random violence and multiplying militias, four brilliant young misfits are thrown together in a group home for troubled youth. Isolated by their special abilities, Miranda, Doug, Taryn, and Elijah are unable to cope in a society that regards them as freaks. But in the experimental program they dub the Ark, the four discover they are not alone. Slowly, as connections form among them, they discover that their minds have a power they could never have imagined. Drawn together by their deep concern for the future, they embark on a mission to stop the violence that is engulfing the world. The challenge seems impossible ...until they face it together. In this compelling, sensitively written story, Stephanie Tolan paints a disturbing portrait of a violence-ridden world. Yet her characters offer a bright ray of hope for anyone who cares about the fate of the earth. The story of the Ark is gripping, suspenseful, heartbreaking, and, ultimately, inspiring.
250 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1996
16 people are currently reading
343 people want to read
About the author
Stephanie S. Tolan
40 books96 followersStephanie S. Tolan's earliest memories involve books. Those that were read to her and those she read to herself, often late at night with a flashlight under the covers. She always thought there was a special magic in the little black marks on paper that could turn into whole worlds and real people. Born in Ohio and raised in Wisconsin, she wrote her first story in the fourth grade. It was thrilling to discover she could make the magic herself, and she decided then and there to be a writer.
Other ambitions came and went, but writing stayed on, and she majored in creative writing at Purdue University, then went on to a Master's Degree in English. Marriage and the sudden addition to her life of three young stepsons, and then a son, forced writing into the nooks and crannies, but she wrote poetry and plays for adults as she taught college English. In the mid-seventies, Stephanie began working in the Poets-in-the-Schools program in Pennsylvania. Her first group of students were fourth and fifth graders, and she found among them a new generation of intense readers, still using the flashlight-under-the-covers trick.
The difference, she felt, was less in the children themselves than in the fast-changing world they lived in. Her writing for children and young adults, beginning with Grandpa -- And Me in 1978, has reflected that contemporary world.
Stephanie Tolan is also well known as an advocate for extremely bright children. She co-authored the award-winning nonfiction book, Guiding the Gifted Child, and has written many articles about the challenges gifted "asynchronous" children and adults face as they find a way to fit into their world. She lectures throughout the country to audiences of parents, educators and counselors attempting to find ways to meet the children's needs. Her experiences with these "amazing, off-the-charts" young people inspired the themes of Welcome to the Ark, a powerful novel about four brilliant young misfits in a world teetering on destruction.
Stephanie Tolan currently lives in Charlotte, NC, with her husband.
Other ambitions came and went, but writing stayed on, and she majored in creative writing at Purdue University, then went on to a Master's Degree in English. Marriage and the sudden addition to her life of three young stepsons, and then a son, forced writing into the nooks and crannies, but she wrote poetry and plays for adults as she taught college English. In the mid-seventies, Stephanie began working in the Poets-in-the-Schools program in Pennsylvania. Her first group of students were fourth and fifth graders, and she found among them a new generation of intense readers, still using the flashlight-under-the-covers trick.
"They brought back to me that special reading joy that most adults, even the readers among us, have lost, and I wanted to try my hand at writing for those kids, so like myself at their age and yet so different."
The difference, she felt, was less in the children themselves than in the fast-changing world they lived in. Her writing for children and young adults, beginning with Grandpa -- And Me in 1978, has reflected that contemporary world.
Stephanie Tolan is also well known as an advocate for extremely bright children. She co-authored the award-winning nonfiction book, Guiding the Gifted Child, and has written many articles about the challenges gifted "asynchronous" children and adults face as they find a way to fit into their world. She lectures throughout the country to audiences of parents, educators and counselors attempting to find ways to meet the children's needs. Her experiences with these "amazing, off-the-charts" young people inspired the themes of Welcome to the Ark, a powerful novel about four brilliant young misfits in a world teetering on destruction.
Stephanie Tolan currently lives in Charlotte, NC, with her husband.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 69 reviews
March 24, 2013
Of the stories I read as a child, there are a few that I have never forgotten. It's not always clear why this is, but I recently started finding and re-reading those books, in an attempt to try to better remember them and understand why they stuck with me so long. Of the ones I have revisited so far (see shelf "book-rediscovery-project"), this is the first that fully lived up to its memory. It's clear I remembered this book for a reason -- it had a fundamental impact on the way I viewed the world.
I believe that most of the impact was because of my (lack of) worldly knowledge; as a relatively sheltered eleven or twelve-year-old, there were quite a few ideas in this story that I had not previously encountered. This was probably my first dystopian novel, and the ideas it played with -- most directly, terrorism -- were new to me. Sure, I had been alive for the Oklahoma City bombing, but I had been too young to really understand it. The kind of continuous fear and violence that the book described was unimaginable in my bubble of peace in the late 90s.
Then, 9/11 happened. Shortly after the terrorist attacks, I remembered the similar depictions of terrorism in this novel, and decided that it had foreshadowed the attacks. In my mind, Stephanie Tolan had accurately predicted a violent and grim future. As I got older and my exposure to the world grew, I often feared that we were descending deeper into the book's frightening reality. It could be hard to tell whether things were getting worse, or I was just more aware of terrible things. I didn't even remember much of the story, just the savage and brutal world it described; my memory of the book distorted it into an exact depiction of the horrors of the moment, so the book loomed, horribly foreboding, for a while.
