64 pages • 2 hours read
Kekla MagoonShadows of Sherwood
Fiction | Novel | Middle Grade | Published in 2015A modern alternative to SparkNotes and CliffsNotes, SuperSummary offers high-quality Study Guides with detailed chapter summaries and analysis of major themes, characters, and more.
Chapters 31-45Chapter Summaries & Analyses
Chapter 31 Summary: “Library Books: 398.26 ML”
Robyn emerges from the stairway thoroughly confused. She asks Key to accompany her to the storeroom where Eveline says answers reside. Instead, Robyn and Key find piles of shoes and hair supplies. Key jokes that perhaps they can build their enemies a torture chamber out of stilettos and conditioner. He grabs a catalog from the store room, assuming it might come in handy. Robyn shows him the note Eveline handed her, which reads “398.26 ML” (166). Key recognizes it as a call number from a library.
Key and Robyn head to the forest and are joined by Laurel. The three eat a meal of cooked rice and fruit and sleep, heading to the library the next morning. On the wall of the entryway, Robyn spots a wanted poster for Floyd Bridger, the large man whose backpack she and Laurel hid in the sewer, indicating Bridger managed to escape the MPs. She also sees an “APPREHENDED” (169) poster with the photos of the mother and children whom she gave food to yesterday. Robyn’s heart sinks as she realizes the MPs thought it was the mother who stole the food from the depot.
Chapter 32 Summary: “Unintended Consequences”
Key tries to console Robyn, who is consumed with guilt. Key tells her that they will be more careful during future raids. Robyn tells him and Laurel the only way for her to set things right is to find and free the family: She wants to break into Sherwood jail. When Key says the plan is crazy, Robyn pulls out the shoe catalog from his back pocket and replies the shoes are their way in.
Chapter 33 Summary: “Special Delivery for the Warden”
The trio goes to the storeroom and retrieves several pairs of shoes. Key alters the MP uniforms Robyn took from her house so he and Robyn can dress in them. With Laurel waiting hidden outside the prison, Key and Robyn roll in a dolly loaded with a carton of shoes, pretending the warden has been sent a surplus from a fashion store. As the warden goes over to examine the shoes, Robyn darts to her desk and locates the prison keys. She spots a list of pending prisoner transfers to someplace called Centurion Gate on the warden’s computer screen and sees mother’s tag number on the list.
Robyn opens the lock to the holding area and locates the jailed family. She also unlocks the other prisoners and leads them all to the back door she and Laurel had spotted during their own escape from prison. Robyn has already loosened the door’s hinges from outside the prison so that its electronic lock side remains intact while the other side can be kicked out. Thus, she manages to lead everyone out without triggering an alarm. However, right outside the prison, she runs into a golden-skinned girl with red hair and the young MP trainee who arrested her in Sherwood Forest.
Chapter 34 Summary: “Familiar Faces”
To her surprise, the MP lets Robyn, the red-haired girl, and the prisoners go. Robyn asks the prisoners to walk away while she returns to the jail. Grabbing her backpack from the warden’s desk, Robyn joins Key who is still displaying the shoes to the warden. The warden selects many shoes and asks Robyn and Key to put them in her car. Robyn breathes a sigh of relief at having gotten away with her daredevil act, but soon, her oversized pants threaten to slip down.
Chapter 35 Summary: “Wardrobe Malfunction”
Thankfully, Robyn is wearing black leggings under the trousers; still, the wardrobe malfunction draws the attention of a prison guard. The guard notes the pants are not regulation but accepts Robyn’s excuse that she left her belt in her other pants.
As she and Key walk away, Key expresses with Robyn for stopping to grab her backpack since she didn’t say this was one of her motives for breaking into jail. Robyn cannot understand Key’s annoyance, but Key states that every extra second he spends around government officials gives them the chance to recognize him before walking off in a huff.
Laurel and Robyn head to Sherwood to get some food. When an MP spots them in an alley next to Nottingham Cathedral, they split up to escape. As the MP gains on Robyn, a pair of dark hands grab Robyn and pull her into the cathedral through a hidden plywood door.
Chapter 36 Summary: “Secrets in the Cathedral”
Robyn is inside the church. Tucker Branch, the young man who helped her get away from the MP, tells her to be quiet till the MPs give up their search. Tucker is studying to be a minister and helps the rebels whenever he can. He often comes to the locked-up church to write his thesis on the moon lore. As Tucker shows Robyn around, they come to a walled courtyard at the back of the cathedral. Tucker tells Robyn he hasn’t yet found a way to access the space but suspects a door in the choir loft may lead to it: The keyhole has been removed and painted over, leaving an indentation. Tucker and Robyn climb up the loft and find the door. Robyn digs at the paint and discovers an oblong hole underneath. The shape corresponds exactly to her moonstone.
