Renegades (Book 1) Reading Journal - Part 2
Here’s Part 2 of my Renegades Reading Journal! Hope you enjoy it!
SPOILER ALERT
Date: 07.4.25
The Winston Pratt Interrogation Scene
Oscar: “That — was actually true. But still, you can tell us what you know now, or we can come back and do this again tomorrow. And the next day. And the next! We’re not giving up until you tell us what we need to know, so start talking, Mr. Pratt, or else … or else I will make sure that you don’t get any tacos! Or, um, whatever it is they serve prisoners around here.”
In this scene, Adrian’s team is interrogating the Puppeteer, Winston Pratt, to help them in their search for Nightmare.
In the quote above, Oscar is being his usual comical and light-hearted self, which contrasts with the atmosphere of the tense scene. His humour breaks the ice between the characters, and shows how his personality brings balance to the team.
The layers of this interrogation scene makes it even more tense and suspenseful: Nova is a Renegade, part of Adrian’s team, and is tasked with interrogating Winston Pratt, who is also a fellow Anarchist and one of her allies. However, Pratt was imprisoned after the chaotic incident at the parade in the beginning of the novel, which created tension in their relationship. This is made worse by the fact that Pratt was never told that Nova was going undercover as a Renegade, so he assumes that she has betrayed the Anarchists by joining their enemies.
This moment shows, once again, just how tangled Nova’s double life has become — not only is she risking exposure, but her relationships with the Anarchists are beginning to fall apart one by one.
I think this is one of the most suspenseful scenes in the book. The thrill itself of trying to find Nightmare when she’s actually right there in the interrogation room is riveting, and the layers of this scene makes it even more dramatic and gripping.
Adrian: “Okay, listen. She betrayed you. She literally threw you out of your own hot-air balloon and left you to be captured by your enemies. Right? You have no reason to protect her.”
This powerful and manipulative line from Adrian is really striking.
Adrian’s words put Nova in a difficult position, and show the emotional weight of her double life. She is listening to one of her teammates express his aversion for Nightmare, without realising that she is the very person he is talking about. This adds more tension to the scene — Nova has to stay silent whilst her teammates condemn her, and that inner conflict makes the moment really intense and layered.
The hunger in Winston’s eyes was inescapable, and for the first time Nova felt bad for how she had given so little thought to Winston since his arrest. He must not only have been bored, but lonely. Not that she could have done anything to help him, but … she could at least have spared him a thought.
In this moment, Nova pities and sympathises with Pratt for the first time. As readers, it’s fascinating to see her heart soften as a different side of her is brought out. I think that seeing different sides of Nova enriches her personality as a multi-dimensional character.
“We had ourselves a little Nightmare.”
He started to smile — a real smile that stretched the dark lines on his chin.
”She and I used to play together. When she was scared at night sometimes, I would entertain her with puppet shows. She especially liked shadow puppets, which are something of a specialty of mine. Remember that, N—” He hiccupped. Coughed. “Uh, I remember that Nightmare well. Little Nightmare. We were buds …” His brow creased, a sadness overshadowing the sudden burst of joy. “Back then, at least.”
This is such a heartfelt, sentimental moment in the interrogation scene.
Throughout the entire interrogation, Pratt was in a difficult position. He was never told that Nova was going to become a spy, so seeing her as part of Adrian’s team came as a shock. Pratt was torn between the Anarchists and the Renegades — should he reveal Nova’s secret and betray her, or stay silent and risk the Renegades thinking he’s lying, and perhaps face harsher punishment?
What makes this moment even more powerful is that Nova hasn’t exactly treated him well. She betrayed him at the parade without a second thought. Despite this, Pratt chose to protect her. This is an unexpected act of loyalty that Nova definitely doesn’t deserve, which makes the scene more emotional and complex.
Nova felt like her heart was being torn apart. For the past number of years she’d thought of Winston as little more than a nuisance, but he was right. They had been friends when she was young. How had they lost that? How had she become such a … such an Anarchist?