From the perspective of many years later, the foreboding feeling is much diminished. Sadly, despite being nowhere near as violent as its fictional counterpart, I feel that our world has drifted a little closer to Tolan's ultra-violent society than when she wrote it in 1996. Not just terrorism, but mass shootings, civil wars, hate crimes and bigotry; increased security checkpoints, fear, and every-man-for-himself vigilantism. Maybe she was on to something, maybe it's just my increased awareness twisting things again.
When I finally found and re-read the book, there ended up being more to the story than just the terrorism that I had so vividly remembered. Issues are brought up that I couldn't have even imagined when I read it initially, such as the controversial use of drugs to deal with children with learning disorders or mental disabilities. The exploitation of children by parents for monetary reasons. Domestic abuse and its effect on children. The vast increase in the number of autism diagnoses. In fact, The book has so much weighty content in it, I'm amazed it could be considered suitable for the 10-12 age group. (Of course, I haven't read another book for that target audience in a long time, maybe it's not so unusual?) The book is incredibly dark and powerful, so I can't say I'm surprised that I never forgot its themes or environment.
Out of everything in the novel, the sci-fi elements are, honestly, its weakest points; in fact, I nearly had forgotten them completely! Their function is merely to serve as the vehicle that opens the novel to its more serious conversations. This is a book about violence: where does it come from, why does it happen, how can we stop it. It doesn't really answer those questions, but instead relates them all back to the central theme: Each of us can stop the violence in ourselves. It's a powerful message, one that develops and informs the main characters and leads to their destiny together. Yes, there's an agenda here as well, but it's certainly one I'm receptive to. I have a hard time accepting the arguments of those who think perpetuating violence is ever a good idea.
I was extremely impressed with this book. Not just because of how well it held up in my memory, but at its core competency and message, and how relevant they remain. The tone and style match the maturity of the content: it doesn't read like a children's book at all. In today's publishing culture, if it got published at all, I could see it on that "paranormal-YA" shelf that's really for adults anyway. That said, I can't recommend it to any adult on good faith, for I fear my opinion of the story is skewed based on its long life in my memory.
I'm not sure it makes sense on the merits of the book alone, yet... I can't help but give the book five stars. It was important enough to me that I remembered it, and I'm glad I did.
I believe that most of the impact was because of my (lack of) worldly knowledge; as a relatively sheltered eleven or twelve-year-old, there were quite a few ideas in this story that I had not previously encountered. This was probably my first dystopian novel, and the ideas it played with -- most directly, terrorism -- were new to me. Sure, I had been alive for the Oklahoma City bombing, but I had been too young to really understand it. The kind of continuous fear and violence that the book described was unimaginable in my bubble of peace in the late 90s.
Then, 9/11 happened. Shortly after the terrorist attacks, I remembered the similar depictions of terrorism in this novel, and decided that it had foreshadowed the attacks. In my mind, Stephanie Tolan had accurately predicted a violent and grim future. As I got older and my exposure to the world grew, I often feared that we were descending deeper into the book's frightening reality. It could be hard to tell whether things were getting worse, or I was just more aware of terrible things. I didn't even remember much of the story, just the savage and brutal world it described; my memory of the book distorted it into an exact depiction of the horrors of the moment, so the book loomed, horribly foreboding, for a while.
From the perspective of many years later, the foreboding feeling is much diminished. Sadly, despite being nowhere near as violent as its fictional counterpart, I feel that our world has drifted a little closer to Tolan's ultra-violent society than when she wrote it in 1996. Not just terrorism, but mass shootings, civil wars, hate crimes and bigotry; increased security checkpoints, fear, and every-man-for-himself vigilantism. Maybe she was on to something, maybe it's just my increased awareness twisting things again.
When I finally found and re-read the book, there ended up being more to the story than just the terrorism that I had so vividly remembered. Issues are brought up that I couldn't have even imagined when I read it initially, such as the controversial use of drugs to deal with children with learning disorders or mental disabilities. The exploitation of children by parents for monetary reasons. Domestic abuse and its effect on children. The vast increase in the number of autism diagnoses. In fact, The book has so much weighty content in it, I'm amazed it could be considered suitable for the 10-12 age group. (Of course, I haven't read another book for that target audience in a long time, maybe it's not so unusual?) The book is incredibly dark and powerful, so I can't say I'm surprised that I never forgot its themes or environment.
Out of everything in the novel, the sci-fi elements are, honestly, its weakest points; in fact, I nearly had forgotten them completely! Their function is merely to serve as the vehicle that opens the novel to its more serious conversations. This is a book about violence: where does it come from, why does it happen, how can we stop it. It doesn't really answer those questions, but instead relates them all back to the central theme: Each of us can stop the violence in ourselves. It's a powerful message, one that develops and informs the main characters and leads to their destiny together. Yes, there's an agenda here as well, but it's certainly one I'm receptive to. I have a hard time accepting the arguments of those who think perpetuating violence is ever a good idea.
I was extremely impressed with this book. Not just because of how well it held up in my memory, but at its core competency and message, and how relevant they remain. The tone and style match the maturity of the content: it doesn't read like a children's book at all. In today's publishing culture, if it got published at all, I could see it on that "paranormal-YA" shelf that's really for adults anyway. That said, I can't recommend it to any adult on good faith, for I fear my opinion of the story is skewed based on its long life in my memory.
I'm not sure it makes sense on the merits of the book alone, yet... I can't help but give the book five stars. It was important enough to me that I remembered it, and I'm glad I did.
