Chapter 24 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 opens with Delilah and Claire hurrying along the trail toward the springs, hand in hand. Delilah feels a giddy, unfamiliar sense of belonging—something she never experienced in high school and rarely feels even now. But when Ruby spots them, Claire pulls her hand free, and Delilah is forced to swallow her discomfort about their secrecy. She tells herself she understands—Claire is a parent with a complicated life—but she doesn't like it.
At the springs, Delilah spends the afternoon with Ruby while Claire talks quietly with Josh. Back at camp, Delilah teaches Ruby how to edit the photograph Ruby took of the birdbath the night before. Ruby explains that the birdbath feels like a sad subject—an old, forgotten object with a single flower in dirty water. Delilah is struck by how Ruby sees the world with an artist's eye, and the connection feels comforting. Claire watches them from the picnic table with a soft smile and later thanks Delilah for her kindness to Ruby.
The three hikers—Spencer, Iris, and Astrid—return looking wrecked. Spencer is soaking wet, Iris has twigs in her hair, and Astrid looks furious. They got lost on the trail, saw a black bear, and ran out of water. Spencer fell into a river while trying to fill his water bottle. Iris unloads her anger on Claire, who had left her alone with Spencer for the hike. Spencer made cruel comments about Iris's unmarried status and her drying-up eggs, and told Astrid there was no shame in using a walking stick since she was out of shape. Iris also reveals that Spencer didn't ask to come on the trip at all—he tagged along because he didn't think Astrid could handle the woods by herself. Claire and Iris resolve to talk to Astrid that night, and Delilah feels excluded from their best-friend planning.
At dinner, Spencer begins squirming uncomfortably. Delilah and Claire had secretly sprinkled cayenne pepper into all four pairs of his boxer briefs, and the prank takes effect. Spencer sweats, scratches, and finally yanks off his shorts before Astrid shoves him into their tent. Iris laughs so hard she falls off the log. Josh is baffled, and Delilah admits they owe him some cayenne pepper.
That night, Delilah can't sleep. Claire is unconscious beside her, and the tent is hot and cramped. Delilah slips out for a beer and finds Astrid sitting by the dying fire, drunk—something Delilah has never seen before. Their usual bitchy banter doesn't come. Instead, Astrid brings up the sex talk their mother gave them when they were twelve. Astrid remembers Isabel Parker-Green saying that intimacy isn't always pleasant but it makes a husband happy, so it's time well spent. Astrid confesses that the spirit of that advice has haunted her: she feels she must always say yes, stay calm, stay poised, stay controlled. Delilah reflects on how Isabel poured all her attention into Astrid—grades, French lessons, debate team, salon trips—while letting Delilah be. She always assumed Astrid never wanted to say no. But now she sees her stepsister differently. Astrid stands abruptly, says Delilah doesn't care about any of this, and retreats to her tent.
Key Events
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Claire releases Delilah's hand when Ruby appears, deepening Delilah's unease about their secret relationship
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Delilah teaches Ruby photo editing, and Ruby reveals an artist's sensitivity about the forgotten birdbath
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The hikers return disheveled after getting lost, seeing a bear, and running out of water
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Iris reveals Spencer didn't want Astrid to come and thinks she's incompetent
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Claire and Iris plan to confront Astrid about Spencer
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The cayenne pepper prank on Spencer's underwear plays out at dinner, ending with Spencer stripping and being dragged to his tent
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Delilah finds Astrid drunk by the fire and learns about Isabel's sex talk and Astrid's lifelong conditioning to say yes
Character Development
Delilah spends the chapter wrestling with her feelings. She's uncomfortable with the secrecy of her relationship with Claire, though she tries to rationalize it. Her connection with Ruby reveals a softer, mentoring side—she recognizes Ruby's artistic vision and feels a kinship with her. Most significantly, Delilah chooses not to play her usual wicked-stepsister games with Astrid. Instead of needling her, she listens, and the conversation cracks open something between them.
Astrid is revealed as far more fragile than her polished exterior suggests. Her drunkenness is unprecedented, and her confession about her mother's sex talk exposes the root of her compulsion to please. She has spent her life saying yes—to her mother, to Spencer, to expectations—and the cost is visible in her disheveled state by the fire.
Claire shows her concern for Astrid and her loyalty to Iris, but her decision to pull her hand away from Delilah also highlights the tension in their relationship.
Ruby demonstrates emotional depth through her interpretation of the birdbath photo, showing she sees the world with an artist's sensitivity.
Themes, Symbols, or Motifs
The birdbath as neglect. Ruby's photograph of an old birdbath with a single flower in dirty water—something forgotten—mirrors the emotional neglect both Ruby and Delilah sense in their own lives. Delilah recognizes the image as a symbol of being overlooked.
Women's conditioning to please. Astrid's confession about her mother's sex talk is the chapter's emotional core. Isabel's advice—that intimacy is for a husband's happiness—becomes a metaphor for Astrid's entire life of saying yes, staying poised, and never refusing.
Secrecy and belonging. Delilah's discomfort when Claire drops her hand reflects her deeper fear that she doesn't deserve to be seen, that she's no one's idea of a dream partner.
Toxic masculinity. Spencer's comments about Iris's eggs, Astrid's fitness, and his insistence on leading the hike despite being lost all illustrate the casual cruelty of his worldview.
Step-sibling reconciliation. The firelight conversation between Delilah and Astrid is the first genuine moment between them, moving from antagonism toward understanding.
Why This Chapter Matters
This chapter delivers the novel's most significant revelation about Astrid, transforming her from a one-dimensional antagonist into a sympathetic figure shaped by her mother's expectations. It also deepens Delilah's emotional arc—her connection with Ruby, her discomfort with secrecy, and her decision to extend compassion to Astrid rather than attack her. The cayenne prank provides comic relief while also showing Delilah and Claire's partnership in action. The chapter sets up the promised conversation between Claire, Iris, and Astrid, and plants the seeds for Delilah and Astrid's evolving relationship.
Study Questions and Answers
1. Why does Ruby's interpretation of the birdbath photograph resonate so strongly with Delilah?
Ruby describes the birdbath as a sad, forgotten object—something not actually used by birds. Delilah recognizes this as an artist's way of seeing, and it echoes her own feelings of being overlooked or unwanted. The moment creates a bond between them and reinforces Delilah's sense that Ruby is a kindred spirit.
2. What does Astrid's confession about her mother's sex talk reveal about her character?
Astrid reveals that her mother taught her that intimacy is about pleasing a husband, not her own pleasure. This advice became a life philosophy: always say yes, stay calm, stay poised, stay controlled. It explains Astrid's perfectionism, her composure, and her willingness to tolerate Spencer's behavior. It also suggests that her engagement may be driven by obligation rather than genuine desire.
3. How does Delilah's behavior toward Astrid change in this chapter, and why is it significant?
Delilah's usual instinct is to provoke Astrid, to needle her and play wicked-stepsister games. But in this chapter, she finds she can't do that. Instead, she listens, asks soft questions, and moves closer to sit beside her. This shift signals Delilah's emotional growth—she's beginning to see Astrid as a person rather than an enemy, and it opens the door to a possible reconciliation.
Navigation
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Previous chapter: Chapter Twenty-Three