Chapter 37 Summary: “The Moon Shrine”
As Robyn presses the stone in the keyhole, the door swings open, much to Tucker’s surprise. Robyn and Tucker climb down a rusty staircase into the courtyard. Robyn can see another stairway at the opposite end of the space. The courtyard has an ancient black stone wall in the center, and a segmented curtain hags from the wall’s top edge. When Robyn pushes the segments aside, she sees diagrams that seem to represent the cycles of the moon and sun. Tucker tells Robyn that the courtyard is part of a legend. It is said that Nottingham Cathedral was built by destroying a moon temple, sacred to the followers of ancient moon lore. However, the workers charged with destroying the temple and building the church preserved the shrine in secret, leaving the courtyard and its ancient knowledge intact. Tucker is overjoyed that they found the temple. As he and Robyn leave the courtyard, the open door shuts on its own, as if it is sentient.
Chapter 38 Summary: “Chazz’s Challenge”
Tucker asks Robyn if she can help him carry some packages to T.C. He also wants Robyn to meet Chazz, who is well-versed in moon lore. Robyn agrees reluctantly since she found Chazz strange when she met him. At T.C., it is free medical check-up day. Volunteer doctors, nurses, and other people offer free tests and medical supplies. People at T.C. are not part of BioNet, the medical system that keeps track of patients through their tags.
When they spot Chazz, Tucker asks Robyn to tell him about the key. Robyn hesitates but then remembers Eveline’s advice about trusting people. Chazz too seems reluctant to talk to Robyn. When she tells him she found the courtyard, Chazz is stumped and replies that Robyn cannot be the One. “The One” is the leader of the people prophesized in the moon lore. Robyn is puzzled by Chazz’s words but grows distracted when she spots Merryann Crown, one of her classmates, handing out supplies.
Chapter 39 Summary: “Trouble in Tent City”
Merryann is surprised to see Robyn and wonders aloud if Robyn too volunteers at T.C. Robyn realizes that Merryann—the niece of Governor Crown—has no idea about the abduction of Robyn’s parents and the other parliamentarians. Meanwhile, there is a clamor at Merryann’s table, as she has run out of the antibiotics she was giving away for stingbug bites. There is an epidemic of stingbug fever in the city, and with the herbal antidote, bitterstalk, behind the Sherwood Forest barricade, antibiotics are the only option. While people from affluent families, like Robyn and Merryann, are vaccinated against stingbug fever, the rest of the city is vulnerable. Robyn finally understands why her father always consumed bitterstalk: Being from a working-class background, he wasn’t provided the vaccine as a child. Robyn tells Merryann she will find a way to get people the antibiotics, but Merryann must not tell anyone she saw Robyn. Merryann wants Robyn to keep her presence at T.C. a secret as well.
Chapter 40 Summary: “Called on the Carpet”
Back at Sherwood Jail, Sheriff Mallet confronts the warden about the jailbreak. The warden insists the jailbreak was an inside job by a “Crescent” (215) from solitary, referring to the girl Robyn saw outside the prison. The other 70 were merely a diversion for her escape. Mallet sneers at the warden, reminding her that the jail door was unhinged from the outside in broad daylight, suggesting rebels are at work here. Mallet has the warden thrown in solitary.
Chapter 41 Summary: “Wires in the Tree House”
Back at the tree house, Laurel hugs Robyn fiercely, glad to see her safe. Robyn discusses the stingbug epidemic with Laurel and Key, wondering if they can steal antibiotics from government shops. Key suggests they stick to stealing food for now and move in a strategic fashion. They decide to go to lot 410, now a food depot, and steal an entire food truck.
Meanwhile, Robyn tries to figure out the clues of the map. She knows the fire element in Dad’s message refers to T.C. because of its many campfires, but she cannot yet figure out what the other elements stand for. She examines the broken hologram, wondering how to fix its wires. The hologram has not worked since the night her parents were taken.
Chapter 42 Summary: “Bigger Than a Bread Box”
Robyn parks the green moped outside 410. She has brought along bacon, in case she runs into Waldo, the bulldog. Key moves to the truck’s gate to figure out a way in. Robyn and Laurel begin looking through the parked trucks to find one they can steal. Many of the trucks are filled with clothing and hardware, but they finally find one loaded with bread. Robyn opens the door to the driver’s seat.