January 15, 2008
I have always wanted to teach this book. I read it a few years ago, and I absolutely loved it. It's a multi-genre book about a group of teenagers sent to a group home because they are thought to have special abilities. The kids don't know this, and it's very interesting to watch how they discover their gifts and decide what to do with them. Written through IM chats, interoffice memos, medical and psychological files, etc., this book is awesome!
May 28, 2018
One of my best beloveds of recent (to me, at least) YA books. I'm far too old to be a baby genius, but I want to be a teacher in part to help bring out the cheetah within more people, whether they be mostly lion or pure cheetah. Because, yes, the system failed these four kids, but does it have to be that way?
May 6, 2013
The book “Welcome to the Ark” was NOT a good read. The book was really confusing, and I had a hard time getting it, and I’m usually a pretty good reader. The book had a bad structure overall. The book consisted of journal entries, computer chats, emails and the basic story. I could barely find the plot to the story, which was pretty much a group of depressed psychic kids who join together to try to stop world violence with a fake purple lion that they control with their minds. I do not recommend this story to anyone! This book is hard to focus’ on, since it just keeps switching perspectives.
May 24, 2008
I really enjoyed this book, it's a great story about four kids. I just wish that there was more closure in the ending. I felt as though it kind of let off in the middle that there was no true ending. Most importantly I wish that there was some kind of follow up to the story.
May 5, 2024
Finally read this book which has been at my house ever since my sister got it from a summer camp 10 years ago… definitely a different kind of children’s book, an exploration of human psychology and the capacity of violence but also shared understanding that all humans possess. The psychiatrists’ input was interesting as was the concept of the family in this novel.
August 28, 2014
I LOVED this book in grade school. I really did. The story is that a small group of hurt and misfit kids are plucked out of the general population of a mental hospital for the young, to a small experimental group home. There they use their mental powers (mental superpowers) to form bonds and begin waging peace on a crumblingly violent world. That book, at the core, can be a GREAT book. I REALLY liked that book.
Unfortunately, as an adult, I see that Tolan doesn't understand much about either mental illness OR global trends of violence. She runs the whole gamut of popular things to say about mental illness that are condescending, dehumanizing, and totally not helpful. She stigmatizes mentally ill people (her "good" psychologists do!) as "broken." She talks about "curing" autistic people. She stigmatizes ALL medication for mental illness, generically referred to by the the dreaded code word MEDS, as threatening, tragic, ineffective, personality-destroying, and as a morally weak choice. One character straight up says that taking medication is the same as committing suicide.
???excited to hear from Tolan what she suggests suicidal people should do???
Luckily the "crazy" main characters all turn out not to be crazy at all--they're just special! (Because gifted, not sick, NEVER goes wrong.) Thus they are neither broken nor doomed to a life of medicated, incoherent misery. Instead they can go save the world by being more pacifistic and psychic than most other people. Pro tip: It is never a great idea to write about a group of vulnerable people if those people freak you out so much that you have to pull a bait and switch halfway through the book. They're not crazy! They're psychic! This does not have to be an either/or, author.
Why is most of Armageddon taking place in Canada and France?
Unfortunately, as an adult, I see that Tolan doesn't understand much about either mental illness OR global trends of violence. She runs the whole gamut of popular things to say about mental illness that are condescending, dehumanizing, and totally not helpful. She stigmatizes mentally ill people (her "good" psychologists do!) as "broken." She talks about "curing" autistic people. She stigmatizes ALL medication for mental illness, generically referred to by the the dreaded code word MEDS, as threatening, tragic, ineffective, personality-destroying, and as a morally weak choice. One character straight up says that taking medication is the same as committing suicide.
???excited to hear from Tolan what she suggests suicidal people should do???
Luckily the "crazy" main characters all turn out not to be crazy at all--they're just special! (Because gifted, not sick, NEVER goes wrong.) Thus they are neither broken nor doomed to a life of medicated, incoherent misery. Instead they can go save the world by being more pacifistic and psychic than most other people. Pro tip: It is never a great idea to write about a group of vulnerable people if those people freak you out so much that you have to pull a bait and switch halfway through the book. They're not crazy! They're psychic! This does not have to be an either/or, author.
Why is most of Armageddon taking place in Canada and France?
January 24, 2024
I'd read this book when I was younger and gave it a revisit. It's no wonder that this book stuck with me. I love the unique formatting and the plot. I love all of the characters. It has such a positive message, but not in a toxic positivity way, and it certainly doesn't sugarcoat anything. I really enjoy it and will be keeping this book in my collection.
August 16, 2021
One of my favourite books from my teen years.
September 27, 2018
Spoiler Free Version
Stephanie Tolan’s Welcome to the Ark is a story containing lots of potential that was never realized. Welcome to the Ark is the tale of four children at a mental institution getting to know each other through a family group program known as The Ark. This story has many wonderful and thought-provoking concepts presented in the exposition, however these are scrapped to make the main theme of the story about the children combating violence with magical powers. This overhaul of the great ideas presented at the beginning of the story makes the ideas presented after the exposition less impactful, and the use of mystical powers my the children disconnects this story and the messages of it from the real world. To this story’s credit, there are some ideas that are mentioned outside of the exposition which do hold merit. But these are never explored to their full potentials. This makes Stephanie Tolan’s Welcome to the Ark an overall lackluster story which is filled with sadly unrealized potential.
