Welcome to Quill Quotes Book Club’s discussion of Ark by Veronica Roth! We hope you enjoyed the book. Note, that this discussion covers the full book and will contain spoilers, so if you haven’t finished reading yet you may want to go back to The Forward Collection Summary Page for the other book discussions.
Kevin’s Thoughts
I enjoyed this short book and gave it 4 stars. It jumped around a little more than I’d like and I wish it was a little longer to develop the story more though. The idea of awaiting the apocalypse is nothing new but I felt was presented well in this short format. I was expecting a love interest or something to develop and found the discovery of a new orchid a little weak in terms of making Sam want to live. Especially since she left the Oncidium Samantha with Hagen to die on Earth. It would have been cool to see the orchid contain a cure for the cancer that killed Sam’s mother and Hagen’s wife or something like that. I’m not sure Sam will be happy aboard the Ark but hope she continues discovering new things and finds joy, perhaps finally considering herself a scientist.
Favorite Quote
“Why take a shower when you’re just going to get dirty? Why eat when you’re just going to get hungry? Every flower dies eventually, Sam. But not yet.”
– Veronica Roth, Ark
Brooke’s Thoughts
For a short story, I thought this started off pretty slow and didn’t grab my attention right away. I feel like this might have been better as an actual book. I haven’t read a lot of short stories but this one felt incomplete to me. The ending just left me wanting to know more. There were some interesting philosophical points made though. I don’t know if humanity would actually be able to work well together if something was threatening Earth but I hope so. I would hope that we could all just become humans as she said. I do believe that some would stay behind and some might choose to end their lives before the end, while most would probably want to get on the ship but I don’t know how many would choose each option. I was also a little disappointed that Sam didn’t bring the orchid with her since it seemed like that was her reason for wanting to live. Overall, I gave the book 3 stars.
Favorite Quote
“She wondered if he had learned as much about his wife in her absence as he had in her presence, just as Samantha had with her father.”
– Veronica Roth, Ark
Ark Discussion Prompts/Questions
Feel free to comment whatever thoughts and questions you have! But if you aren’t sure where to start, consider some of the prompts/questions below:
- Were you surprised discovering the new orchid changed Sam’s mind about staying on Earth?
- Do you think Sam will be happy on the Ark or regret her decision to leave?
- Did you read or listen to the book? Which do you prefer? Did you like the narrator?
- Have you read the Divergent Series or any other books by Veronica Roth? How do you think they compare?
- Share a favorite quote!
Commenting
We can’t wait to hear from you in the comments! Be aware, some comments may be held for our review to reduce spam and won’t appear on the site right away, but we’ll do our best to review quickly. If you have any trouble commenting, please let us know on social media or via email to hello@quillquotes.com so we can try to help.
If you’d like to keep track of the discussion or replies to your comment via email, be sure to change the dropdown above the Post Comment button. You can also use the checkbox to subscribe to our newsletter and follow us if you haven’t already! You should receive an email to confirm, so please check your junk/spam folder and add hello@quillquotes.com to your safe-sender list if you don’t receive anything.
We hope you enjoy this discussion and join us again next week!
Ark by Veronica Roth is set around a classic but huge motif: an ark meant to save humanity from devastation. The main character, while aiding humanity’s cause, does not want to be saved from impending doom. However, finding a new species of orchid causes her to have a change of heart. From Ark I got one clear message: We all have to try and find our “orchids.” Our world is riddled with issues that could lead to humanity’s devastation. It’s easy to become disillusioned and want to wait for the impending doom. So Ark reminds us that we cannot lose hope. For some people something small like discovering a new orchid will be enough to remind them that all is not lost. Others are going to need much bigger orchids, like two huge ships meant to carry fauna and flora to the next Earth, to remind them not to lose hope. Either way we just have to keep looking.
“Well You can’t love everything equally.” She said. “You just can’t. And if you did then it’s the same as loving nothing at all. So you have to hold just a few things dear because that’s what love is. Particular. Specific”
Finding those particular and specific things to enjoy or love or protect like Sam did with the orchid are what’s going to give us the drive to keep going even when the world seems to burn around us.
I listened to Evan Rachel Wood narrate Ark on Audible and I thought it was very well done. She portrayed the different accents of the characters well. I think it’s appropriate since Wood plays Dolores Abernathy on Westworld- a character who spends a large part of her journey trying to find and then protect her “orchid”. Ark was a fun hour and a half listen. It’s not my favorite short story. But it wasn’t boring either
Well said! I like the idea of everyone needing to find their “orchids” but still find it odd that she didn’t take it with her and that was enough to make her want to live. Personally, I think Sam would get bored quickly on the ark and regret her decision to leave Earth. Maybe I’m just cynical and have a harder time finding that “orchid” than others though.
I also liked that quote, probably my second choice! This also seems to have varying degrees between different people too. I know some folks have a lot of casual hobbies they love where others are die-hard on 1 or 2.
I always tend to read the books and much prefer that to audiobooks. I listened to the sample but they never seem to hold my attention like reading at my own pace does.
I don’t think I could ever sit around and wait for death. I feel like my survival instinct is too strong so I would have to get on the ships.
I have mixed feelings about this quote but I get what she is trying to say.
I love audiobooks so I’m glad you enjoyed the listen!