Chapter 43 Summary: “A Dangerous Detour”
Robyn and Laurel dive into the truck, sliding down to escape detection by passing MPs. Robyn pulls out the panel from under the ignition slot so she can hotwire the truck. Robyn decides to take a detour and grab some wires to fix Dad’s hologram. Asking Laurel to stay put, she sneaks out into the warehouse, runs into Barclay, and grabs a bunch of fine wires. Suddenly, the floodlights turn on. Robyn thinks the MPs have spotted her and scurries into a small shed.
Chapter 44 Summary: “An Uneasy Alliance”
Inside the shed is the girl with red-tipped hair Robyn saw outside the prison. The girl, who is called Scarlet, tells Robyn she has snuck in to get information about the missing detainees, which she found on the hard drive of a computer in the shed. Scarlet and Robyn strike a deal: Robyn will show Scarlet the way out of 401 in exchange for the information on the detainees. Just then, Laurel runs past the shed, screaming that the MPs are on their tail.
Chapter 45 Summary: “Pedal to the Metal”
The three girls rush to the food truck. Robyn rigs up the wires and starts the truck, scared that Key may have been caught. Knowing that guards are chasing them, she speeds the truck toward the closed gate and blasts through it. Key is nowhere to be seen. Robyn shows Scarlet the modem Barclay gave her, and Scarlet says it is an important bit of equipment.
Chapters 31-45 Analysis
Chapters 30-45, constituting the middle section of the novel, pick up the pace in terms of plot development, introducing many new, important characters and revealing vital clues about Robyn’s quest. Both the narrative elements of the Robin Hood legend and the moon lore are expanded in this section. The characters of Tucker, Merryann, and Scarlet are references to the Robin Hood legend. Tucker alludes to Friar Tuck, a good-natured priest, who in the folk tale, represents the good, tolerant, and ideal Christian. Here too, Tucker is a kind, wise minister, who offers sanctuary to those in need. The legend’s Will Scarlet, a dashing member of the merry men, often dressed in red, is transformed into Scarlet, an adventurous hacker with red-tipped hair. Merryann refers to Maid Marian, the heroine of the legend, often depicted as Robin’s love interest. Like Maid Marion, Merryann Crown comes from wealth yet chooses to help the outlaws. The imaginative reinterpretation of these characters makes them accessible to contemporary readers and keeps the folklore fresh. Apart from characters from Robin Hood, the novel also reinterprets the folklore’s settings. Nottingham Cathedral is a reference to the story’s Nottingham setting; the tree house and the live oak in the Loxley estate both allude to the Major Oak, the giant tree that gave shelter to the merry men in the legend.
Robyn’s growing realization of the inequality in her world, including how Crown has triggered a stingbug outbreak by blocking people’s access to bitterstalk, is tied with theme of The Role of Youth in Social Change. As Robyn, and later Merryann, begin to unravel how oppression in the world works, they are increasingly motivated to change the status quo. Thus, Robyn makes up her mind to steal antibiotics for the people of T.C., even though Key suggests it’s too risky. The tension between Key and Robyn continues in this section. Key once again finds Robyn selfish when Robyn leaves Laurel in the truck to look for wires to fix her hologram projector. However, Robyn’s actions led her to meet Scarlet, who becomes an important member of the group. The differing approaches of Key and Robyn show that both of them need to adjust their attitudes to reach a middle ground. This highlights The Importance of Teamwork and Solidarity in the novel. Robyn needs to communicate better about her plans while Key needs to learn to sometimes embrace spontaneity.
The most important development in the moon lore subplot is the discovery of the moon shrine. The chapters in which Robyn and Tucker unlock the long-hidden altar have an atmospheric quality, adding to the suspense and mystique in the plot. The shrine with its black and white altar is described poetically, and the narrative tone suggests something otherworldly about the temple. For instance, each time Tucker leaves the door to the courtyard open, it shuts on its own behind him, as if of its own volition: “I guess it has a mind of its own” (201), Tucker declares.
As Crown’s ban on bitterstalk shows, the novel’s world is increasingly moving toward a dystopia. The novel explores the many ways in which an equitable-seeming society can slip into totalitarian rule. It starts with Crown dismantling Parliament, disappearing his critics, and controlling the food supply. The next step is giving absolute power to military forces. Merging the army and police is an important sign that a regime is turning totalitarian and draws from such developments in the real world. In a democracy, the police are supposed to maintain civil law and order, whereas the military handles external threats. Militarizing the police and assigning the military to domestic targets signals that a regime is treating its own citizens as a threat and an enemy. Hence, resisters and the poor are criminalized, and public land that provides free resources, such as Nottingham Forest, is placed off-limits.
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By Kekla Magoon
