The following version of the novel was used to create this study guide: Lacy, Catherine. Pew. Farrar, Straus and Giroux, July 21, 2020.

NOTE: Because the author, Catherine Lacey, intends for Pew’s gender to remain uncertain, Pew will be referred to in this guide by different genders based on the way each character seems to see him. In some places, when it cannot be determined what gender a character believes Pew is, Pew will be referred to as he.

In Pew by Catherine Lacey, Hilda and Steven Bonner take Pew home with them when they find him sleeping in the pew where they generally sit for Sunday morning church services. Hilda assured the person, whom they decided to call Pew, that Pew was welcome as long as was needed. Soon, however, Hilda was locking Pew in the attic bedroom after Pew refused to undress and be examined so a doctor could determine Pew’s gender. After a community meeting, it was decided Pew must be hiding something and was not safe for the community. Pew was finally shuffled off to stay with the Black reverend because the Whites decided Pew might be more comfortable there. Regardless, Pew was required to attend the highly anticipated Forgiveness Festival attended only by the Whites. The festival is rumored to include a human sacrifice.

Pew, who did not remember from where he came and cannot say what gender he is or what shade his skin is, sought out a church where he could sleep. Pew woke with a family standing over him. Sunday services had begun. Pew stood and then went through the motions of the service with the family. The took Pew to lunch with them and promised they would allow Pew to stay with them as long as it took for Pew to heal. They believed Pew was the victim of a traumatic event.

That night, Hilda Bonner, the wife of the family who had taken Pew in promised that Pew could trust her and be comfortable telling her about himself. Pew said nothing. Pew also refused to respond to the Reverend of the church, even when the Reverend told Pew that they could learn the gender “the hard way” (25) if Pew would not tell them willingly. The Reverend claimed they needed to know Pew’s gender so they would know the best way to help Pew.

On Monday, Pew was sent to a man who was a child therapist. It was believed that he had successfully worked with Nelson, a boy who was a refugee from a country at war. Both Nelson’s parents had been killed in the war. Roger was unable to get Pew talking either. Later, Nelson confessed to Pew that he was only playing along with his adoptive family. He hated being forced to go to church since his family had been killed in a religious war. He planned to leave the town as soon as he was 18.

On Tuesday, Pew was taken back to Roger. This time Pew drew a picture of a heron, but still refused to speak. That night, Pew left the attic bedroom where he was supposed to sleep to look at the moon. Steven, the husband in the family with whom Pew was staying, believed Pew was trying to sneak out and locked Pew in the attic.

On Wednesday, Hilda drove Pew to be examined by a doctor. Pew did not take his clothes off and put on the hospital gown as asked, so the doctor considered him an uncooperative patient. Because the hospital was so busy and the restraints used for uncooperative patients were in use elsewhere, Pew was sent home without an examination. During the drive home, Hilda criticized Pew for not allowing himself to be examined. She told Pew that since Pew would not allow himself to be examined and his gender determined, she was not sure if her family could allow him to stay with them any longer.

On Thursday, Hilda and Pew attended a town meeting about Pew and how they should handle his care. Harold Grimshaw, a lawyer, was the first man to speak. He reminded the group that Pew had already broken the law by breaking into the church to sleep. He suggested that Pew’s silence meant Pew had something to hide. Harold added that he believed the community members’ responsibility to protect their community outweighed their calling to provide charity for a stranger. Hilda criticized Harold for not following the script he had been provided. She also would not allow Pew to sit in on the rest of the meeting.

Pew locked himself into the bathroom during the rest of the meeting. Pew was surprised when Annie, a teenage girl who lived in the house where the meeting was taking place, crawled into the bathroom through the vents. She talked to him about how she was criticized for talking too much. She also described an incident in her civics class where her teacher labeled her as a communist because she believed wealth and possessions should be spread more fairly among the people. Before Annie left Pew, she told him that someone should know his real name.

On Friday, Pew was picked up by Dr. Corbin, the Black reverend from the Second Baptist Church. Hilda claimed it had been decided in the meeting that Pew might be more comfortable with Corbin than he had been with the Whites. Hilda also explained the town was getting ready for the Forgiveness Festival. She had spoken of it before. This time she told Pew that he would be required to attend, but there was no reason to be afraid. She explained he might have heard the rumor there was a human sacrifice involved in the festival, but that was just a rumor.

On Saturday, as Corbin drove Pew to the Forgiveness Festival, Corbin recalled he had been among the ministers who originally decided to have the festival. His church members no longer attended, and Corbin claimed he could not remember why he had thought the festival was a good idea. He told Pew it was just a ritual and that rituals did not really mean anything.

Pew sat through the service as the people around him confessed the sins they had committed. Afterward, the people each tell the other that they forgive them. When it was time to leave the festival building, Pew left through a back door instead of out the front with the others. Annie and several unidentified men were standing together there. Annie asked what happened next. Pew’s narration suggested that both he and Annie are killed as sacrifices.