| |
V SPOILERS BELOW, BE WARNED! V
Summative Opinionated Essay
Stephanie Tolan’s Welcome to the Ark is a story filled with unrealized potential. The story of Welcome to the Ark has a terrific exposition, introducing the characters of Miranda, Elijah, Doug, and Taryn. These characters have great introductions, showing some of their ideas and characteristics from their perspective of the world. Miranda is intelligent, Elijah is imaginative, Doug is murderous, and Taryn is mystical. These introductions give a good baseline of what the story and characters will be like, as that is the purpose of the exposition, and this seems to be done well. After this, we are shown that Miranda has been brought to Laurel Mountain, a research and rehabilitation center, and we learn that Miranda is irritating and provocative to those who try to help her. This showing of flaws continues, showing us how Elijah is autistic (due most likely to autism, although this is refuted without evidence), Doug is still violent, and Taryn, who was already at Laurel Mountain, is shy about her feelings and skills. This is terrific character development, and it is followed by Doug and Miranda having online conversations about what is happening to them in life, showing a possible relationship between the two. It is after this that Welcome to the Ark takes a massive downward spiral, and that is in the introduction of The Ark.
This unequivocally ends the exposition of Welcome to the Ark, and begins the demolition of many ideas of the story in favor of newer, unrealistic and unrelatable ideas. It is here that the characters leave the main facility of Laurel Mountain and join The Ark, a program involving these four kids getting to know each other and living together because they are smart. This removes many plot lines from the story, like Elijah’s likely autism and Miranda’s possibly psychopathic personality, in favor of things like fighting violence in the world, having connected dreams, and, worst of all, magical, unexplained superpowers. These developments come out of nowhere, and they slaughter what could have been Welcome to the Ark to make way for what it turns out to be. These magical powers are used to save a fish from dying by hurting a man on page 149, save a girl’s life through shattering a child’s foot on page 156, and to save a different girl from being hit with a croquet mallet by hurting a doctor on page 187. This doctor, named Harlan Turnbull, is disliked by Miranda, Doug, Taryn, and Elijah because he wants to shut down The Ark program. This is contrary to the idea of destroying violence presented by Welcome to the Ark, and even though the kids blame the action on Doug, they still all used their collective powers in order to hurt Turnbull. This causes Turnbull to begin going crazy and attacking the kids, taking action on their “phylogenetic powers,” an idea which he had only toyed with before the head trauma.This brings about the end of the rising action, and makes way for the climax of Stephanie Tolan’s Welcome to the Ark.
The climax of Stephanie Tolan’s Welcome to the Ark is compact yet enjoyable, as long as you enjoy the last-minute character personality and ability changes of the rising action. Near the start of the climax, on page 194, Turnbull drugs Taryn for transportation to another facility for studying her, being helped by a nurse. This sudden action by Turnbull cements him in his new personality, and obviously infuriates the remaining members of The Ark. Then, on pages 211 to 213, we learn that Elijah has run away after reading about a local highway bombing through the internet. Then, on page 219, we learn that Harold Dietz, the president of the board at Laurel Mountain, has officially shut down The Ark. These intense and compact moments change the primary conflict in the story, that of keeping The Ark afloat, due to it being ‘lost at sea’ per-ce. This makes the climax of Welcome to the Ark, despite being late in the story, enjoyable when given a chance to be good.
Welcome to the Ark’s falling action is one of the weakest parts of the story as a hole, apart from the abysmal rising action. In this section of the story, Miranda is taken home and the rest of the group either finishes treatment or is also sent home, (it is not clear what happened). The story cuts to 8 years later, and we see Miranda reuniting with Doug on page 230. Then on page 240, they reunite with Taryn to go on a hike up a mountain. On page 248, during their hike Miranda, Doug, and Taryn are phycologically zapped to a mob scene. They then use their mind powers to stop the mob, ending the falling action.
The story of Welcome to the Ark ends with a news article about a mob scene suddenly stopping, and it is assumed that Doug, Miranda, and Taryn caused it to end. This lackluster end to Stephanie Tolan’s Welcome to the Ark is accurate to the ideas presented in the rising and falling actions, but it still fails to provide any new ideas to end this story on a more philosophical tone. Despite being lackluster though, the conclusion of Stephanie Tolan’s Welcome to the Ark does at least do the bare minimum for the conclusion of a story, and there are no loose ends left untied due to the conclusion. This story is overall bad, nothing more, nothing less. Although many ideas that could have greatly improved this story were cut out in the rising action, the new ideas were at least used to make a relatively good yet simple message, that of violence being bad. The powers that were given to the characters prevents the message from having more depth though, due to the characters being made superheroes and not just heroes. This makes the message of Stephanie Tolan’s Welcome to the Ark a lackluster story without real-life ideas and concepts.
