What do you think?
Rate this book
The Cage #0.5
The Caretaker
An exclusive short story set in the world of the YA scifi novel, The Cage by Megan Shephard.
All the books in THE CAGE series are told from a variety of perspectives: Cora, our main protagonist, but also from Lucky, Leon, Mali, Nok, and Rolf. Through all of this, I always felt as though one perspective was missing: Cassian’s. Because he belongs to a non-human, super-intelligent race, his motives are often mysterious and difficult to interpret. We are left wondering if he is their abductor, their savior, or something else entirely. While I love this sense of mystery regarding Cassian, I also wanted to dive deeper into his character and include some “behind the scenes” sections showing what he was up to while Cora and her friends were trying to navigate the Cage’s dangerous puzzles. In THE CAGE, we learn what it is about Cassian that enchants Cora, and now we get to see what it is about Cora–from the first moment he saw her on Earth–that draws Cassian to her, too. Enjoy!
All the books in THE CAGE series are told from a variety of perspectives: Cora, our main protagonist, but also from Lucky, Leon, Mali, Nok, and Rolf. Through all of this, I always felt as though one perspective was missing: Cassian’s. Because he belongs to a non-human, super-intelligent race, his motives are often mysterious and difficult to interpret. We are left wondering if he is their abductor, their savior, or something else entirely. While I love this sense of mystery regarding Cassian, I also wanted to dive deeper into his character and include some “behind the scenes” sections showing what he was up to while Cora and her friends were trying to navigate the Cage’s dangerous puzzles. In THE CAGE, we learn what it is about Cassian that enchants Cora, and now we get to see what it is about Cora–from the first moment he saw her on Earth–that draws Cassian to her, too. Enjoy!
19 pages, ebook
First published May 26, 2016
493 people want to read
About the author
Megan Shepherd
35 books2,780 followersNew York Times bestselling author Megan Shepherd grew up in her family’s independent bookstore in the Blue Ridge Mountains. She is the author of several young adult and middle grade novels. She now lives and writes on a 125-year-old farm outside Asheville, North Carolina, with her husband, two cats, and an especially scruffy dog.
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 18 of 18 reviews
January 6, 2021
The Caretaker is a prequel novella to The Cage, that tells the story of how Cassian came across Cora, and then provides Cassian’s perspective to some of the events that occur in the first book.
Cassian is my favourite character in this series and there is so much we don’t know about him in the first book, especially when its revealed in the end that he had betrayed Cora. But I’m really glad I read this little novella because it explained the reasoning behind why Cassian did what he did, and that it wasn’t in a malicious way at all, but that he hurt Cora in order to help her. And I’m glad I know that going into The Hunt, because now I understand what Cassian had been doing all along and what his plans were.
“Cassian cocked his head. He hadn’t known it was possible to experience such a vast span of emotions at the same time. What would make someone feel so many different things all at once? What was it about this girl?”
Cassian is my favourite character in this series and there is so much we don’t know about him in the first book, especially when its revealed in the end that he had betrayed Cora. But I’m really glad I read this little novella because it explained the reasoning behind why Cassian did what he did, and that it wasn’t in a malicious way at all, but that he hurt Cora in order to help her. And I’m glad I know that going into The Hunt, because now I understand what Cassian had been doing all along and what his plans were.
September 4, 2018
This was very interesting to read and it did give me a little insight into Cassian's mind and motives.
I would definitely read this AFTER you've read The Cage because it definitely gives away some of the plot twists (plus, it'll will give you more context if you already know the scenes).
I would definitely read this AFTER you've read The Cage because it definitely gives away some of the plot twists (plus, it'll will give you more context if you already know the scenes).
July 17, 2024
3/5 ⭐️
November 8, 2017
Ohhh, that was good. Makes me really excited to read the final book of the trilogy!
November 20, 2020
It's very adorable. I've always been fond of Cassian but it's crazy seeing how much he actually struggled to hold in his curiosity for the human 'species'. It was like a fight between being selfish or doing what was right. I definitely wish there was more to read. The way he takes up human-like behavior occasionally is also quite adorable. Cassian is a big tough guy with a soft heart, curious as a cat. That's 100% his spirit animal. Absolutely PRECIOUS! Love you Cassian. Always will. Thank you to Megan Shepherd as well for writing this tiny tidbit for us fans. The fact that this book isn't more noticed is surprising. I can't find fanart anywhere!
November 26, 2017
A quick online story of Cassian and his backstory. Took maybe 10 minutes to read yet adds just a touch of humanity to this character and a hint at his plan to help Cora survive her capture. This would be Book 1.5 as reading it before book 1 maybe too confusing and I liked the mystery surrounding Cassian in book 1. So read it after book 1- not before:)
June 2, 2017
After reading The Cage and found out there was a short little clip from Cassian's viewpoint, I HAD to read it instantly. In fact, I put down the other book I was reading just to read this. It explains so much and makes you love Cassian even more!
July 5, 2017
Unnecessary and overly mushy.
In the tradition of other ya authors, Shepherd gives us an abbreviated summary of the events of the first book from Cassian's point of view. Nothing it really added to the world or the characters.
In the tradition of other ya authors, Shepherd gives us an abbreviated summary of the events of the first book from Cassian's point of view. Nothing it really added to the world or the characters.
December 19, 2022
I re-read The Cage and noticed this short story listed as part of the series. Seeing it was free I gave it a try and it is a great companion story to go with The Cage. I liked seeing inside the Kindred more and learning how they think and work.
February 12, 2017
Did add some more depth to the story and wasn't jsut a retelling in someone else's POV. Nice to see Cassian's side, humanise him a bit!
May 29, 2017
Great short story, really enjoyed having Cassian's POV! Need to read more!
June 1, 2019
A great, free read! Cassian is my favorite so it was nice to see some of his thoughts and emotions during the first novel. I'm so on Team Cassian for Cora, so hopefully they can work things out :)
November 28, 2021
It's good to read the other side of the story but I still can't forgive him
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
February 25, 2017
Not sure why I expected this to be painless....
August 1, 2016
I thought that it was good but it was too short. I had a feeling after I read it that I felt incomplete due to the lack of detail and parts of the story that you would have imagined there but they were not. It felt rushed and like things were missing. I was a bit let down and although it was a good read, looking back on how small and not enough detail there was left me sad. Also some of the acts didn't line up the same way as they did in the book. I feel that since Megan Shepard has started this she should write one for everyone one of the books in this series from Cassian's perspective and be a bit more descriptive and share more moments that happened to Cassian in the series.
July 29, 2016
It needs to be longer!
February 26, 2018
A nice peak into Cassian's thinking. They're more human than you think.
November 8, 2016
Loved Cassian's' side of this story!
Displaying 1 - 18 of 18 reviews