Chapter 37: Callie — Summary, Analysis, and Key Themes

⚠️ 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

Chapter 37 opens with Callie making a decision that has been building throughout the novel: she tells her mother the truth about Annie. The diabetes medicine was never eaten — it is hidden inside the star lamp, the pink lamp Annie carried with her to Mrs. Goodwin's house. Callie insists they must leave immediately to retrieve Annie before she can harm Mrs. Goodwin.

Mom, injured from the night's earlier events, initially protests that she is not feeling well, but Callie's urgency breaks through her resistance. Understanding washes over her mother like sickness. They run to the car, leaving Sundial's front door open and unlocked — Mom dismisses the concern with a curt remark about it being just a house. As they pull away, Callie glances back at Sundial, thinking of Pale Callie lying in the earth. She realizes she never wondered how Pale Callie could accompany her without her bones, because Callie herself is Pale Callie's bones — the ghost lives within her. She knows she will not see Pale Callie again.

The narrative shifts into a long retrospective as Callie recalls her history with Annie. She remembers the first lesson her mother drilled into her: you protect your little sister. When she discovered Annie with Dumpster Puppy, she made Annie swear secrecy and kept the secret herself, even telling Annie to finish the animal's suffering quickly because it had been through enough.

Callie explains her relationship with death: her first memory is of a dried flower on a curb, and seeing its silver flower ghost detach and fade. She discovered that keeping the bones and stalks of dead things allowed them to stay with her, and she could care for them. When Annie killed animals, Callie took their bones to keep them company, to make them her friends so they would not be sad.

Callie recalls a night when she and Annie lay in the shade of the pink lamp, listening to their parents fight. Annie revealed that Dad was having an affair with Mrs. Goodwin next door — making the bad monkey — and that she had seen them. Annie declared that God wanted Mrs. Goodwin to die, and suggested putting her bones on Callie's wall. Callie tried to dissuade her, warning about kid prison, but Annie was undeterred, saying she would make it look like Mrs. Goodwin did it herself. Annie showed Callie the hiding place in the star lamp and noted that it would be best to act when Mom was not home.

For a while, Annie seemed to forget the plan. She escalated her animal activities — a stray kitten, a gopher, squirrels — sneaking out to find sick or injured animals, sometimes poisoned by neighborhood pesticides. Callie helped hide the bodies and kept the bones. Annie rationalized that the animals were dying anyway and she merely hastened their end.

Callie believes Annie got chicken pox while attempting to enter Mrs. Goodwin's house. When Callie found Annie with her mittens off, she taped them back on, warning about scars and about Mom blaming Callie. This was part of Annie's scheme: she framed Callie by placing a bottle cap from Dad's medicine in Callie's hiding place in the floor, and ate blue Tic Tacs to induce vomiting, making it look like Callie had poisoned her. When Callie confronted her, Annie admitted the plan — she was saving the real medicine for Mrs. Goodwin. Callie considered telling Mom but decided to take the blame to give Annie time to cool down, believing that with Annie sick in bed and adults present, she could not act. She now thinks she chose wrong.

Back in the present, Mom drives faster than Callie has ever seen, repeating the same question about how she could not have known. Dumpster Puppy, the three-legged dog, has joined them, though his bone remains buried at Sundial. Callie fears they will be too late, that Annie has already given the medicine to Mrs. Goodwin. Mom insists Annie does not understand what she is doing, but keeps contradicting herself.

Callie recalls what she saw in Pale Callie's light: two figures struggling. She shuts the memory away with a mental red X.

Callie tells Mom she had the best time at Sundial. Mom sobs and laughs, calling Callie the weirdest kid, just like her mother. They discuss what will happen to Annie if they are too late. Mom says they will protect her, though she does not know how. Callie reflects that prison for Annie is not an option — Annie would cry, might die. She realizes she will have to protect Annie for the rest of her life, and that Mom will die one day, leaving Callie alone with this burden. She is only twelve and already exhausted. A small part of her thinks about the click — the thing Mom got rid of — and wonders if it could have helped Annie. She judges herself a bad person for this thought.

