Chapter 13 Summary, Analysis, and Study Notes

⚠️ Spoiler Warning: This guide contains detailed spoilers for the entire novel. Proceed only if you've finished reading or are comfortable knowing the plot.

Summary

Willow’s visit to the island’s old schoolhouse becomes the catalyst for a new coping strategy. The building, a cherished Clifford landmark, is covered in graffiti—names of local kids in a dozen eclectic styles. Willow walks the entire perimeter, admiring the creativity, but she does not find her son Jacob’s name among the tags. The absence stings, yet it sparks an idea: if Jacob wrote “Clifford Island” on his bedroom floor, maybe she should write something meaningful about him in return.

Back at her cottage, Willow sits at the kitchen table with a yellow notepad. She starts listing Jacob’s loves—animals, dinosaur documentaries, making cards—but feels the list is too surface-level. She digs deeper and writes down “serial apologizer,” a trait she once tried to correct but eventually grew to adore. Then she draws a second column for herself, titled “Willow,” and asks what she is good at. Her mind goes to the week she lost Jacob, when she handled funeral arrangements with unnerving efficiency. She rejects that as a suitable entry and instead writes “My job.”

The job is her new role as youth ministries director at the island’s church. Willow has no formal training and no real faith, but she lies convincingly, claiming to be a weekly churchgoer back in Illinois. She finds the work surprisingly easy—newsletters, fundraisers, and mingling with parishioners. She attends services, pours coffee, and wins over the congregation, but she is really winning over herself. In just seven days, her grief has begun to fade. She eats normally, exercises, reads novels, and hikes to Huntington Beach, where she collects small limestone pebbles—though she insists to herself they remind her of Jacob. Frustrated by her own inability to like something for herself, she tears up the list and decides to attend a basketball game.

The Clifford Island Mudhens girls’ varsity team is losing badly to the Gibraltar Bulldogs, 59–32. Willow sits among sixty fans and watches Lily Becker, a standout player she met at youth group, fight hard despite the blowout. After the game, Willow approaches Lily to offer support. Lily vents about her father, who attends every game but seems to hope she’ll quit basketball and focus on school. Willow jokes about using a crowbar—a Tonya Harding reference—and Lily laughs, bonding over their shared cynicism. Lily mentions she has nine months until college, and Willow realizes the girl is desperate to escape the island.

Willow notices a boy lurking on the baseline, dressed in ordinary clothes unlike the island’s retro-styled kids. She assumes he is Lily’s boyfriend. She also spots a tense conversation between islanders and a photographer, but she looks away.

Curiosity leads Willow to explore the empty school. She enters a kindergarten classroom and finds a locally printed children’s book titled Mary and Patches. The story follows a girl who keeps her teddy bear into old age, while her friends who discard their toys die early. The book’s message—that loyalty and love grant longevity—strikes Willow as morbid and unsettling. There is no publisher or UPC code, suggesting a homemade or local print job.

She continues exploring and runs into Clarence, the repairman she met on her first day. He remembers her name and says she reminds him of his daughter, who passed away long ago. Willow is touched. As she leaves, she passes Clarence’s office and sees the O.J. Simpson white Bronco chase playing on a tiny TV. It is the fourth time she has seen the chase since arriving on the island, and she wonders if it is meaningful or coincidence. She dismisses it as preposterous.

Willow walks the three-mile hike home in falling snow. She hears deliberate footsteps from the woods, pacing her. She stops; they stop. She quickens her pace; they match her. Terrified, she sprints toward her cottage, falling twice, imagining a hand grabbing her ankle. She reaches her door, fumbles with the keys, and throws herself inside, locking the dead bolt. She sits against the door, catching her breath, and eventually convinces herself it was an animal or her imagination.

The next morning, five inches of snow have covered her frantic footprints. But behind her cottage, she finds a fresh set of tracks leading from the woods directly to her bedroom window, then turning around and retreating back into the forest. The dead bolt no longer makes her feel safe.

