[Book Plot Summary]

Chapter 20

• Jane takes Katherine to the white church with white people and the pastor is a complete bitch and HELLA rude to her carrying on about how racism was God’s destiny for black people

• She then goes to the house with the Duchess who gives her a tour of the joint which is slick a mess

• We learn that the sheriff’s wife turned into a shambler and so apparently the bitch is hella unreasonable in his requests 

• Also, Gideon invented everything, but we lowkey all knew that

Chapter 21

• Jane gets food at the cafeteria joint and the preacher approaches and talks to her super intimidatingly and creepily 

• She meets a girl named Ida who was sent from a compound with a few others for being misfits essentially 

• The deranged preacher then gives this racist ass sermon about God’s order and was inches away from catching these hands. Like my nigga I WILL jump into these pages, don’t try me ho

• Shiiiiiidt “and then Jane met a bitch named Marci that suddenly appeared and merked preacher bitch across the face and everybody lived for it. THE END!”

Chapter 22

• Jane awakes to morning running drills with all the teens her age 

• They’re basically being herded like cattle by the sheriff, bitch ass Bill, and somebody else girl idk

• Along the way, all the teens sing this suicidal song that’s awful 

• They get to a literal feeding ground and Jane gets no food because white people are the worst 

• Cora, the sheriff’s favorite, shadily eats and is weirdly comfortable with this bullshit 

• They’re then taken to their posts and Jane complains about how the weapons are shitty and will get her killed 

• She’s then attacked by these grown men 

• Jane got up and was like “everybody gotta die”. I’m HERE 🏽 FOR 🏽 IT 🏽

Chapter 23

• So Jane is on patrol duty with dude, I think his name is Alfonse

• They’re just walking around the top of this mud wall built by people who didn’t live to tell the tale 

• Alfonse talk too much lmao 

• Two other patrols fall on the other side of the wall and are nearly attacked by shamblers 

• Jane, again saving everyone, jumps down and saves them from the shamblers 

• One of the shamblers was an attendant she used to know named Maisie (who was the only real one when Jane asked her question during dude’s lecture back in Baltimore)

• Another shambler was the attendant that left that white woman for dead lol

• Anyways, the girls make their way to the top of the wall again and bitch ass Bill SHOOTS one of them cuz he THOUGHT she turned into a shambler

• The other girl did turn into a shambler tho and Jane had to kill her on the spot 

• She then almost killed Bill and then went back to her post 

Chapter 24

• Jane keeps working the walls and hates everyone for being bitch ass niggas 

• She eventually gets some coin and decides to get clean sheets and her hair braided by the one black sex worker, Nessie 

• Apparently, the sheriff took a liking to Nessie so spared her a life of patrolling 

• Later Jane, while in bed, remembers when the major almost killed her at Rose Hill and the shit sounded horrible 

• Jane is full of rage and needs some semblance of freedom so she attempts to leave the sleeping quarters 

• Cora tries to rise up, but immediately gets her shit rocked 

• Jane decides she’s Spider-Man and jumps across a roof onto another building and ends up swinging inside the room 

• Mr. Gideon, half naked, is inside perched with a gun pointed at her. Jane seems strangely aroused during this 

• Bro, is Jane really bout to fall for this white boy? Lmao 

• Jane asks him questions about what’s up and he agrees that the survivalists are going about this all wrong and all shit will crumble 

• Jane then asks about Jackson and it’s implied that he was either killed or allowed to turn into a shambler. The sheriff has a thing for watching people turn into shamblers after all....

• Jane is pissed and is literally going to murder everyone. I just feel it in my bones lmao 

Chapter 25

• So Jane just frfr don’t give a fuck no more 

• They’re all being fed less because rich white people are moving in all of a sudden 

• Jane is also blown that Jackson is probably a shambler now 

• So, one night, she decides enough is enough and literally sneaks to the rich, white part of town in the darkness

• She breaks into some houses and finds Lily (Jackson’s sister) after ALL this time. The convenience!!!