Callie concludes that Annie will be the clock that measures her life from now on.

They roar into Cielo after two a.m. The street is dark; only one light burns — in an upstairs bedroom of Hannah's house, the little pink lamp shines like a real star, set to guide them home.

Key Events

Callie reveals the medicine is hidden in the star lamp and insists they go to Mrs. Goodwin's house
They leave Sundial without locking the door
Callie's retrospective reveals her history of covering for Annie's animal killings
Annie's plan to kill Mrs. Goodwin is detailed, including the framing of Callie
Callie chose to take the blame to protect Annie
They arrive in Cielo after 2 a.m. and see the pink lamp lit in Hannah's upstairs bedroom

Character Development

Callie — This chapter completes Callie's arc. She has spent her childhood protecting Annie, hiding her sister's crimes, and taking blame. Her decision to finally tell Mom the truth represents a shift — she is still protecting Annie, but now with adult help. Her reflection that she is Pale Callie's bones shows her understanding of her own identity as a container for the dead and the lost. Her exhaustion — she is only twelve and already tired — is palpable.

Mom — Her response to the revelation shows her commitment to protecting both daughters. Despite her injuries, she drives recklessly to reach Annie. Her repeated question about how she could not have known reveals her guilt. Her promise to protect Annie, without knowing how, mirrors Callie's own approach.

Annie — Though not present in the chapter's present action, Annie's character is fully illuminated through Callie's memories: her calculated cruelty, her intelligence, her manipulation of even her protector.

Themes, Symbols, or Motifs

Protective love as burden — Callie's entire life has been shaped by the duty to protect Annie. The chapter makes explicit that this will continue as long as Annie lives.

The star lamp — The pink lamp serves as both hiding place for the medicine and, at the chapter's end, a guiding star leading them home. It is a symbol of Annie's deception and of hope.

Bones of the dead — Callie's collection of bones represents her attempt to care for what Annie destroys. It is her way of making meaning from violence.

Annie as clock — Callie's final reflection that Annie will measure her life suggests that Annie's needs will define Callie's existence indefinitely.

The click — Callie's wish that Mom had not gotten rid of the click (presumably a weapon) hints at darker thoughts — a desire for a solution that would end Annie's threat.

Desert as mother — Callie's opening reflection that moms are like the desert — sometimes you cannot stop them — connects maternal love to the harsh, unforgiving landscape of Sundial.

Why This Chapter Matters

This is the final chapter of the novel, and it brings the narrative to a climax. The revelation that the medicine was never taken — that Annie has been saving it for Mrs. Goodwin — reframes the entire story. Callie's retrospective provides the full context of Annie's violence and Callie's complicity. The chapter ends on a note of desperate hope: the pink lamp shining like a star, guiding them home. Whether they arrive in time is left ambiguous, but the image suggests a possible resolution.

Study Questions and Answers

1. Why did Callie take the blame for Annie's actions, and what does this reveal about her character?

Callie took the blame because she believed protecting Annie was her primary duty — a lesson her mother drilled into her. She hoped giving Annie time to cool down would prevent further harm. This reveals Callie's deep sense of responsibility, her love for her sister, and her tragic miscalculation: her protection enabled Annie's plan.

2. What does the star lamp symbolize in this chapter?

The star lamp is both a hiding place for the stolen medicine and, at the chapter's end, a guiding light. It represents Annie's deception — the medicine hidden in plain sight — and also hope, as its light guides Callie and Mom home. The lamp's dual nature mirrors Annie herself: beautiful and dangerous.

3. What does Callie mean when she says Annie will be the clock that measures her life?

Callie means that her life will be defined by Annie's needs, actions, and threats. Every decision she makes will be in relation to Annie — protecting her, worrying about her, cleaning up after her. The image of a clock suggests endless, measured time — a lifetime of responsibility that Callie already finds exhausting at twelve.