Bloom

Petra Sumner is the second of the book’s three protagonists, also fitting the archetype of the apocalyptic hero. She’s beautiful, and she knows it. She’s popular and used to being the center of attention. Below the surface, Petra is dominated by fear. Prettiness is her armor against her fear of “people thinking she [is] stuck up and icy. Fear of someone stabbing her in the back again. Fear of what the future h[olds] for her” (92). Petra sees a therapist and has developed techniques to combat anxiety. Petra is also characterized by a rare skin condition in which contact with water causes a rash—a very painful one, in Petra’s case. It keeps her from swimming, which she used to love, and makes it exceedingly difficult for Petra to feel normal. She is also a round and dynamic character.

Petra’s greatest fears revolve around losing her looks and popularity and thus becoming, in her view, unlovable. She’s motivated by a desire to be normal. She believes killing the plants will stop her body from continuing to change and mutate. This belief spurs her to action in the battle against the cryptogenic species. It also informs her choices regarding her regrown tail and her parents’ plan to return to Salt Spring Island. Petra’s cryptogenic traits appear reptilian in nature. Her tail, scaly skin, and remarkable swimming abilities resemble characteristics of a crocodile. This resemblance is foreshadowed by Anaya’s betrayal, when she told everyone at school Petra was born with a tail because she’s half reptile.

During the first battle against the pit plants on the school field, Petra’s fear overwhelms her. Anaya and Seth are left to help other victims while Petra sits on the ground, sobbing. However, when Anaya and Seth decide to risk their lives to look for Mr. Riggs on Cordova Island, Petra determines not to let fear keep her from helping her friends: “On the school field, she’d freaked out and left everyone in the lurch, and that wasn’t happening again” (221). Petra’s recognition of how fear can cripple her motivates her to be courageous, unleashing her potential for heroism.

Petra’s character arc also involves her forgiving Anaya and reclaiming a meaningful friendship. In her initial state, Petra prioritizes being pretty and normal. She’s horrified by her physical changes and sees the hybrid version of herself as a monster. By the book’s resolution, she’s able to comfort Anaya, assuring her, “We’ll always be us” (309). She may not embrace their physical changes as much as Anaya and Seth do, but her focus has changed from fear for herself to supporting her friends, expanding on the theme of Friendship and Loyalty as a Source of Strength.

Seth Robertson is the third protagonist. Like Anaya and Petra, he embodies the archetype of the apocalyptic hero. Seth is described as “very quiet and kind of odd-looking” (15). The long-sleeved shirts and hoodies he always wears make his chest appear disproportionate to the rest of his body, which is long and skinny. As an aspect of his characterization, Seth’s physical build gains significance with subtle allusions to inadequate meals in previous foster homes. The reason he always wears long sleeves is significant as well. His arms are covered in scars, 20 per arm, each spaced about an inch apart. Having been born with feathers on his arms and grown up in foster care, Seth knows what it’s like “to feel different, to want to hide away some part of yourself” (41). These feelings contribute to the novel’s theme of Alienation From One Group as Belonging to Another. Seth is a round and dynamic character, changing throughout the story.

In the beginning of the story, Seth fears abandonment. He’s been moved from foster home to foster home. The euphemistic reasons they give—a “change in priorities” or “insurmountable challenges as a result of attachment disorder”—don’t make feel any less like he’s being discarded (37). When Mrs. Antos prepares to tell him they can’t take care of him anymore, he makes himself “leave his body a little bit” to soften the blow he knows is coming (97). This pattern of abandonment makes Seth fear getting close to anyone, yet his friendship with Anaya and Petra feels surprisingly natural. His actions and choices are motivated by an almost-instinctual need to protect them and Dr. Weber.

Seth’s cryptogenic traits are birdlike. He was born with feathers along his arms, which reemerge as the cryptogenic plants trigger dormant sequences in his DNA. Though his feathers don’t grow enough to be considered wings in this first book of the series, he hopes they’ll one day enable him to fly, as he does in his dreams. When Seth first encounters Anaya, she notes his eyes are slightly too close together, but, the text explains, “[I]t didn’t make him look goofy. It made him look incredibly focused, like a bird of prey” (21). This observation foreshadows his birdlike cryptogenic features.

In the initial state of Seth’s character arc, he’s become convinced there isn’t much point in making an effort to get close to people. He’s never even had a best friend. He’s also never had a parent who didn’t let him down. Through the events of the story, Seth finds the courage to open himself up to Anaya and Petra, and they become close friends. He learns to trust Dr. Weber, and by the book’s resolution, she comes to be a parent for him.

Michael Riggs is Anaya’s father. As a botanist whose specialty is combating invasive species, he plays a more central role in the story than the other parents and foster parents. He’s characterized as a quiet person in general, but he gets very excited and enthusiastic when talking about plants. His supportive parenting style means the world to Anaya, who calls him “one of the pillars that held up her entire life” (207). Anaya’s allergies make her feel fragile and set apart, but she loves that her dad doesn’t treat her any differently than before her allergies emerged. This aspect of their relationship develops the book’s theme on Alienation From One Group as Belonging to Another. Michael shows some roundness but is somewhat static in the novel.

Michael’s character provides much of the scientific basis for the characters’ understanding of the plant invasion as well as their plan for fighting back. For example, he teaches Anaya the plant is black because it can photosynthesize any wavelength of light, meaning it’s very adaptable and therefore a formidable foe. He also explains how rare fungal systems in isolated places can create unique bacteria, which is why the soil on Cordova Island is toxic to the cryptogenic plants.

As a father, Michael is motivated by a desire to protect his daughter and make her feel safe. When Anaya is troubled by early developments of the plant invasion, her dad hugs her and tells her, “It’s going to be okay. We’re going to figure this out” (86). On Cordova, however, he has to let her take risks in order to save all of them. This experience is part of the book’s exploration of a parent’s role when the world gets scary and contributes to a thematic look at Global Crisis, Heroism, and Togetherness.