Chapter 37: The Book of Safety — 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

The chapter opens in Cassie's old apartment, where Barbary holds Drummond suspended in midair, his book glowing beside him. Barbary taunts Cassie, mocking her boldness and dismissing her as a threat. He has collected multiple books, including Cassie's own Book of Doors and Drummond's book, and he pockets them one by one.

When Cassie steps toward him, Barbary seizes her by the neck and lifts her off the floor. He delivers a venomous monologue about how he wishes he lived in the 1970s, when he believes women knew their place and he could slap one without consequence. He throws her to the ground, but she feels no pain—the Book of Safety, hidden on her person, protects her from all harm. She realizes with sudden clarity that she is truly invulnerable.

While Barbary is distracted checking the hallway, Cassie rises to her feet and draws the gun she lifted from his holster when he grabbed her. She has never fired a gun before, but Barbary is close and large. She shoots him in the shoulder, and the muffled thump sends him stumbling into the hall. Barbary retaliates by using his book to hurl her around the room—into the doorway, into the kitchen—but she remains unharmed each time. A stalemate develops: he cannot hurt her, but she can hurt him. She threatens to keep firing until she lands a bullet in his guts.

Barbary hesitates, searching for a way out, and in that moment Drummond—who had been dropped to the floor and seemingly forgotten—launches himself at Barbary from the side. The two men crash into the wall, wrestling violently. During the struggle, the Book of Control slips from Barbary's grip and skids across the room. Drummond takes a beating, his face bloodied, but Cassie ends the fight by pressing the pistol against the back of Barbary's neck and ordering him to stop.

Drummond retrieves the Book of Control and demonstrates its power, moving the couch across the floor with a thought. He demands all of Barbary's books. Barbary, seeing no escape against both the Book of Control and a gun, tosses the Book of Luck, the Book of Memories, the Book of Shadows, and finally the Book of Doors across the floor. He warns that if he lives, he will keep coming for them.

Cassie picks up the Book of Doors, her heart singing at holding it again after ten years. She decides not to kill Barbary but to give him exactly what he asked for. She closes her bedroom door, then opens it to reveal a bustling 1970s New York street. Drummond uses the Book of Control to hurl Barbary through the doorway, and Cassie slams the door on him as realization dawns on his face. She has sent him into the past—the era he romanticized—where he will have to live out fifty years before he could ever threaten them again.

Exhausted, Drummond collapses onto the sofa. As he mops blood from his face, he tells Cassie she looks different. She reveals that for her, ten years have passed since they last saw each other. Drummond is stunned. She explains that there was no other way—she had to live through the decade to return. When he asks where she sent Barbary, she says she did to him what he did to her, sending him into the past. If Barbary somehow survived fifty years, he would be ninety years old and no longer a threat.

Drummond apologizes, and Cassie tells him it wasn't his fault, though she admits she isn't entirely sure. She says it's just good to see him after all this time. When he asks how she survived, she admits she had help. She reveals that she struck a deal with the Bookseller: the Bookseller gave her the Book of Safety so she could deal with Barbary, and promised to send someone to look after Izzy. In exchange, Cassie agreed to give the Bookseller the Book of Doors. Drummond mentions that Barbary spoke of a Japanese man—likely Azaki—and whoever he was with. Cassie holds up the Book of Doors and tells Drummond that if he wants it, he will have to buy it from the Bookseller first.

Key Events

Cassie confronts Barbary in the apartment while he holds Drummond suspended in midair.
The Book of Safety renders Cassie invulnerable to Barbary's attacks.
Cassie shoots Barbary in the shoulder with his own gun.
Drummond tackles Barbary, causing the Book of Control to fall free.
Barbary surrenders the Book of Luck, Book of Memories, Book of Shadows, and Book of Doors.
Cassie sends Barbary through her bedroom door into a 1970s New York street, trapping him in the past.
Cassie reveals to Drummond that she has lived through ten years in the past.
Cassie explains her deal with the Bookseller: the Book of Safety in exchange for the Book of Doors, with a promise to protect Izzy.

