Carpe Librum Book Club discussion

This is where our book discussion for Gated will take place.

Hey Everyone,

I’m not exactly sure who is supposed to lead the discussion as the last poll results were 50/50 and since I suggested Gated I’ll start off.

This book got me thinking about how powerful denial is, and the truth behind the statement “ignorance is bliss”. We only see and hear what we want to, as long as it coincides with our desired reality.

The quotes from real cult leaders above each chapter were a nice reminder that people do get drawn into these groups. It is creepy to think people exploit our need to belong. I found the book to be a slow build and the end was predictable (aside from the killing of the horses) but I enjoyed reading through Lylas' struggle with Pioneers philosophy and what Cody was telling her. I always enjoy stories where characters stick to their truth and are brave enough to stand up to the man hahaha.

I was really frustrated with Lylas' mom, and angry at her for giving up so easily and just abandoning Lyla. If the author meant to get an emotional reaction out of me from the mother she succeeded. I sympathized with Lyla and would have reacted the same when she threw her sister's shoes and let loose on her mom.

In my opinion the story would have been just as good without the relationship between Cody and Lyla, they could have easily been just friends or it could have been the sheriff's daughter instead. The romance wasn't necessary.

What did you guys think? Did you find yourself at times getting dragged into the Community world and siding with the members, thinking that the small peaceful community wouldn't be half bad and then realizing "wait a second, this is crazy!" hahah.

I really liked this book, and I agree, it really made me think about just how someone would get roped into something like that. It was really obvious to me Pioneer was manipulating them and preying on their weaknesses, but they all believed him whole-heartedly. I understood why they did, and I really liked that the author showed us HOW he was manipulating them.

I saw the ending coming, too. I figured, with quotes from the Koolaid priest and other cult leaders, Pioneer would be following in their footsteps - but I was still totally engrossed reading about it. Pioneer was kind of terrifying, and after he killed Marie, I was worried he'd kill someone else before his plot could be foiled.

Lyla's mom killed me. Losing her daughter must have been horrible, and she might never have been totally okay after that, but she could've had a normal life, sans cult, if Pioneer hadn't swooped in and made her so afraid of the world. I wanted to kick his teeth in for what he did to her. (I also wanted to ask - any theories on where Karen disappeared to? I thought for a second Pioneer might have kidnapped her, but I doubt it).

I agree the romance was kind of unnecessary, but it didn't really bug me. I hate love triangles as a rule, but since Parker made that more of a side thing than the main plot, it wasn't too bad. And I think that it might've been a lot harder for Cody to convince Lyla of Pioneer's guilt if she hadn't liked him. Her feelings for him came out of nowhere, though, and it was pretty instalove-y.

The one thing I COULD NOT STAND about this book was Pioneer's theory about how the world would end. The earth's rotation was going to switch directions and cause Armageddon? Don't think so. Not only is that scientifically impossible, and therefore obviously false, I couldn't think of any way Pioneer could have convinced them that it was without having them call bullshit. I thought Pioneer making them believe he was a prophet was believable, but I think Parker took it a little too far having the Brethren be ALIENS.

There was a ton of suspense and foreshadowing in this book, so I really got into it, and the entire time I was waiting for the other shoe to drop.

I know I'm late but I just finished the book, so I'll just say something quick.

I really LOVED this book. In the beginning I found it to be a little slow and a little unrealistic, but by the end I was completely roped in. I thought that the book really developed into a fascinating and exciting read. I could not put it down.

I also really loved the quotes from Jim Jones and the others. I don't know about anyone else, but I had never even heard about these people before. As soon as I began researching them, I realized that this book is creepy in the way that it has happened before.

Now for the charcters: I really did like Cody and his relationship with Lyla (which is unusual because I usually dislike this type of love). I really liked Lyla and Marie as well. The only problem was Lyla's mom. I think that it was time for her to get over Karen's disappearance and care for the daughter right in front of her.


Lastly, in response to the scientifically impossible reason for the apocalypse Pioneer was telling everyone, I think that people will believe anything. Adults will listen to anyone who has supposed authority ( the real life example of Jim Jones). And the kids wouldn't think anything of his theory because they had only been educated by Pioneer and had only heard the information he wanted them to hear.

Apparently Parker is coming out with a sequel in August.



I didn't see this one coming! And the cover is gorgeous

Wow i totally did not expect a sequel.... I'll definitely be reading it but I thought that the book was good enough to stand alone.