Bloom is informally divided into two parts, titled “Two Weeks Earlier” and “One Week Later.” What do these titles signify about the narrative arc and how it fits into the book series? How does a three-week timeline support the book’s science fiction thriller subgenre? What does this say about the book’s view of the nature of this global crisis?

What aspects of the cryptogenic plants and their behavior are based on scientific truths? How does science function in the story? What attitudes do the characters have toward it, and why? What does this say about how they deal with this global ecological crisis?

When the black grass arrives, why do people think the government is hiding the truth about it? Why doesn’t the government tell the public that the plants aren’t from Earth? What does this say about the book’s view of how a global crisis is handled? How do the people handle it when society begins to erode?