Stephanie Tolan’s Welcome to the Ark is a story containing lots of potential that was never realized. Welcome to the Ark is the tale of four children at a mental institution getting to know each other through a family group program known as The Ark. This story has many wonderful and thought-provoking concepts presented in the exposition, however these are scrapped to make the main theme of the story about the children combating violence with magical powers. This overhaul of the great ideas presented at the beginning of the story makes the ideas presented after the exposition less impactful, and the use of mystical powers my the children disconnects this story and the messages of it from the real world. To this story’s credit, there are some ideas that are mentioned outside of the exposition which do hold merit. But these are never explored to their full potentials. This makes Stephanie Tolan’s Welcome to the Ark an overall lackluster story which is filled with sadly unrealized potential.
| |
V SPOILERS BELOW, BE WARNED! V
Summative Opinionated Essay
Stephanie Tolan’s Welcome to the Ark is a story filled with unrealized potential. The story of Welcome to the Ark has a terrific exposition, introducing the characters of Miranda, Elijah, Doug, and Taryn. These characters have great introductions, showing some of their ideas and characteristics from their perspective of the world. Miranda is intelligent, Elijah is imaginative, Doug is murderous, and Taryn is mystical. These introductions give a good baseline of what the story and characters will be like, as that is the purpose of the exposition, and this seems to be done well. After this, we are shown that Miranda has been brought to Laurel Mountain, a research and rehabilitation center, and we learn that Miranda is irritating and provocative to those who try to help her. This showing of flaws continues, showing us how Elijah is autistic (due most likely to autism, although this is refuted without evidence), Doug is still violent, and Taryn, who was already at Laurel Mountain, is shy about her feelings and skills. This is terrific character development, and it is followed by Doug and Miranda having online conversations about what is happening to them in life, showing a possible relationship between the two. It is after this that Welcome to the Ark takes a massive downward spiral, and that is in the introduction of The Ark.
This unequivocally ends the exposition of Welcome to the Ark, and begins the demolition of many ideas of the story in favor of newer, unrealistic and unrelatable ideas. It is here that the characters leave the main facility of Laurel Mountain and join The Ark, a program involving these four kids getting to know each other and living together because they are smart. This removes many plot lines from the story, like Elijah’s likely autism and Miranda’s possibly psychopathic personality, in favor of things like fighting violence in the world, having connected dreams, and, worst of all, magical, unexplained superpowers. These developments come out of nowhere, and they slaughter what could have been Welcome to the Ark to make way for what it turns out to be. These magical powers are used to save a fish from dying by hurting a man on page 149, save a girl’s life through shattering a child’s foot on page 156, and to save a different girl from being hit with a croquet mallet by hurting a doctor on page 187. This doctor, named Harlan Turnbull, is disliked by Miranda, Doug, Taryn, and Elijah because he wants to shut down The Ark program. This is contrary to the idea of destroying violence presented by Welcome to the Ark, and even though the kids blame the action on Doug, they still all used their collective powers in order to hurt Turnbull. This causes Turnbull to begin going crazy and attacking the kids, taking action on their “phylogenetic powers,” an idea which he had only toyed with before the head trauma.This brings about the end of the rising action, and makes way for the climax of Stephanie Tolan’s Welcome to the Ark.
The climax of Stephanie Tolan’s Welcome to the Ark is compact yet enjoyable, as long as you enjoy the last-minute character personality and ability changes of the rising action. Near the start of the climax, on page 194, Turnbull drugs Taryn for transportation to another facility for studying her, being helped by a nurse. This sudden action by Turnbull cements him in his new personality, and obviously infuriates the remaining members of The Ark. Then, on pages 211 to 213, we learn that Elijah has run away after reading about a local highway bombing through the internet. Then, on page 219, we learn that Harold Dietz, the president of the board at Laurel Mountain, has officially shut down The Ark. These intense and compact moments change the primary conflict in the story, that of keeping The Ark afloat, due to it being ‘lost at sea’ per-ce. This makes the climax of Welcome to the Ark, despite being late in the story, enjoyable when given a chance to be good.
Welcome to the Ark’s falling action is one of the weakest parts of the story as a hole, apart from the abysmal rising action. In this section of the story, Miranda is taken home and the rest of the group either finishes treatment or is also sent home, (it is not clear what happened). The story cuts to 8 years later, and we see Miranda reuniting with Doug on page 230. Then on page 240, they reunite with Taryn to go on a hike up a mountain. On page 248, during their hike Miranda, Doug, and Taryn are phycologically zapped to a mob scene. They then use their mind powers to stop the mob, ending the falling action.
The story of Welcome to the Ark ends with a news article about a mob scene suddenly stopping, and it is assumed that Doug, Miranda, and Taryn caused it to end. This lackluster end to Stephanie Tolan’s Welcome to the Ark is accurate to the ideas presented in the rising and falling actions, but it still fails to provide any new ideas to end this story on a more philosophical tone. Despite being lackluster though, the conclusion of Stephanie Tolan’s Welcome to the Ark does at least do the bare minimum for the conclusion of a story, and there are no loose ends left untied due to the conclusion. This story is overall bad, nothing more, nothing less. Although many ideas that could have greatly improved this story were cut out in the rising action, the new ideas were at least used to make a relatively good yet simple message, that of violence being bad. The powers that were given to the characters prevents the message from having more depth though, due to the characters being made superheroes and not just heroes. This makes the message of Stephanie Tolan’s Welcome to the Ark a lackluster story without real-life ideas and concepts.
February 3, 2022
Read this to preview for my daughter's english class. Didn't love it. Prefer regular narrative writing to e-mails, memos, etc. that this often employed. The focus on armaggedon and destroying nature sounds interesting, but this was too heavy-handed, felt like a lecture more than a story. I'm mildly curious to find out what happens in the next book as this one ended with not much closure, but this one was too much of a wade to want to keep going.
August 14, 2019
I read this way back in high school, and found it again at a thrift store! I didn't really remember any of it...
It was pretty interesting, sort of a mystery with magical realism, and strangely calming. My only complaint is that the ending felt rather abrupt. I would have liked a longer epilogue, or, ideally, some content in-between the "end" and the epilogue.
