Chapter summaries Ward D: A gripping psychological thriller Freida McFadden

Chapter 37 Summary: Eight Years Earlier

⚠️ 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

In this flashback chapter, set eight years before the events on Ward D, teenage Amy sits at home avoiding studying for an American history test. She has been caught cheating and expects to be expelled, and she also experiences hallucinations of a little girl who urges her to do bad things. Her mother notices Amy’s distress and gently asks about her friend Jade, revealing that Jade’s mother has struggled with mental health issues, which can run in families. Amy dismisses the concern, unwilling to admit that she herself is the one hallucinating. She steps outside to get fresh air, and Jade arrives in a battered Dodge, insisting she has “fixed everything.” Despite her anger, Amy’s curiosity wins, and she gets into the car without buckling her seatbelt as Jade speeds away.

Key Events

  • Amy procrastinates studying for an American history test, resigned to being expelled for cheating.
  • Her mother checks on her and asks about Jade.
  • Amy’s mother reveals that Jade’s mother has a history of mental health struggles.
  • Amy goes outside alone to avoid further conversation.
  • Jade pulls up in her mother’s old Dodge and honks loudly.
  • Jade claims she has made things right again.
  • Amy, despite her resentment, accepts Jade’s invitation and climbs into the car.

Character Development

  • Amy appears apathetic and withdrawn, believing her academic life is over and fearing her mother’s reaction to her hallucinations. She hides her true condition out of shame.
  • Amy’s mother is observant and caring, trying to gently probe for information about Amy’s wellbeing. Her mention of inherited mental illness foreshadows the family secrets still to come.
  • Jade is persistent and sincere in her claim that she has repaired the damage. Her sudden arrival and the dilapidated car underscore her unpredictable and determined nature.

Themes, Symbols, or Motifs

  • Secrecy and shame: Amy refuses to tell her mother about the hallucinations, worried about losing her approval. The fear of being seen as mentally ill drives her to hide the truth.
  • Mental illness as inherited: Amy’s mother raises the possibility that mental health conditions run in families, subtly connecting Jade’s mother’s struggles to what Amy might be experiencing.
  • The sunset: Amy observes a beautiful sunset and thinks she can still enjoy it even if she is “crazy,” highlighting her internal conflict between appreciating normal life and fearing her own mind.
  • The unreliable Dodge: Jade’s car, with its dangling mirror and numerous dents, symbolizes the fragile and broken state of their friendship and perhaps of Amy’s mental state.

Why This Chapter Matters

Chapter 37 provides crucial backstory for Amy’s current situation on Ward D. It confirms that her hallucinations began years ago, that she was caught cheating in school, and that Jade played a manipulative role in her past. The flashback establishes the deep-seated fear Amy has of being judged for her mental health, which explains why she might have lied to doctors and kept secrets. It also sets up the mystery of what Jade “fixed” and how that event connects to the present.

Study Questions and Answers

  1. Why does Amy not bother studying for her history test?
    She believes she will be expelled anyway after being caught cheating, so she sees no point in studying.

  2. What does Amy’s mother tell her about Jade’s family?
    She reveals that Jade’s mother has struggled “a lot with her mental health” and worries that such issues could run in families.

  3. What does Jade claim to have done when she arrives at Amy’s house?
    Jade insists that she has “fixed everything” and made things right again, though she does not explain how.

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