• Lily assures her that Katherine is lowkey spreading Negro truths, but that otherwise everything is a mess

• Turns out they had to move out of Baltimore cuz they couldn’t afford it anymore and they owed the mayor a loan 

• Lily is like “dog, this shit ain’t safe” and shows Jane a ,like, haunted house basically 

• Chiiiiile what is Miss Jane finna do?! 

Chapter 26

• So Jane predictably goes into this dangerous ass house 

• She descends the stairs to see a, like, metal ball full of shamblers running aimlessly to make it rotate, but not necessarily moving forward. There’s an old black man sleeping just beyond their reach 

• Mr. Gideon literally emerges from the shadows since I’m pretty sure all these hoes are cartoon characters 

• He then takes Jane to a lab where he goes on and on about how he wanted Summerland to be a haven of racial harmony and for shambler labor to power not only electric lights, but also the border wall

• But then other white people decided to be racist and illogical 

• He also gave Jane peaches lol

• Anyways, he, like Lily, implies that shit’s about to get WAY worse before it gets better. 

• Jane’s like “okay bet, but I gotta go back”

• On the way, however, she’s caught by the sheriff who knocks her unconscious 

Chapter 27

• Bruh, idk if I can do this 

• *sighs*

• Okay so like 

• Basically, Jane was tied to a whipping pole by the sheriff and bitch ass Bill

• They decide to gather everyone and whip Jane publicly because they’re white demons 

• Halfway through, Katherine steps in and uses passing privilege to BEG for mercy on Jane since they’re literally killing her 

• Gideon was there but markedly less helpful 

• The sheriff agrees and the duchess takes Jane and Gideon to her quarters to heal her while Katherine prepared for this lip sync for Jane’s life with the sheriff 

• At the saloon, everyone talks about how fucked up this is and Jane comes up with a plan saying that the only way they gon take these niggas down is if the sheriff falls in love with Katherine and they strike when his ass ain’t expecting it 

• Then she makes up this whole lie saying the reason Katherine is there is because the mayor of Baltimore was in love with her and the wife got jealous 

• So here we are I guess 

Chapter 28

• Katherine breaks into the room and is like “JANE WHY TF YOU LYIN ON ME?!”

• Truth be told, she don’t really give a fuck, but she’s hootin and hollerin to mislead the folks listening in 

• But, super lowkey, Jane’s like, “yeah girl you gotta bait this sheriff bitch”

• And Katherine’s like, “yeah boo, I got you, don’t worry” 

• Jane basically wants to drug and kill him 

• Also, Jane told Katherine that Jackson is dead :(

Chapter 29

• So Jane is allowed to heal for a week with Katherine which thank God

• She talks to the duchess to see if they’d had any luck securing drugs to drug the sheriff, but no dice 

• Katherine and Jane have a meeting with the sheriff where Katherine is able to convince him to give Jane her sickles (to fight shamblers) back 

• All the men in this scene are true mothafuckahs 

• The sheriff is gross and slobbering all over Katherine and is inches away from catching Jane’s hands—or, in this case, blade 

• Luckily for him, some disturbance erupts and he and his friends have to leave 

• Jane and Katherine use their departure as a chance to snoop

• In doing so, Jane finds nothing, but Katherine finds a MAP

• Someone walks in on them, but it’ssssss....JACKSON!!!

Chapter 30

• So Jackson’s back, look at God! 

• Jane lowkey feelin him, but that ain’t none of my business 

• Turns out that Daniel Redfern was instructed to kill Jackson when they first got there, but instead gave him a knife and instructed him to escape to an Egalitarian town called “Nicodemus”

• Turns out that Miss Duncan (the white woman we like...I think) is there too with a bunch of girls from Miss Preston’s. They’re a pacifist town so Jackson is tryna get ammunition at Summerland and find Lily!

• ALSO, apparently Baltimore was overrun by shamblers...?!?!?!

