Chapter 39 Summary and Analysis
⚠️ 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
The chapter unfolds entirely through a text-message exchange between Lily Becker and Connor Hudson, set five days before Willow's disappearance. Lily opens by telling Connor about a new youth group director on Clifford Island who acted suspiciously—she snuck into Lily's father's office and tried to obtain someone's death certificate. Lily suspects the woman might be investigating the island, possibly with her brother, who works as a sports reporter for a newspaper. Lily proposes that they could team up with the director and use her brother's platform to publish their findings, reasoning that printed news can't be erased the way online posts can.
Connor responds by sharing a journal article he found using his father's academic access. The article documents disappearances on the islands going back centuries, including the 1700s and 1800s. Lily dismisses this as ordinary history—settlers dying from disease and such—and insists it's not evidence of a conspiracy. Connor pushes back, suggesting that maybe the island's stories aren't as crazy as they seem, but Lily firmly rejects the idea, reminding him that their mission is to expose the island's residents as delusional, not to believe their tales.
Connor then recounts a disturbing incident involving his friend Eric. While boating near Clifford, Eric saw something on the shore that looked like a fetus crawling on the beach. He screamed the name “Penelope” and jumped overboard, thrashing hysterically. Connor had to throw him a life jacket and jump in to save him. Eric was in a trance-like state and has since gone silent, not responding to texts or calls. Connor reveals that before Eric was born, his mother had a late miscarriage, and the baby was to be named Penelope. There's even a tombstone for the baby. Connor wonders if Eric saw his dead sister. Lily dismisses it as a prank or hallucination, but Connor insists Eric wouldn't joke about something like that.
Lily grows increasingly frustrated, begging Connor not to believe in the island's supernatural stories. She reminds him that she's lived there her whole life and has never seen a “dead thing.” She accuses him of being drawn to her because she's a “freak from Clifford Island,” but he denies it. Lily explains the hopelessness of island life—how parents want their children to stay, work boring jobs, and pass down the same lies forever. She pleads with Connor to stay on her side and help her expose the island for everyone's sake, including her friends Steven and Kayla. Connor reassures her he's with her.
Lily then notes that the Seminary House post Connor had found on message boards has vanished, likely erased by outside forces. She shares a church bulletin from the previous summer that her father kept, which contains the cryptic line: “It's been twenty-five years since our children left.” She considers this evidence. Finally, she asks Connor if he has a portable projector and speakers, revealing a plan to disrupt the island's rule against modern technology.
Key Events
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Lily tells Connor about the new youth group director who secretly searched her father's office for a death certificate.
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Lily suggests the director's reporter brother could help publish their findings in print.
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Connor shares a journal article documenting centuries of disappearances on the islands.
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Connor recounts Eric's boat trip, where Eric saw a fetus-like creature on Clifford's shore, screamed “Penelope,” and jumped overboard.
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Connor reveals Eric's mother had a late miscarriage before Eric was born, and the baby was to be named Penelope.
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Eric has gone silent and appears traumatized.
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Lily insists the stories are fabricated control mechanisms and reaffirms her mission to expose the island.
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The Seminary House post disappears from the message boards.
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Lily finds a church bulletin mentioning “twenty-five years since our children left.”
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Lily asks Connor to bring a projector and speakers to break the no-technology rule.
Character Development
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Lily Becker: Lily's resolve hardens as she confronts Connor's growing belief in the supernatural. She reveals her deep fear of being trapped on the island forever and her desperation to break the cycle. Her insistence that Connor remain “normal” shows how much she relies on him as an anchor to the outside world. She also demonstrates resourcefulness, pivoting to new evidence and planning a bold technological disruption.
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Connor Hudson: Connor's curiosity about the island's legends evolves into genuine belief. He shares the journal article and Eric's story as evidence, and he openly wonders if the vanishings and “dead things” are connected. His loyalty to Lily is tested as he tries to balance his fascination with her demands for skepticism. He ultimately reassures her of his commitment, but his doubts linger.
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Eric: Though not present in the conversation, Eric's experience is pivotal. His trauma—jumping overboard and going silent—suggests a profound psychological impact, possibly hinting at a real supernatural encounter or a deep-seated family wound.
Themes, Symbols, or Motifs
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Stories as Control: Lily repeatedly argues that the island's legends and rules are fabricated to keep residents obedient. The church bulletin and the vanishing post reinforce the idea that information is manipulated to maintain control.
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Generational Cycle: Lily's speech about parents wanting children to stay, work, and pass down the same lies highlights the theme of generational entrapment. The church bulletin's reference to “children left” echoes this cycle.
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Belief vs. Skepticism: The chapter is a direct clash between Lily's rational skepticism and Connor's growing openness to the supernatural. Their argument frames the central tension of the novel.
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Technology as Weapon: Lily's plan to use a projector and speakers to violate the island's no-technology rule symbolizes a rebellion against the island's isolation and control.
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The Dead Sister Motif: Eric's vision of a fetus named Penelope introduces a motif of dead children and unresolved grief, tying to the island's history of disappearances.
Why This Chapter Matters
This chapter deepens the mystery by introducing a potential outside ally (the reporter brother) and a concrete piece of historical evidence (the journal article). It also escalates the personal stakes: Connor's near-belief threatens his partnership with Lily, and Eric's traumatic experience suggests the supernatural may be real. The disappearance of the Seminary House post and the cryptic church bulletin add to the sense of a cover-up. Finally, Lily's plan to use technology sets up a direct confrontation with the island's rules, promising major plot developments ahead.
Study Questions and Answers
1. Why does Lily dismiss the journal article about historical disappearances?
Lily dismisses it as ordinary history, arguing that settlers often died from disease and other natural causes. She refuses to see it as evidence of a conspiracy, because accepting it would undermine her entire worldview that the island's stories are fabricated control mechanisms.
2. What does Eric's experience suggest about the island's supernatural elements?
Eric's vision of a fetus on the shore, combined with his mother's late miscarriage and the baby's name Penelope, suggests a possible supernatural connection between the island and the dead. His extreme reaction and subsequent silence imply that the experience was real and traumatic, not a prank.
3. How does Lily's plan to use a projector and speakers reflect her strategy against the island?
Lily's plan to bring modern technology onto the island directly violates Rule 1 (no modern technology). This act of rebellion is symbolic: she intends to disrupt the island's control by introducing outside tools, potentially to expose the community or provoke a reaction. It shows she's willing to escalate her efforts beyond just gathering evidence.