Chapter 28 Summary, Themes, 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

Nico and Timothy arrive in New Haven tipsy from the Metro-North bar car, where the bartender had reluctantly served them rum and Cokes. Nico checks them into the Omni hotel using his father Matthew's credit card, since Matthew has not responded to any of his messages. The suite is far larger than their Chinatown motel, but Nico cannot sleep. At two in the morning, he takes a walk and encounters a group of Yale students. One of them, Miranda, drops a charm bracelet, and Nico returns it to her. He is immediately struck by her beauty and by the fact that she is someone entirely new to him.

The next day, Nico and Timothy tour Yale's Old Campus. Nico spots Miranda again and, in an awkward attempt to be playful, calls out to her. She offers to sneak them into the dining hall, and they follow her. Over lunch, Miranda and Nico discover they are both half-Chinese, and she shares details about her sociology major, her radio DJ work, and her feminist magazine. Timothy grows visibly impatient and eventually leaves, saying he is heading back to the hotel. Miranda gives Nico a private tour of the campus, and he is overwhelmed by the feeling that his entire life in Washington is receding into the past.

Back at the hotel, Timothy is sullen. Nico tries to make amends by offering to buy him a drink, but a bouncer at a nearby bar confiscates their IDs and cuts them in half with scissors. Timothy storms out alone and returns hours later, extremely drunk. In the hotel room, he tells Nico he is attractive, argues that Nico is wasting his inherited privilege, and then kisses him. Nico is shocked—he has never kissed anyone—and realizes Timothy is gay. Timothy is hurt that Nico never noticed, and the two fall into an uneasy silence.

The next leg of the trip is Harvard, where the two are quiet and sober with each other. Timothy goes out alone to meet someone from Grindr, and Nico wanders into a church service. On the flight home, Nico notices Timothy has secretly bought a Harvard sweatshirt, despite their agreement not to decide on schools yet.

At home, Nico's mother has adopted two kittens, which they name May and Charles after her deceased parents. Nico tells her about the trip but transposes the bedbugs from New York to Princeton, and he cannot bring himself to tell her about Timothy. An email arrives from Matthew explaining that he missed their visit because his son Samuel nearly overdosed and was taken to rehab. Matthew offers to pay for Nico's college tuition. Nico drafts a long, vulnerable reply about how much meeting Matthew meant to him, but deletes it and sends a brief, businesslike response instead.

Nico chooses Yale over Harvard, telling his mother he received a full scholarship. He and Timothy host a graduation party at the same Seattle seafood restaurant where Matthew once took Nico. At the party, Nico's mother watches him eat an oyster and her face goes pale—she seems to recognize something in him that she did not know existed.

Key Events

Nico and Timothy check into the Omni hotel in New Haven using Matthew's credit card.
Nico meets Miranda at 2 a.m. when he returns her dropped bracelet.
Miranda sneaks Nico and Timothy into Yale's dining hall; Timothy grows annoyed and leaves.
A bouncer cuts up both boys' IDs.
Timothy returns drunk, kisses Nico, and reveals he is gay.
The two visit Harvard, where Timothy secretly buys a Harvard sweatshirt.
Nico's mother adopts two kittens, named May and Charles.
Matthew emails to explain Samuel's overdose and offers to pay for college.
Nico deletes his emotional reply and sends a brief one.
Nico chooses Yale, lies about a scholarship, and hosts a graduation party.
At the party, Nico's mother reacts strangely when he eats an oyster.

Character Development

Nico undergoes a significant coming-of-age shift in this chapter. His first kiss—with Timothy—is a shock that forces him to confront his own obliviousness, both to Timothy's feelings and to his own identity. He also begins to wield social power for the first time: he enjoys the attention of Wendy and Greg at the party, and he lies casually to his mother about the scholarship. His decision to delete the emotional email to Matthew marks a turning point: he chooses pragmatism over vulnerability, accepting the money while rejecting the relationship.

Timothy reveals a hidden layer of his character. His drunken kiss and confession that he is gay—and that his parents have known since he was ten—show that Nico's closest friend has been keeping a significant part of himself private. His argument with Nico about inherited privilege reveals a sharp, almost bitter pragmatism. His purchase of the Harvard sweatshirt signals his independence and his willingness to make his own choices.

Miranda serves as a catalyst rather than a fully developed character. She represents possibility and newness for Nico—someone outside his island life who is confident, accomplished, and unbothered by his awkwardness. Her brief appearance reshapes Nico's college ambitions.

Nico's mother shows quiet vulnerability in this chapter. She adopts kittens and names them after her parents, revealing a longing for connection. Her reaction to Nico eating the oyster—her face losing color—suggests a recognition that unsettles her, though the chapter does not explain why.

Themes, Symbols, or Motifs

Class privilege and inherited wealth. Timothy's drunken speech makes explicit what Nico has been avoiding: that his last name has opened doors, that his acceptance to elite colleges may have been purchased by Maier donations, and that his father's money can erase financial obstacles. Nico's decision to accept the tuition while rejecting the relationship is a complicated negotiation with that privilege.

Father-son estrangement and the 'real family' dynamic. Matthew's email about Samuel's overdose reinforces Nico's sense that he is an outsider—a