It was pretty interesting, sort of a mystery with magical realism, and strangely calming. My only complaint is that the ending felt rather abrupt. I would have liked a longer epilogue, or, ideally, some content in-between the "end" and the epilogue.
August 24, 2022
I was obsessed with this book as a teen. It's been so long since I read it that I'm not sure if it holds up decades later, but I remember loving the format with the messaging and classic narrative combination. Definitely on my list to read again.
May 22, 2017
Good premise, nicely done. unfortunately overtaken by the world and so feels dated. There's not enough quest in the story to make up for this.
September 8, 2021
Pretty good book
November 26, 2022
Read this with Henry for 7th grade honors English.
May 17, 2023
I really, really enjoyed it. It kept me engrossed. I know there is one more book. Hope that there will be more down the line.
October 25, 2025
3.75/3.8
November 4, 2012
Books with agendas are a tricky thing.
See, I know that everyone in the world has an agenda, because everyone in the world has an opinion. So when an author writes a book, it's almost inevitable that his or her agenda will bleed into their work. If it doesn't, then one of three things has happened:
1. The author doesn't care about any one cause enough to write a book promoting it.
2. The author has managed to keep his or her opinion out of their work by choosing a topic that has nothing to do with his or her opinions or pet causes (for example: an outspoken atheist or evangelical writing a cookbook. Pretty hard to preach about God or the lack thereof when you're busy telling people how to make the perfect pork chop.)
3. The author has chosen subject matter so innocuous that there is no way it could be turned into or construed as a tract for that subject matter (see: Chick and Pug. If there is a sermon to be found, its title is "Chicks and Pugs are Adorable. Let Us Marvel at How Cute They Are.")
Welcome to the Ark falls into none of those categories.
Now, that isn't necessarily a bad thing. How much you tolerate a book is often due to how much you tolerate its agenda, because that level of tolerance often determines whether you view it as an agenda or not. (See: Christians and The Lion, The Witch, and the Wardrobe; atheists and The Golden Compass.) However, it is possible to write a book with an agenda and keep it hidden enough that the story is enjoyable and the message gets across to people on both sides of the debate, if there is one (see: The Hunger Games trilogy).
This book fails on all accounts.
The author is anti-violence. She is anti-perpetrator of violence. I think the scene where it becomes most apparent is when Timmy is carrying a rock over to hurt some girl, and the kids all link hands/minds/spirits/whatever and make Timmy drop the rock on his own foot, most likely breaking it and causing him terrible pain. When one of the girls expresses horror that they hurt Timmy, another one of the kids says, "No, we didn't hurt Timmy. Timmy hurt Timmy."
....
WHAT THE FREAKING CRAP, TOLAN?????? THOSE KIDS JUST BROKE TIMMY'S FOOT!!!!! THEY COULD HAVE USED THEIR STUPID NEW AGEY POWERS TO MAKE HIM SET IT CAREFULLY ON THE GROUND, YET THEY MADE HIM DROP A BOULDER ON HIS FOOT BECAUSE THEY FREAKING COULD!!!!! AND YOU'RE SAYING HE BROUGHT IT ON HIMSELF????? YOU'RE SAYING THAT WHEN SOMEONE IS GOING TO DO SOMETHING WRONG WE SHOULD STOP IT BY MAKING THEM HURT THEMSELVES??????
Take that logic to its conclusion, if you will. Let's say Country A is going to nuke Country B. Country B has people with the ability to influence minds/chance/what have you. What should these people do?
A. Convince the people of Country A to stage nonviolent protests to try and convince their government not to nuke Country B.
B. Convince the leaders of Country A that nuking Country B is a bad idea.
C. Convince the leaders of both countries to hold a conference and negotiate a peace treaty.
D. Convince the people pressing the button that they should turn the nukes on their own country instead.
If you answered A, B, or C, then congratulations. You are sane.
If you answered D, you are Stephanie S. Tolan. Please do not get involved in affairs of state.
And you know the worst part of the whole Timmy thing? Timmy learns NOTHING. The kids might have thought they were teaching him an Important Lesson about Wanton Cruelty and Being Kind to Others, but from Timmy's perspective, all that happened is his hand slipped and he dropped the rock on his own foot. Next time he wants to drop a rock on somebody, he won't consider the Important Lesson he learned last time; because to him, the only Important Lesson he learned was to keep a tighter grip on the rock. And in the multiple-choice scenario above, the most that would happen is the leaders of Country A would try and execute the people who pressed the button for treason. When they learned the truth about why it happened, they'd nuke Country B anyway, and if the mind-influencers survived, they'd capture them and execute them for war crimes and crimes against humanity. AS WELL THEY SHOULD.
The only good thing about this book is the cover. It's hilarious. I can almost hear the kids saying, "I FEEL IT!!!! WE'RE CHANGING!!!!!!"
Can't believe my sister's school taught this book.
See, I know that everyone in the world has an agenda, because everyone in the world has an opinion. So when an author writes a book, it's almost inevitable that his or her agenda will bleed into their work. If it doesn't, then one of three things has happened:
1. The author doesn't care about any one cause enough to write a book promoting it.
2. The author has managed to keep his or her opinion out of their work by choosing a topic that has nothing to do with his or her opinions or pet causes (for example: an outspoken atheist or evangelical writing a cookbook. Pretty hard to preach about God or the lack thereof when you're busy telling people how to make the perfect pork chop.)