• Anyways, the pastor is rolling up, so Katherine and Jane buy some time to distract him while Jackson searches for whatever he’s searching for

• Katherine reflects on how growing up in a brothel has made her a next level type of liar and Jane’s like, “damn”

Chapter 31

• Jane and Katherine return to Katherine’s bougie ass house and Katherine admits how she lowkey hates this white passing nonsense—having to turn on her own people etc.

• Katherine laments that her future seems to be having to entertain men when she’s honestly, probably, asexual

• Jane, at this time, hints at some sexual fluidity in the past with Merry Alfred, which thank God 

• Jane tells Katherine that her beauty is just as much a weapon as it can be an inconvenience 

• Gideon rolls up and Jane sends him away, but before he leaves he asks that the 3 get lunch the next day

• Jane is definitely falling for this white boy lol

Chapter 32

• Thirsty niggas give Katherine rabbits and she and Jane eat them sans paying these thirsty hoes any mind 

• Jane reflects on just how hard all this is for Katherine

• Sheriff rolls up talmbout he needs Jane to help fight a horde of shamblers who BREACHED the fence!!!

• So everyone and they mama is gathered outside to fight 

• The black people were really out here unarmed until Jane was like “bruh...”

• So they get access to hella good weapons and everyone’s blown that they’ve really been out here fightin shamblers with spoons and forks

• Jane meets a similarly over it boy named Lucas and they bond about how much they wanna kill all the whites 

• Jane wants her penny back from Bill and she FINNA get that shit back 

• Oh yeah, Bill had taken her magic penny from Aunt Aggie lol  

Chapter 33

• YOOOOOOOOO

• SO, aight, so boom

• Basically everyone goes to battle the shamblers and it’s easily HUNDREDS of them  meanwhile their team is like 40 ish hoes 

• The white guys with rifles don’t know wtf they’re doing 

• Hoes with lanterns are also fuckin up 

• So Jane TAKES OVER and starts giving out commands and actually setting them up to survive! 

• The sheriff with his fragile ass masculinity is in his feelings about it but fuck him, who cares!!!

• They literally fight for their mf lives 

• A lot of white guys that didn’t know what they were doing died 

• But ultimately, they took down the shamblers like wow 

Chapter 34

• So Jane’s lowkey nervous that she’s gonna be punished for being logical and saving everyone’s lives last night because white people 

• She and Katherine approach the sheriff and apologize “for her behavior”, but the sheriff is surprisingly pleasant about it and is like, “Oh, we needed Jane’s leadership, it’s fine”

• Surely, however, NOTHING is fine

• The two then meet with Gideon in his lab 

• Come to find out Gideon is the Mayor of Baltimore’s SON?!

• Everyone’s gagged but like meh I see why he lied 

• Anyways Gideon’s like, “yeah highkey shamblers are starting to gather from all over andddddd they’re gathering in bigger and bigger groups andddddd they lowkey can communicate with each other like insects ANDDDDDD we’re basically fucked if we don’t get tf out of here”

• So Jane’s like, “yeah the sheriff’s gotta go sis”

Chapter 35

• Oh girl...

• So basically Jane and Katherine make their way to the outer wall to see what’s going on 

• Along the way, the run into a drover (think like the white version of attendants) named Alan who sucks but all the men in this book do, so no surprise there 

• He spills some tea saying that Maryland AND Delaware have been overrun by shamblers AND they’re going to Pennsylvania next. It’s a HUGE horde taking out the Eastern Seaboard

• He hints that some folks are looking to relocate to Nicodemus

• Anyway, they make it to the wall and the sheriff asks that they get supper with him and also find out that there’s still 2 big ass holes in the wall

• Also, like half the fence team died including Cora, who we didn’t like, but it’s still sad 

• But weirdly there are like wealthy white folks here who turned shambler, so it’s like wtf is going on?