She kept her eyes on him, wishing he would look up at her, wishing she could convey that she was sorry, and that she did remember those times, all those sleepless nights when he had made her laugh, and how much that had meant to her.
But this time, Winston kept his head down. Behind him, the door clunked, and the guards returned. The interrogation was over.
This is such a heart-breaking moment.
Nova is torn with guilt as these memories tug at her heart. She realises how much she’s hurt someone who once meant so much to her. She wants to apologise, let Winston know that she remembers, and how much he still means to her.
But before she can say or do anything, the guards return, and the moment is gone.
The pain of this moment adds so much complexity and emotional depth to both the scene and Nova and Pratt’s characters.
Summary of My Opinions on the Interrogation Scene
I think this is unarguably one of the best scenes in the book, as it shifts between different atmospheres and moods, making it layered and complex.
It’s thrilling, tense and suspenseful throughout the scene
It’s touching, emotional and heart-breaking towards the end
It’s light-hearted and comical at times
Pages 413-414
The people would be better off on their own.
The world would be better off without them.
Nova’s belief that the world would be better off without prodigies is repeated and strongly emphasised throughout the story.
In Nova’s opinion, civilians (non-prodigies) rely far too much on Renegades to save them when they are in trouble. She believes that if there were no prodigies, then people would learn to be more self-reliant and solve problems on their own, rather than waiting for someone else to fix things.
This belief stemmed from a traumatic moment in her childhood, when her family — mother, father and sister — were killed. She believed that the Renegades would arrive to save her family, but they didn’t.
This sense of betrayal shapes Nova’s future and pushes her towards becoming an Anarchist. Her aversion towards the Renegades is what drives Nova’s actions throughout the story.
In my opinion, this belief is emphasised so much because it’s compelling and thought-provoking. The whole story revolves around prodigies, both heroes and villains, and Nova’s philosophy challenges the reader to think. Is the world better of with heroes? Or has their presence made people weaker and more dependent?
Nova, Max and Adrian in the Quarantine
Overview
Nova sees Max in the quarantine, and witnesses him levitating the objects in his Gatlon City model; she finds out that he is telekinetic. He is floating in the air and using his mind to control the building models.
When Max notices Nova watching, it startles him and he falls to the ground, the buildings crashing down around him. He is in excruciating pain as blood flows profusely from his arm.
Without a second thought, Nova runs to the quarantine and yanks the door open. As soon as she is inside, she quickly makes a mental checklist of what she should immediately do to help Max. She approaches him, but Max tells her not to come close to him.
That’s when Nova realises what Max’s power is, and why he is in a quarantine - Max can absorb a prodigy’s powers just by them being in his presence. Being near Max weakens Nova, and she passes out in the quarantine.
When Adrian hears that Nova is unconscious in the quarantine, he immediately rushes there to try and save her powers from being drained.
All three of them are later taken to the hospital by healers.
Adrian and Nova don’t lose their powers, but Max manages to absorb some of their abilities. His drawings can come to life, but die after a few seconds; he sleeps fewer hours, but is not awake all day like Nova.
Nova’s Effort to Help Max
Without a second thought, Nova selflessly runs to the quarantine to help Max. She knows that Max was quarantined, and that he is both dangerous and valuable. Despite the warning to stay away from him, she risks losing her powers just to help him - the enemy.
This is what a Renegade would do, not an Anarchist.
In my opinion, throughout the story, Nova slowly starts to act like a Renegade. Her hate for them starts to fade as she grows closer to her Renegade teammates. However, she’s still an Anarchist, driven by her mission to bring the Renegades down.
The line between good and evil is getting blurry for Nova. While she’s still loyal to the Anarchists, there’s a part of her that’s becoming more like a Renegade.
Adrian’s Effort to Save Nova
Unlike Nova, Adrian already knew about Max’s power.
When he heard that Nova was unconscious in the quarantine, he immediately rushed in to try and stop her powers from being drained. He did this without a second thought, even though he knew how risky it was because of Max’s power.
This shows how much Adrian really cares about Nova, and how close they grew to each other.
I’ll continue the rest of my reading journal in Part 3, coming soon!