Chapter 32 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

Josie wakes in a cramped Pennsylvania motel room, disoriented and surprised to find herself alive. Her gunshot wound has completely healed, leaving only dried blood and tender, new skin. Cate sleeps beside her, looking pale and fragile, while Isabelle rests on the floor. Tom returns with drugstore supplies—hair dye, sunglasses, scissors—intended as disguises. He is visibly shaken, revealing that Josie briefly died and that Cate brought her back.

Tom confronts Josie about the moment she used her abilities on him, describing it as being trapped in a dream, watching himself. Josie admits it was her doing, apologizes, and explains she wasn't sure whose side he was on after he told the men that Cate was in the house. Tom insists he would have helped willingly, and the two reach a fragile truce.

Josie decides against returning to Chicago. Her anger at her mother has shifted into a need to hear Margaret's side of the story. Tom remains committed to finding Margaret, though he's wary of Josie's powers, even wearing sunglasses partly to avoid unwanted attention from his own bruise.

Over the following days, Cate slowly recovers from the strain of the resurrection. Josie thanks her, and Cate reveals she had never revived anyone before—it was her first time, and she hadn't been sure it would work. The two discuss a theory: that the girls' abilities are triggered by trauma connected to their mothers—loss, grief, fear. Josie adds a scientific layer, suggesting that parthenogenesis creates genetic uniformity, and their powers may be an evolutionary correction, giving each woman a unique strength so the group can adapt together.

Josie calls Bonnie Clarkson from a pay phone. Bonnie reveals that her attacker is dead—she killed him at thirteen, using a newly discovered power of invisibility, with her mother's help in disposing of the body. Bonnie explains that her mother never wanted her to speak of it. The revelation forces Josie to reconsider her assumptions about Deb Clarkson and about who has been pursuing them. She realizes that Ricky Peters didn't kill Bellanger—her mother did—and that Bellanger's sons have been the ones following them all along.

Key Events

Josie wakes healed from her gunshot wound, with Cate having revived her from death.
Tom confronts Josie about using her powers on him; she apologizes and explains her distrust.
Josie abandons her plan to return to Chicago, choosing instead to hear her mother's side.
Cate reveals she had never resurrected anyone before, and the two theorize about trauma-triggered abilities and the evolutionary purpose of their powers.
Josie calls Bonnie Clarkson, who confesses she killed her attacker at thirteen using invisibility, with her mother's help.
Josie deduces that Bellanger's sons have been pursuing them all along.

Character Development

Josie undergoes a significant shift in this chapter. She wakes feeling powerful and alive, her body transformed by the resurrection. Her anger toward her mother softens into curiosity and a desire to understand Margaret's choices. She also confronts her own use of manipulation, apologizing to Tom and acknowledging the weight of what she did. Her scientific mind reasserts itself as she theorizes about parthenogenesis and evolution, grounding her extraordinary experiences in a framework she can analyze.

Tom is wounded by Josie's betrayal, hurt that she used her powers on him without consent. His reaction reveals his genuine loyalty and his desire to be trusted. He accepts Josie's apology, though his wariness lingers, and he remains committed to finding Margaret.

Cate grows more open and vulnerable, admitting she had never revived anyone before and that she wasn't sure it would work. Her theory about trauma-triggered powers shows her thinking deeply about her own identity and her connection to her mother's death. The bond between Cate and Josie deepens, marked by a new intimacy and mutual respect.

Bonnie Clarkson, though only heard over the phone, emerges as a more complex figure. Her confession reveals a hidden power, a capacity for violence born of self-defense, and a fierce loyalty to her mother. Her story also reframes Deb Clarkson's bitterness toward Margaret as rooted in genuine grief.

Isabelle remains guarded, refusing to discuss how she killed the man in Kithira, a reminder that each girl processes her trauma differently.

Themes, Symbols, or Motifs

Resurrection and Healing: Cate's ability to bring Josie back from death is the chapter's central miracle, but it comes at a cost—Cate is drained and sick afterward, suggesting that such power has limits and consequences.

Trust and Betrayal: Josie's use of her powers on Tom strains their friendship. His hurt reaction underscores the ethical weight of her abilities and the difficulty of knowing whom to trust.

Trauma-Triggered Abilities: Cate's theory that the girls' powers emerge from maternal loss or grief gives a unifying explanation for their experiences, linking each ability to a moment of profound pain.

Evolutionary Purpose: Josie's scientific framing suggests their powers are not random but a correction—a way for parthenogenetic women to maintain diversity and strength as a group.

Invisibility as a Power: Bonnie's ability to become unseen is both a literal power and a metaphor for how the girls have been overlooked, ignored, and hidden by the world around them.

Revenge and Vengeance: Bonnie's story of killing her attacker, and Josie's realization that Bellanger's sons are seeking revenge for their father's death, frame vengeance as a cycle that perpetuates itself.

Mother-Daughter Bonds: Bonnie's confession reveals the lengths a mother will go to protect her daughter, echoing the relationships between Margaret and Josie, and Deb and Bonnie.

Disguise and Concealment: The hair dye, sunglasses, and isolation of the motel symbolize the girls' need to hide, both from their pursuers and from the world that would exploit them.

Why This Chapter Matters

Chapter 32 is a turning point in the novel. It resolves several mysteries—Bonnie's attacker is dead, Ricky Peters didn't kill Bellanger, and the true pursuers are Bellanger's sons—while deepening the emotional and thematic stakes. Josie's decision to seek her mother's side rather than return to Chicago redirects the journey toward reconciliation and truth. The chapter also solidifies the bond between Josie and Cate, and it offers a framework for understanding the girls' powers as both trauma-born and evolutionarily purposeful. The revelation about Bellanger's sons reframes the entire pursuit, transforming it from a vague threat into a personal vendetta.

Study Questions and Answers

1. Why does Josie decide not to return to Chicago, and what does this reveal about her character growth?

Josie realizes that returning to Chicago was a way of running from her mother's betrayal. Her near-death experience and the conversation with Tom shift her perspective: she now wants to hear Margaret's side of the story. This reveals growth from reactive anger toward a more nuanced understanding of her mother's choices and a willingness to seek the truth rather than escape it.

2. What theory do Josie and Cate develop about their powers, and how does it connect to parthenogenesis?

Cate proposes that the girls' abilities are triggered by trauma connected to their mothers—loss, grief, or fear—and that they may not have powers while their mothers are present because their mothers are their powers. Josie adds that parthenogenesis creates genetic uniformity, making communities vulnerable to threats, and that their powers may be an evolutionary correction, giving each woman a unique strength so the group can adapt and survive together.

3. How does Bonnie Clarkson's confession change Josie's understanding of who has been pursuing them?

Bonnie reveals that her attacker died years ago—she killed him at thirteen using invisibility, with her mother's help. This eliminates Bonnie's attacker as a suspect. Combined with the revelation that Margaret killed Bellanger, Josie realizes that Bellanger's sons have been the ones following them all along, seeking revenge for their father's death.