Zoo, Week 2

Welcome to week 2 of our Online Book Club discussion of Zoo by James Patterson. 

How did you enjoy the beginning of the book? Did it make you think about a family friendly trip to the zoo with more trepidation? Before starting this book, I had never read a James Patterson book, so I wasn't really sure what to expect. I was pleasantly surprised by how the chapters flew by as I was reading. Did you expect to read 33 chapters so quickly? 

Did you feel like the first animal attack, in the prologue, was pretty gruesome? I was a little freaked out by the description of the lion attack. I almost felt like I could feel the fangs cut into my face like they did the zookeeper. Do you think we're finished hearing about those particular lions? The attack on the golf course was a little too much, didn't you think? That guy who was attacked was so innocent and was so unaware. I was so sad that he had to die. 

The first main section of the book shows lions attacking Jackson Oz and his guide in Botswana, Abe. The lions were all male and were attacking as a group, something that was very unusual. Again, the attacks were pretty violent. Did you skim over the descriptions? Were you at all surprised that Abe was killed? I wasn't, since I figured it would be pretty unlikely that both of them would survive an attack like that. 

This section ends with Oz rescuing Chloe from the crocodiles and then they both deciding that they have to spread Oz's video to convince people that there is something going on with the animals. Do you think people will take their video seriously? Will it make any difference? 

What do you think of Oz? He's a mess, isn't he? He doesn't seem like someone whose theories about a change overtaking all animals you would trust. I am so nervous about his chimpanzee, Attila. Doesn't it seem like a horrible idea to keep a chimpanzee in his apartment? I just don't have a good feeling about this "bad smell" that Attila keeps smelling. The end of chapter 33 shows us that Attila is pretty mad, and it seems like he's ready to take it out on Natalie. What do you think is going to happen? 

As I'm sure you are all aware, James Patterson is a really prolific writer. Did you know that he just published a new book on a completely new format? Patterson recently released a new book through Facebook messenger. I had no idea that was even possible! If you're interested to read more about his book or how to access it, check out this article from Variety. 

I hope you are enjoying this book so far and are able to keep reading, even though there are some violent sections. Please let me know your thoughts, and let me know if there are any other James Patterson books that you think I should read. And, let me know if you are watching or have watched the Zoo television show adaptation. I'm curious if it's anything like the book!

Make sure to read through chapter 62 before you join us next week!