3. The author has chosen subject matter so innocuous that there is no way it could be turned into or construed as a tract for that subject matter (see: Chick and Pug. If there is a sermon to be found, its title is "Chicks and Pugs are Adorable. Let Us Marvel at How Cute They Are.")
Welcome to the Ark falls into none of those categories.
Now, that isn't necessarily a bad thing. How much you tolerate a book is often due to how much you tolerate its agenda, because that level of tolerance often determines whether you view it as an agenda or not. (See: Christians and The Lion, The Witch, and the Wardrobe; atheists and The Golden Compass.) However, it is possible to write a book with an agenda and keep it hidden enough that the story is enjoyable and the message gets across to people on both sides of the debate, if there is one (see: The Hunger Games trilogy).
This book fails on all accounts.
The author is anti-violence. She is anti-perpetrator of violence. I think the scene where it becomes most apparent is when Timmy is carrying a rock over to hurt some girl, and the kids all link hands/minds/spirits/whatever and make Timmy drop the rock on his own foot, most likely breaking it and causing him terrible pain. When one of the girls expresses horror that they hurt Timmy, another one of the kids says, "No, we didn't hurt Timmy. Timmy hurt Timmy."
....
WHAT THE FREAKING CRAP, TOLAN?????? THOSE KIDS JUST BROKE TIMMY'S FOOT!!!!! THEY COULD HAVE USED THEIR STUPID NEW AGEY POWERS TO MAKE HIM SET IT CAREFULLY ON THE GROUND, YET THEY MADE HIM DROP A BOULDER ON HIS FOOT BECAUSE THEY FREAKING COULD!!!!! AND YOU'RE SAYING HE BROUGHT IT ON HIMSELF????? YOU'RE SAYING THAT WHEN SOMEONE IS GOING TO DO SOMETHING WRONG WE SHOULD STOP IT BY MAKING THEM HURT THEMSELVES??????
Take that logic to its conclusion, if you will. Let's say Country A is going to nuke Country B. Country B has people with the ability to influence minds/chance/what have you. What should these people do?
A. Convince the people of Country A to stage nonviolent protests to try and convince their government not to nuke Country B.
B. Convince the leaders of Country A that nuking Country B is a bad idea.
C. Convince the leaders of both countries to hold a conference and negotiate a peace treaty.
D. Convince the people pressing the button that they should turn the nukes on their own country instead.
If you answered A, B, or C, then congratulations. You are sane.
If you answered D, you are Stephanie S. Tolan. Please do not get involved in affairs of state.
And you know the worst part of the whole Timmy thing? Timmy learns NOTHING. The kids might have thought they were teaching him an Important Lesson about Wanton Cruelty and Being Kind to Others, but from Timmy's perspective, all that happened is his hand slipped and he dropped the rock on his own foot. Next time he wants to drop a rock on somebody, he won't consider the Important Lesson he learned last time; because to him, the only Important Lesson he learned was to keep a tighter grip on the rock. And in the multiple-choice scenario above, the most that would happen is the leaders of Country A would try and execute the people who pressed the button for treason. When they learned the truth about why it happened, they'd nuke Country B anyway, and if the mind-influencers survived, they'd capture them and execute them for war crimes and crimes against humanity. AS WELL THEY SHOULD.
The only good thing about this book is the cover. It's hilarious. I can almost hear the kids saying, "I FEEL IT!!!! WE'RE CHANGING!!!!!!"
Can't believe my sister's school taught this book.
September 14, 2019
It wasn't a very good book. I did not enjoy it, and drugs are mentioned at least 25 times. Would not recommend it. I think it overdramatizes how crazy the world is, and it doesn't really give any light to what's good in the world. It's an extremely unrealistic story and the fact that it's very unrealistic buries the moral of the story so that you have to look for it while you're reading.
November 11, 2023
I enjoyed the story that this book pictured. The story building was enjoyable to follow and I fell in love and cared for the characters. It makes me a ant to know what will happen next.
March 3, 2016
This book was kind of boring at first, but when I started to read more and find out about what the characters (Doug, Elijah, Miranda, and Taryn) have in common, it became interesting. I wanted to read on to see what keep happenings to them - what they will do or where they will go.
However, when I continuing reading, I did not like how confusing some parts were. As I was reading, I re-read some parts because of how they were phrased or what the characters were talking about. The plot (or whatever was going on) was harder to imagine than most books, which is something else I don't like. I couldn't picture some of the settings taking place, because I couldn't understand it or it was not so descriptive (this was just some of the book's settings, maybe one or two, not the entire thing).
Overall, to me, the book was challenging to understand, but it does seem like a good book. I may just be the one getting confused, but after reading through it and constantly having trouble reading, I still figured out what happened, and I do understand the book, so it's not that bad, but not as good as other books I've read.
However, when I continuing reading, I did not like how confusing some parts were. As I was reading, I re-read some parts because of how they were phrased or what the characters were talking about. The plot (or whatever was going on) was harder to imagine than most books, which is something else I don't like. I couldn't picture some of the settings taking place, because I couldn't understand it or it was not so descriptive (this was just some of the book's settings, maybe one or two, not the entire thing).
Overall, to me, the book was challenging to understand, but it does seem like a good book. I may just be the one getting confused, but after reading through it and constantly having trouble reading, I still figured out what happened, and I do understand the book, so it's not that bad, but not as good as other books I've read.