Key Events

Willow visits the schoolhouse and searches for Jacob’s name in the graffiti, but does not find it.
She writes lists about Jacob and herself, reflecting on her new role as youth ministries director and her deception about being a believer.
She attends a girls’ basketball game, where the Mudhens lose badly, and bonds with Lily afterward.
She discovers the morbid children’s book Mary and Patches in a kindergarten classroom.
She encounters Clarence, who mentions his deceased daughter, and sees the O.J. Simpson chase on his TV.
While walking home, she is followed by deliberate footsteps from the woods and runs to her cottage in fear.
The next morning, she finds fresh footprints outside her bedroom window leading from the woods and back.

Character Development

Willow’s grief is visibly shifting. She admits to herself that she likes Clifford Island, calling it a time machine that lets her escape modern problems. Her list-writing is an attempt to connect with Jacob, but it also reveals her struggle to define herself outside of motherhood. She writes “My job” almost subconsciously, showing that her new role is becoming a source of identity and purpose.

Her deception about her faith deepens—she lies about being a churchgoer and acts the part, but she is also winning over herself, suggesting she is beginning to believe her own performance. Her bond with Lily rekindles her sense of being a teacher and mentor, which she misses. Yet her fear during the walk home exposes her vulnerability and outsider status, reminding her that she is not truly safe or accepted.

Lily is portrayed as a sharp, cynical teenager who feels trapped by her father’s expectations and dreams of leaving for college. Her comment about “nine more months” underscores her desire for escape.

Clarence’s brief appearance humanizes the island’s residents, but his mention of his deceased daughter adds a layer of melancholy and hints at the island’s history of loss.

Themes, Symbols, or Motifs

Grief and coping mechanisms: Willow’s list-writing is a deliberate ritual to process her loss, but it also shows her avoidance—she tears up the list when she can’t like something for herself.
1990s time capsule: The island’s fashion, the O.J. chase on repeat, and the outdated computers reinforce the sense that Clifford is stuck in the past.
Surveillance and being followed: The footsteps in the woods and the footprints at the window create a motif of being watched or hunted, undermining Willow’s sense of safety.
Identity deception and false faith: Willow’s lies about her religious devotion highlight the theme of performance versus authenticity.
The Mary and Patches book: This locally printed story carries a disturbing message about loyalty and death, possibly reflecting the island’s own twisted values.
Schoolhouse graffiti as memory marker: The graffiti represents the community’s children, but Jacob’s absence from it underscores his disconnect from the island.
Desire for escape: Lily’s eagerness to leave contrasts with Willow’s growing attachment to the island.
Fear of the woods and being hunted: The forest becomes a source of primal terror, and the footprints at the window suggest a real threat.

Why This Chapter Matters

This chapter deepens the mystery of Clifford Island while advancing Willow’s emotional arc. It introduces several unsettling elements—the morbid children’s book, the repeated O.J. chase, and the stalker-like footprints—that hint at the island’s dark secrets. Willow’s growing comfort and her simultaneous fear create a tension that drives the narrative forward. The bond with Lily provides a human connection that may prove important later, and the discovery of the footprints raises the stakes, making it clear that Willow is not merely a grieving mother but a target.

Study Questions and Answers

1. Why does Willow decide to write lists about Jacob, and what does the list reveal about her coping process?

Willow writes the lists after failing to find Jacob’s name on the schoolhouse graffiti. She hopes that writing meaningful things about him might unlock something and help her journey on the island. The list reveals that she struggles to separate her identity from Jacob—she can’t like the pebbles without tying them to him—and that she is using the list as a way to feel close to him while also avoiding her own grief.

2. How does the children’s book Mary and Patches reflect the island’s underlying themes?

The book tells a story where loyalty to a worn-out teddy bear grants a long life, while friends who discard their toys die early. It carries a morbid, almost threatening message about devotion and death, which mirrors the island’s insular culture and its potential to punish those who leave or abandon tradition. The lack of a publisher suggests it is locally produced, reinforcing the island’s self-contained and possibly manipulative nature.

3. What does the discovery of the footprints outside Willow’s bedroom window signify for her safety and the plot?

The footprints, which lead from the woods to her window and back, prove that someone was watching her during the night. This transforms her earlier fear from a possible hallucination into a concrete threat. It signals that Willow is being surveilled, possibly by an islander, and that her sense of security is false. This event raises the stakes and foreshadows further danger, making it a turning point in the narrative.