Character Development

Cassie has been transformed by her decade away. She is no longer the frightened woman who was sent into the past; she confronts Barbary directly, speaks with quiet authority, and refuses to be drawn into conversation about her ordeal. Her decision to spare Barbary's life and instead trap him in the past shows both mercy and strategic thinking—she avoids becoming a killer while permanently neutralizing her enemy. Her reunion with Drummond is marked by emotional restraint; she is drained of fury, speaking quietly and honestly about what she endured.

Drummond is battered and apologetic, carrying guilt for what happened to Cassie. He accepts her reassurances with difficulty, and his question about whether it was his fault shows his lingering self-blame. His willingness to fight Barbary despite being outmatched demonstrates his loyalty.

Barbary is revealed as a misogynist who romanticizes a regressive past. His defeat is humiliating precisely because he is sent to the very era he longs for, stripped of his books and his power. His final threat—that he will keep coming for them—shows his stubbornness, but Cassie's calculation that he would be ninety years old if he survived makes his threat hollow.

Themes, Symbols, or Motifs

Protection and invulnerability: The Book of Safety embodies Cassie's newfound resilience. Its warmth against her clothes is described as sunlight breaking through clouds, symbolizing her emotional and physical liberation from fear.

Control and power: The Book of Control, with its single word "control" on the first page, represents raw power over the physical world. Drummond's use of it to move the couch and later to hurl Barbary through the door shows how power shifts hands in this scene.

Poetic justice: Cassie sends Barbary to the 1970s—the decade he explicitly wishes he could return to. This is a deliberate, ironic punishment: she gives him exactly what he asked for, but in a way that traps him for fifty years.

Misogyny: Barbary's speech about women believing they are equal to men, and his nostalgia for a time when he could slap a woman without consequence, exposes the ugly ideology behind his cruelty. Cassie's victory over him is therefore also a symbolic defeat of that ideology.

Bargains and sacrifice: Cassie's deal with the Bookseller—the Book of Safety in exchange for the Book of Doors—mirrors the novel's broader pattern of magical bargains. She gives up the most powerful book to ensure Izzy's safety, prioritizing love over power.

Time displacement: The chapter completes a cycle: Cassie was sent into the past, lived through ten years, and returned; now she sends Barbary into the past in turn. Time becomes both a weapon and a prison.

Reunion after separation: The emotional core of the chapter is Cassie and Drummond's reunion after a decade apart. Their conversation is quiet, tentative, and full of unspoken grief.

Why This Chapter Matters

This chapter resolves the central conflict with Barbary that has driven much of the novel's tension. Cassie's victory is earned not through superior force but through the protection she acquired and the patience she developed over ten years. The chapter also delivers a major revelation: the Book of Doors is no longer Cassie's to give. Her deal with the Bookseller recontextualizes her entire journey—she survived a decade in the past not merely to return, but to fulfill a bargain that would keep Izzy safe. This sets up the next phase of the story, in which Drummond must decide whether to pursue the Book of Doors through the Bookseller, and Cassie must reunite with Izzy after ten years apart.

Study Questions and Answers

1. Why does Cassie choose to send Barbary into the past rather than kill him?

Cassie states she does not really want to kill anyone, but she also does not want to spend her life looking over her shoulder. Sending Barbary into the 1970s accomplishes both goals: it removes him as an immediate threat without making her a murderer. She also notes that if he somehow survived fifty years in the past, he would be ninety years old and no longer dangerous. The choice is both merciful and practical, and it carries poetic justice since Barbary explicitly wished to live in that era.

2. What does the Book of Safety represent for Cassie in this chapter?

Beyond its literal function of protecting her from harm, the Book of Safety represents Cassie's emotional transformation. When she feels its warmth and realizes no harm can befall her, the narrative describes it as sunlight breaking through clouds in her soul. It symbolizes her liberation from fear and vulnerability—the same fear that likely defined her before she was sent into the past. Her invulnerability is not just physical but psychological; she faces Barbary without trembling.

3. What is the significance of Cassie's deal with the Bookseller?

The deal reveals that Cassie's survival and return were not purely a matter of her own effort—she had help. The Bookseller gave her the Book of Safety and promised to protect Izzy, and in exchange Cassie agreed to surrender the Book of Doors. This means the most powerful book in the story will pass to the Bookseller, a mysterious figure whose motives remain unclear. The deal also shows Cassie's priorities: she was willing to give up the Book of Doors to ensure Izzy's safety, valuing her friend over magical power.