May 24, 2023
I started out utterly bored and confused by what was going on, thinking it was a shame that Tolan put so much effort into creating this cache of multi-format documents (journals, letters between adults, intake reports) that I would be completely unable to appreciate until I reread the book to understand their context, which I of course had no intention of doing because it was so dull.
But I continued to invest my time, and I'm glad I did, because by the time I got to the end I DID in fact think of these four kids as a family, and I loved the safe haven that was their house tucked away amidst a forested/mountain region with the kind-hearted psychologists/foster parents. Which is why I got very :o and "ahhh!" to find both a cliffhanger and an 8-year time jump at the end. Here I'd almost forgotten that they were in a dystopia, since we only ever heard about the escalating world violence and terrorist attacks through news bulletins.
But I continued to invest my time, and I'm glad I did, because by the time I got to the end I DID in fact think of these four kids as a family, and I loved the safe haven that was their house tucked away amidst a forested/mountain region with the kind-hearted psychologists/foster parents. Which is why I got very :o and "ahhh!" to find both a cliffhanger and an 8-year time jump at the end. Here I'd almost forgotten that they were in a dystopia, since we only ever heard about the escalating world violence and terrorist attacks through news bulletins.
April 11, 2009
Although the book was a bit slow at some points, I ended up really liking it and feeling that it has a great message. Many children will relate to the young characters who all feel like misfits in society, and the idea of a world filled with violence and terror is becoming all to real. Like 1984, this book suffers from putting a date on a dystopian society, and some teens may be hung up on the fact that the dates in the book are techinically in our past, but the text itself still seems relevant. The book lacks an ending that ties everything up in a neat bow, but that fact seems to fit the book itself and its message. The quest to subdue violence is not over for these characters, and if the readers have taken away anything from the novel, the quest should just be beginning for them.
September 7, 2009
I am reading this book right now. It is a really interesting story. There are 4 main characters. Their names are Miranda, Doug, Taryn, and Elijah. They are in a "nuthouse" for their extrordinary gifts. Miranda is known as the baby genius. Doug is a flutist and a math whiz. Taryn writes amazing poems and can communicate with other life forms. Elijah hears the deep growl of voilence around him, and won't talk to anyone since his grandmother died.
They are put together in one house to try and connect with each other because the therapists reconized that they were all genius'.
And that's all I have right now! You should defidentally read it!
They are put together in one house to try and connect with each other because the therapists reconized that they were all genius'.
And that's all I have right now! You should defidentally read it!
November 18, 2011
This is one of my all-time favourite books. I read it for the first time in 7th grade (2000) and have taken my well-worn copy with me to college and even to law school. Stephanie Tolan has exceptional knowledge of gifted children and conveys it beautifully though Miranda, Doug, Elijah, and Taryn. During a time when I didn't understand how to normalize being a cheetah, I found incredible solace in the pages of "Welcome to the ARK" and still, to this day, often think of certain passages in my everyday life. I understand everyone has their differences of opinion, but for me, it was a beautiful manifestation of what it means to be gifted, and I'm truly grateful to have it on my bookshelf.
August 5, 2016
If you're expecting Surviving the Applewhites this isn't it! A dark somewhat depressing, yet hopeful, tale of a world on the edge. Told through interviews, emails, and memos, as well as text; this story tells the tale of four kids who have been sent to a private mental institution for troubled teens. They come for various reasons and from a variety of backgrounds, but are they really crazy? Placed together in an experimental group home called The ARK, they begin to discover they have unusual mental powers. But will they use these powers for good or evil? A disturbingly realistic look at the world through the eyes of "troubled" youth.
January 9, 2013
I enjoyed my trip back to the Adirondacks -- many madeleine moments here. I can see GT students enjoying the privileged role given to children with superior intelligence, and they would appreciate the recognition of concomitant socio-emotional issues. Very affirming for them. It was lots of fun -- if I can characterize apocalyptic violence and drug-fueled psychiatry as "fun." Very interesting seeing how Nolan imagined technology working for children in need of international networking back in 1996. And the use of different points of view, scripts of online chats, memos, and research notes was effective. The diverse backgrounds of the characters are a plus.
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September 29, 2008This book is one of my all-time favorites, and another I have used extensively in my bibliotherapy group. It is easy for my teens (and myself!) to emphasize with the notion of being a "misfit" in society--and the thought of a deeper bond is a stirring topic of discussion. This book doesn't have the "Happily Ever" ending, so if that's what you're after look elsewhere--but the realism of the ending makes it appeal to those that recognize how difficult it is to survive. Also highly recommended-Flight of the Raven, the second in this series (read them in order!).
March 26, 2010
in welcome to the ark, miranda, elijah, tayrn, and doug have extrodinary minds. they can connect to nature.
i think that the ark is really like a place for people with sucky life. i mean, miranda told everyone she was an alien. doug breaks into cars and stores. elijah can't talk. almost all of their parents are dead.
i don't think anyone's life sucks this bad. i mean, to tell everybody your an alien. a 17 year old kid breaking into twenty cars. an eight year old kid that can't talk. the car break-ins i can understand. but not being able talk at eight? or aliens?
i think that the ark is really like a place for people with sucky life. i mean, miranda told everyone she was an alien. doug breaks into cars and stores. elijah can't talk. almost all of their parents are dead.
i don't think anyone's life sucks this bad. i mean, to tell everybody your an alien. a 17 year old kid breaking into twenty cars. an eight year old kid that can't talk. the car break-ins i can understand. but not being able talk at eight? or aliens?
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