After the whirlwind of reveals, surprises, and setbacks that defined the first volume of The Promised Neverland, Emma and the other kids at Grace Field House are back and still plotting their escape before they become demon food. But with every step forward the kids take, they are also forced to take one step to the side. There are even more factors at play than they first expected and as the reader begins to wonder, can three pre-teens really escape an entire society of adults and demons?
After the explosive first volume, this second volume feels a bit calmer, but in the sense that rising tension before the storm is calmer than the climax itself. Do not mistake “calm” for “boring” however. The kids are all conducting some very methodical plotting for how to escape and the short chapters keeps the story moving at a quick, almost too quick, pace.
I did feel like this volume had a few too many little subplots, like those surrounding Sister Krone’s motivations, that started to feel a bit repetitive and the “traitor” subplot just felt a little excessive. These are just nitpicks though. Overall this second volume kept the tension and the energy from the first volume and used to propel itself even farther along.
I also think that The Promised Neverland is engaged in a fantastic bit of misdirection concerning Emma; we hear Norman and Ray say multiple times in this volume alone that Emma is a bit different from them, she’s more compassionate and more naive, something that Norman and Ray keep having to factor into their plans. The way these two say these things gives the impression that Emma is “dumber” than these two “logical” boys, and yet I think this is what the story only wants us to think, not what’s actually true.
Emma tests at the same level of Norman and Ray (not that we actually know what the daily test is even about) and there are multiple times where we see that she has been considering and testing things off-camera or only-in-the-background, things that Norman and Ray had completely overlooked. She’s quick to discover mysteries that even the group’s traitor wasn’t aware of and I think Emma might actually be the cleverest of the three. Emma is smart both logically and emotionally, and seems to understand better than everyone else what leaving the farm will mean and I feel that this gives her the edge. The story even supports that: Sister Krone jealously thinks to herself that Emma seems to be being groomed into being a mom as well, something that certainly wouldn’t be happening if Mom Isabella didn’t think that Emma would be quick-witted enough to play this game from the other side.
I do hope that the kids of Grace Field House get to “the other side” in the next volume however because the tension is killing me. I want to know what’s beyond the wall and see how these kids will manage to live, survive, and thrive in a world that’s intent on eating them!