Chapter 17 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
Tom sends Kylie to a roadside shop on the outskirts of the park to buy supper, giving himself time alone to inspect the book. He had already taken her phone from her backpack and tossed it into a ditch near the orchard of twisted black apple trees. Kylie hesitates before handing over the book, but Tom pressures her, reminding her that Gideon is waiting.
Walking through the forest, Kylie feels her spirits lift. The ferns, leaves, and trees remind her of home on Magnolia Street, and she recalls childhood evenings when she and Antonia sneaked into the garden to look for rabbits, with Antonia holding dandelion fluff to her face and telling her to make a wish.
At the roadside market, Kylie spots a group of young American hikers who had earlier turned away from the manor, sensing its darkness. One young woman lends Kylie her phone. Kylie calls Antonia, who is driving in heavy traffic. Antonia is alarmed—Kylie has been missing, and the family has been searching. Kylie explains she came to England to break the curse, citing a note Jet left about a hidden book with instructions for ending it. Antonia dismisses it as a fairy tale and urges her to come home.
Antonia reports that Gideon moved his hand—he is still there. Kylie sobs. When the hiker signals for her phone back, Kylie mentions she is with a man. Antonia presses for details. Kylie admits Tom is somehow related to them and has taught himself left-handed magic, which Antonia identifies as the Dark Art. Kylie defends him, saying he understands her and has told her things about their bloodline. Antonia insists Kylie let their mother know where she is and let Franny handle it.
Kylie sends Antonia a photo of herself, then ends the call without saying “I love you more.” Inside the store, she picks up beer, cheese, pickles, and bread, then walks out without paying, whispering a spell of protection and hiding behind her long black hair to become invisible. She feels a rush of emotion at breaking the family rule: do not steal, do not lie, do not trust a man you can never really know.
On the highway, Antonia studies the photo. Even with Kylie’s hair blown across her face, she recognizes her sister instantly. She calls their mother, Sally. Sally, who had been thinking about Ian and noticing that the lines on his left palm matched hers exactly, answers. Antonia warns her about the man leading Kylie toward left-handed magic. Sally immediately thinks of “Bad Tom.”
Antonia tells Sally about the Lost Daughter spell—Jet’s advice, passed along by the Reverend. She explains that she baked a pie herself and Kylie phoned less than an hour later. Sally and Gillian, without asking questions, go down to the inn’s kitchen in their nightgowns and bake an apple pie, adding rosemary, cinnamon, and nutmeg. As they cut the apples, the flesh turns from white to red. They drink Courage tea while the pie bakes. By daybreak, the pie cools on the windowsill, and villagers wake thinking they are young again, coming outside in their nightclothes to watch the morning sky lighten.
Key Events
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Tom manipulates Kylie into handing over the book, having already disposed of her phone.
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Kylie borrows a phone from American hikers and calls Antonia, learning Gideon moved his hand.
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Kylie reveals Tom practices left-handed magic and is related to the family.
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Kylie steals groceries using invisibility magic, breaking the family rule.
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Antonia warns Sally about the man and instructs her to bake an apple pie as a Lost Daughter spell.
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Sally and Gillian bake the pie overnight; it cools on the windowsill at dawn.
Character Development
Kylie is caught between two worlds. She misses home and her sister terribly, yet she feels she has changed into someone different—someone drawn to Tom and his story. Her decision to steal, even with a spell, marks a deliberate break from the family rules she once followed. Her doubt about Tom grows, but she remains stubborn, insisting he understands her.
Antonia emerges as the anchor of the family. Pregnant and logical, she refuses to accept Kylie’s justification for staying. She recognizes Kylie in the photo despite the changed hair and desperate expression, affirming that she knows her sister better than Kylie knows herself. Her practical advice—bake the pie—bridges the family’s magical heritage with her own rational nature.
Sally receives the warning with immediate recognition of “Bad Tom.” Her earlier thoughts about Ian and the matching palm lines are pushed aside as maternal panic takes over. She and Gillian act without hesitation, demonstrating the sisters’ unspoken bond.
Gillian asks no questions and simply helps, showing her loyalty and willingness to act on faith.
Themes, Symbols, or Motifs
Trust and Deception: Tom’s smile and reassuring words mask his manipulation. Kylie’s growing unease—her twinge of anxiety when handing over the book—signals that trust must be earned, not given.
Sisterly Bonds: The chapter is built on sisterhood: Kylie and Antonia’s phone call, Sally and Gillian baking together, and the memory of Antonia holding dandelion fluff to Kylie’s face. The bond transcends distance and circumstance.
Left-Handed Magic / Dark Art: Tom’s practice of left-handed magic is explicitly linked to the Dark Art, and the chapter connects it to the family’s history through the story of Maria Owens’s daughter Faith, who practiced left-handed magic and forfeited her abilities until she lived a life of helping others.
The Lost Daughter Spell: The apple pie baked with love and set on the windowsill is a concrete magical act meant to call a daughter home. The detail of the apple flesh turning from white to red underscores its supernatural nature.
The Family Rule: The refrain “do not steal, do not lie, do not trust a man you can never really know” is broken by Kylie, marking her moral drift.
Homecoming: Kylie’s memories of Magnolia Street, the dandelion wishes, and the pie spell all point toward the theme of returning home—physically and emotionally.
Finding / Being a Finder: The story of Faith, who became a finder after living a life of service, foreshadows the idea that redemption comes through helping others.
Why This Chapter Matters
This chapter deepens the novel’s central conflict by showing Kylie’s entanglement with Tom and the family’s response. It establishes the stakes: Gideon is alive but unresponsive, Kylie is drifting toward dark magic, and the Owens women are mobilizing to bring her home. The introduction of the Lost Daughter spell and the story of Faith provide a mythological framework for the novel’s themes of redemption and the cost of dark magic. The chapter also reinforces the importance of sisterly bonds as a counterweight to the curse that has haunted the family for generations.
Study Questions and Answers
1. Why does Kylie hesitate before handing the book to Tom, and what does this reveal about her state of mind?
Kylie hesitates because she feels a twinge of anxiety, even though she thinks of Gideon in his hospital bed. This reveals her growing doubt about Tom’s intentions. She wants to trust him—he has told her things about their bloodline and claims to understand her—but her instinct warns her that trust must be earned. Her hesitation foreshadows the regret she feels later when she realizes she left the book with him.
2. How does Antonia’s phone call with Kylie demonstrate the sisters’ relationship?
Antonia is protective and logical, immediately urging Kylie to come home and dismissing the curse as a fairy tale. She is also perceptive, recognizing Kylie in the photo despite the changed hair and desperate expression. Kylie, in turn, is stubborn and defensive, but she is also deeply affected by Antonia’s words—she sobs when she learns Gideon moved his hand. The call shows that despite the distance and Kylie’s attempts to reinvent herself, the sisters’ bond remains unbroken.
3. What is the significance of the apple pie in this chapter?
The apple pie is a magical object—a Lost Daughter spell. Antonia tells Sally to bake it and put it in the window, explaining that she made one herself and Kylie phoned less than an hour later. The pie is baked with love, and the apple flesh turning from white to red signals its supernatural power. It represents the family’s attempt to call Kylie home through love and magic, countering the dark influence of Tom.
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