A recurring motif throughout the series is Tally’s desire to belong. In the previous book, Pretties, she joins the Crims, a group of Pretties bent on troublemaking. Their exploits not only make them infamous in New Pretty Town, but they also catch the eye of Dr. Cable, who transforms many of the Crims into the Cutters, her most elite band of Specials. The Cutters are designed to survive anywhere, even out in the wild, and they are equipped with “skintenna” that allows them to communicate with each other over vast distances and feel each other’s emotions and responses.

Initially, Tally revels in her inclusion into the exclusive group of Cutters: “It was just like Shay had promised: The Cutters were connected, an unbreakable clique. She would never be alone again, even when it felt like something was missing inside her” (7). Belonging to the clique of Cutters makes up for any individual inadequacies; it makes Tally feel safe and whole. It also provides her with purpose, from her original desire to eradicate the New Smoke and maintain her city’s status quo to her ultimate declaration of protecting the wild. Shay once tells her, “They make us Specials see the world so clearly that its beauty almost hurts, so we won’t let humanity try to destroy it again” (86).