Who is Bryson? Did he know Zu (& Liam)?

[Amy]

Don't give me any spoilers (if you happen to have any), but I am horrible at remembering details & names & can't figure out what happened at the end of In Time. I'm guessing that Zu recognized the skip tracer that had Bryson and that was why she was so quick to rescue him from the back of his van. But does that mean that both Bryson AND Zu know Della? Bryson knew OF Liam from living at Della's and Zu KNEW Liam from camp? If that's the case, then how would the two of them figure out that they both knew Liam (or maybe Bryson didn't know Zu knew him)?

I just don't get how the 3 of them fit together. Help.

[Alexandra]

Hi Amy--I might as well answer this one, huh?

Zu only saw that Bryson was in trouble. Her only motivation was to help him get out of trouble, and she had pretty much worked out at that point that Gabe didn't have the heart to turn any kid in, let alone her (which is true).

In TDM, just before Zu leaves East River, Liam gives her a slip of paper with a note written on it. Ruby never sees what he wrote, but you find out in IN TIME that it's the message she's been carrying around with her, telling her to look for his parents if she finds herself in trouble. They're using the fake names Jim and Della Goodkind and, as we discover, living in Arizona to escape the surveillance and scrutiny they received from the government after Liam escaped from his camp. Zu recognized the name "Della Goodkind" from Liam's note.

There's no connection between Bryson and Liam--I don't think Liam's mother or stepfather would have mentioned his name at any point so as not to blow their cover. It's just a strange, happy coincidence that Zu crosses paths with Liam's mother at all.

I hope that helps!

[Amy]

Let me see if I have this straight. Bryson is coincidentally looking for Della and when Zu hears Della's name, she realizes that's who she is supposed to be looking for? Then why doesn't Zu go with Della when she has the chance (when Bryson goes with her)? Liam would've wanted that. Was she that sure she could find her family and that she'd be better off trying to find them? I love the insight into her mind in this novella and I can imagine that she's stubborn enough to think that.

And while I have your attention... I don't know if you saw this yet or not, but I am not happy with you. Please stop answering silly reader questions and go back to working on Never Fade (re-writing, if necessary). I would appreciate it if the entire ending of TDM was a dream sequence, please and thank you. And while I'm asking favors, it would be nice if you'd bump up the release date while you're at it. Just so you know, you broke my heart. ;-) (winking about the writing stuff, not about the heartbreak - that's very real).

Thanks for a great book. I really enjoyed it (except the heartbreak part). :-)



ETA: It appears that this didn't come across as tongue-in-cheek as I'd thought it would. I am almost entirely joking about all of this "re-write" this and "get back to work" that stuff. You know how you read a book and you want to ask the author, "WHY DID YOU DO THAT TO ME???" after they break your heart? Well, this was me doing that. In a mock-angry way, not an angry way. Sorry if I sounded like I was being seriously disrespectful. I essentially meant it as the opposite. :-(

[Alexa]

Amy, I'm not sure if you're trying to be funny in that last paragraph or not, but it sounds kinda rude. Alexandra took time out of her day to answer a question for you and you're sitting there telling her to get back to work? :| Not cool, bro. Not cool. Plus, you didn't even thank her for answering your question. :(

Bryson isn't looking for Della, he's living with her. What happened was that he got captured so when Zu and Gabe find him, he lets them in on his hide-out so that he can get back home.

Zu doesn't go with Della cause she wanted to go to her Uncle's house over in South Carolina (I think? I don't really remember where), remember Zu left the camp for herself, not because it was what Liam wanted. If Zu had done what Liam wanted, she would have never left the safe haven.

[Amy]

I was 99.9% joking. :-( I tried to make that clear with the smileys & winking faces and the compliments about learning more about Zu and about loving the book (though maybe even that seemed snarky, I now fear). And I thought it was so over the top rude that it couldn't possibly be meant seriously. I feel horrible that it was even remotely unclear. :-( Thank you for saying something. I was trying to be funny (in that response and in my review, for the most part) and very obviously failed if even one person didn't see it that way. Sorry (to you & Alexandra both). (I'm going to edit my original response to add something about this).

What you explained is what I meant when I asked if Bryson was looking for Della (coincidentally). Not so much whether or not he was out & about looking for her, but that once he was free, she was the one he wanted to find and it just so happened that he & Zu came together and Della was who Zu wanted to find. And while I knew Liam didn't want Zu to leave East River, he did tell her in the note that if she was on the outs (that's what the juvenile hall kids I work with call it when a person is not locked up) and needed help, she should find Della. Well, she was on the outs & needed help and even when she found Della, she didn't stay with her. That's kinda what I meant about going against Liam's advice and about her stubbornness/ insistence that she knows what's best for herself (even though she's not always that good at making safe decisions, like leaving East River and eventually, like going to her family's house).

[Alexa]

It's okay! :) It's all cleared up now!

Hopefully all that clears up your questions, then. :) I do agree with you that staying with Della would have been a smarter choice for Zu, but it looked like her stubbornness (like you said) kicked in and had her trekking out to her Uncle's. Although, that's where she said she'd meet the other girls she was traveling with. And I'm sure she wanted to see her Uncle again. :) Who knows? Maybe now she'll take them back to Della now and then everyone will meet up there in Never Fade! :D

[Alexandra]

Hi Amy,

It's okay, I knew you were joking. Sorry for the delayed response. I was actually traveling out of the country and I try to keep off GoodReads as much as I can. :) Maybe staying with Della would have been the logical choice, but the kids in the series aren't always really thinking things through--they're making decisions based on their gut which sometimes lands them in trouble. In this case, I really think Zu just wanted to reunite with Hina, the other girls, and her uncle.