Catherine Lietz is a student at Buchanan High School. Her column is publishing as part of a feature to spotlight the writing of students at area schools.
Students interested in submitting a guest column should email news@leaderpub.com.

Fans of Margaret Atwood’s 1985 classic novel “The Handmaid’s Tale” have been hoping for a sequel to Offred’s bone-chilling account of life in a totalitarian theocracy for decades, and now, 34 years later, the time has finally come for us to return to the icy clutches of Gilead. 

A resurgence in interest due to Hulu’s release of an Emmy-winning series loosely based on the book brought the vivid horror of Offred’s world to a whole new generation, creating even more anticipation for Atwood’s second installment. With new characters, an electrifying plot, and a gripping message about justice and perseverance in the face of adversity, “The Testaments” is sure to captivate both fans of the original story and new readers craving a new perspective.

The novel follows the journeys of three very different characters: Agnes, the wealthy adopted daughter of a commander and his wife, Daisy, the adopted daughter of a pair of seemingly normal shopkeepers in Canada, and Aunt Lydia, one of the most powerful women in the country of Gilead. 

In a country where women are not allowed to read, write or own possessions, Aunt Lydia uses her position to push Gilead closer and closer to destruction, working behind the scenes to weaken the nation in small, yet important, ways.

Each of the three characters have their own stories: Agnes deals with the death of her adoptive mother, is at odds with her father’s new wife, and is brought up to become a wife herself.  Daisy’s home is destroyed and her adoptive parents are killed, and she learns that she is not who she thought she was.

Aunt Lydia tells us about her experience of the fall of the U.S. and the transition to the new nation of Gilead, as well as how she became an aunt.  The three characters’ stories intersect about halfway through the book in a very unique way, and readers will be on the edge of their seats throughout the rest of the book as we learn more about the characters’ pasts, witness a daring escape and arrive at a jaw-dropping conclusion.

What is really amazing about this book, however, is how terrifying it is.  It is similar to George Orwell’s “1984” in the aspect that, although there are no zombies or ghosts or blood, the way that these characters are brainwashed and controlled by their government is both incredibly fascinatingm yet utterly horrifying. 

Despite this, the book reassures us that Gilead falls shortly after the conclusion of the story’s events, instilling within the reader hope for not only the future of the fictional world of Gilead, but also hope for the future of our own world.