• Maybe the sheriff brought them to the wall to show them it was safe and then shit went left? Like all those loitering bodies caused the breach? Unclear 

• Katherine suggests that they ask the sheriff to consolidate everyone and defend themselves from a smaller focal point 

• Jane thinks it’s suicide, but is there REALLY another option?! 

• Also, girl, this book is almost over, like WHEN are these white people dying?!

Chapter 36

• So Jane and Katherine are walking to the sheriff and run into Ida who then tells them that ANOTHER shambler horde is coming?!??

• The drovers refuse to fight because they scurred

• Katherine is like, “girl, we needa stay and defend ourselves” and Jane’s like, “girl, we needa RUN!”

• Jane separates to warn hoes to grab they shit and leave 

• She runs into the Duchess who got beat up by the sheriff because he found out that Katherine is BLACK 

• Jane’s like “FUCKKKKKK” and so she makes a run for Katherine, hoping she’s not too late 

Chapter 37

• Jane runs to the sheriff’s office and, of course, runs into the sheriff, pastor, Bob (WHOM?!), and Bill who are lowkey holding Katherine hostage and want to kill her and Jane 

• They’re busy being evil cartoon villains when Jane sees an opening and essentially kills all of them with a gun. Like she used one bitch as a shield and used her momentum to do all the work, it was wild!!

• Before the pastor dies, she tells him how she was the one who killed the major (her mom’s shitty ex back at Rose Hill Plantation) when he got back from the war 

• We also find out that Jane’s mom was a passing black woman and used her mistress’ death to assume her identity 

• Katherine and Jane grab weapons and are like, “bitch, wtf is finna happen sis”

Chapter 38

• So basically, Katherine and Jane leave tranquilly after murdering 4 white men 

• All of a sudden, the shamblers ENTER town and ALL hell breaks loose!!!!

• Everyone’s running for their lives and Katherine and Jane decide to grab Lily and co. before leaving town 

• The Duchess and all the other women of the saloon join them 

• They’re wearing corsets, which like whet?!

• They all make it to Lily’s house and grab her and baby Thomas (Lol)

• They then all try to prepare a horse for escape when these white guys try to steal the horse

• Jackson shows up out of NOWHERE and murders one of the white guys without giving even a sliver of a fuck 

• Lily, Baby Thomas, Duchess and co., Katherine, Jackson, and Jane then all hightail it tf out of town 

• During this, Jackson gives Jane a letter from Big Sue (her alleged best friend we ain’t heard about since Chapter 1 lmao) that basically is the last letter from Jane’s mom where we learn that Rose Hill is no longer cuz her new husband BETRAYED her and now she’s seeking refuge in California at a survivalist camp thing  

• So Jane comes to the epiphany that her life goal is to stop the survivalists wherever they are 

• So everyone makes their way to Nicodemus to presumably link up with Preston girls, Miss Duncan, Mr. Redfern, and make their way to California

[Book Thoughts and Feelings]

• Okay so like, I feel like the pacing was HELLA weird at the end. Like the climax and escape all happened in like 3 chapters. I kinda wish it was bit more fleshed out 

• Even Lily’s reunion with Jackson was HELLA rushed 

• Lol I feel like it all got a little superhero cliche-y at the end. Like even the banter was just very like weirdly casual given the extreme severity of the situation 

• Pacing aside, I am curious if a sequel is coming, there are definitely still SO many questions and loose ends 

• WAYUR tf is Gideon?!

• Real tea tho, like what is the future of the US frfr with this plague? Like I don’t foresee this terror truly ending 

• What does it mean for a shambler to become intelligent? What does that symbolize?

• Katherine and passing privilege—I really enjoyed the exploration of the psychological toll of having to betray your own people 

• Also, would have LOVED for Katherine’s implied asexuality to be explored more. How does that intersect with this role she’s been placed in? The role of the well put-together, presumably heterosexual white woman? 

• I loved the intersection of sex work and blackness--how their mutual social subjugation allowed them to exist in closer proximity with one another and like really slay at the end

• White male egos...I can’t lol