60 pages • 2 hours read
Deb CalettiA Heart in a Body in the World
Fiction | Novel | YA | Published in 2018A modern alternative to SparkNotes and CliffsNotes, SuperSummary offers high-quality Study Guides with detailed chapter summaries and analysis of major themes, characters, and more.
Chapters 32-34Chapter Summaries & Analyses
Chapter 32 Summary
It is the day of Annabelle’s speech at Carnegie Mellon. Annabelle and Grandpa wait backstage; Dawn Celeste and Luke are in the audience. Annabelle tells Grandpa she doesn’t think she can do it, but he encourages her and gives her a little push. Onstage, Annabelle is nervous to speak in front of the crowd. She notices the crowd is mostly young women who “look friendly. They smile at her and look at her with kind eyes. But there are so many of them” (330). Annabelle explains that The Taker, whom she refers to as “the shooter,” bought the gun the day before the party and was reading the instructions for operating the gun in his car before he came inside the house. She reflects, “this just seems particularly horrifying, you know. That you can have a thought to destroy people, and within hours, hours, you can be doing it” (330).
Annabelle explains that The Taker shot her best friend, Kat, and the boy she loved, Will. Annabelle also reveals that Will’s last words to her were “see you soon,” and her last conversation with Kat was about how Kat hadn’t fallen in love yet but would someday. Annabelle doesn’t have charts or statistics or answers about how to improve gun restriction laws, but she is horrified that so many innocent people die of gun violence in the United States. Finally, Annabelle describes why she is doing this run, saying, “I put on those shoes day after day to fight and fight and fight the powerlessness I feel” (334). After her speech, Annabelle is exhausted, but the audience applauds. Annabelle guesses that “many of them out there, too, have felt her grief and confusion” (335).
Chapter 33 Summary
After Annabelle’s speech, Annabelle, Grandpa, Dawn Celeste, and Luke park their RVs at a state park and grill sausages for dinner. Annabelle sits with Dawn Celeste and admits that she is nervous to meet with Seth Greggory, the plaintiff in the case against The Taker, which will take place in a couple months, in September. When Annabelle meets with Seth Greggory, he will explain what to expect at the trial and help her prepare what she will say on the witness stand. Dawn Celeste reminds Annabelle that Seth Greggory is on her side. Dawn Celeste also reveals that she was assaulted when she was in college; she remembers how terrified she was to face her assaulter in court, but she felt better after she used her voice to speak out against him. Annabelle tells Dawn Celeste she wants to study the heart, perhaps as a surgeon. Dawn Celeste asks if she really wants to become a surgeon, and Annabelle says she’s not sure; she may need some time to figure out what she wants to do. Dawn Celeste says, “I think you have studied the heart already. I think you will go on studying the heart, Annabelle, no matter what you do” (339).
After dinner, Grandpa and Dawn Celeste go for a walk, leaving Annabelle and Luke alone. Annabelle and Luke kiss for the first time. Luke explains that they won’t be far from each other next year; Annabelle will be in Seattle, and Luke will be in college in Portland. Luke has a pickup truck and hopes to take Annabelle camping; he wants to take Annabelle to see a wolf tree at Olympic National Forest in Washington State. A wolf tree is a tree that stands alone in an expanse destroyed by a natural disaster. Before Annabelle and Luke say goodnight, he gives her a wood carving. Unsure what it is supposed to look like, they joke that it is a “turd of love” (342), a callback to the wood carving Grandpa gave to Dawn Celeste.
Chapter 34 Summary
Annabelle finally makes it to Washington, DC, and is surprised to see so many national landmarks, such as the Washington Monument and the White House, in real life. A small group is waiting at Annabelle’s finish line, cheering for her. Among them is Grandpa, Malcolm, Gina, Zach, Olivia, Dawn Celeste, and Luke, as well as reporters. Annabelle’s friends and family hug her.
That evening everyone has dinner at an Italian restaurant, including Annabelle’s father. He hugs her and tells her he’s proud of her. He is shy and a little bit awkward due to his distance from the family over the past few years, but Annabelle is happy to see him and thinks, “It is maybe the beginning of something” (349).
In Washington, DC, Annabelle meets with her state senators and the Gun Violence Task Force, and gives a speech at George Washington University. Finally, Annabelle flies home. The next week Annabelle meets with Seth Greggory, who “is firm but gentle” (350) and asks her questions, preparing her for what the defense attorney will ask her at the trial.
The trial begins three weeks later. Annabelle is nervous and hates seeing The Taker in person again, but she looks right at him as she answers all the lawyers’ questions. Later, at the sentencing hearing, Annabelle cries when the judge sentences The Taker, revealed to be named Daniel Wainwright, to two consecutive life sentences.
After the two-day trial, Annabelle suggests that she, Gina, and Malcolm go to Dick’s for dinner, the same restaurant where Annabelle took off running several months before. They enjoy their meal in the car, and Annabelle notes, “There are no intoxicated guys trying to grab her. There are just people with their stories, getting dinner” (352).
A few months later, in January, Luke and Annabelle go for a hike in Olympic National Forest. Luke shows Annabelle the wolf tree, a “stumpy, gnarled beast, alone in a wide area of open woods” (354). Luke shows Annabelle where the tree is marked by a lightning bolt that struck it years ago, as well as new sprouts growing from the top branches. As they leave, Annabelle notes that despite the freezing January weather, “there is still so much more beautiful stuff to see” (355). She tells Luke, “I’m ready” (355).
Chapters 32-34 Analysis
These chapters are significant because Annabelle finally reaches her destination, Washington, DC. Despite many obstacles, Annabelle persevered, thanks in large part to the support of her friends, family, and even strangers. Later, Annabelle faces The Taker in court and works up the courage to honestly share her story. The Taker is sentenced to two consecutive life sentences for shooting Kat and Will, finally giving some closure to a terrible incident.
Throughout the novel this antagonist is only referred to as The Taker. It isn’t until the scene of his sentencing hearing that his real name, Daniel Wainwright, is revealed. The use of the name “The Taker” is a coping mechanism for Annabelle, because it is so difficult for her to handle memories of him and who he was as a person. The use of a made-up title in place of a name gives Annabelle some distance from this person. When The Taker’s name is finally revealed, it is after he is sentenced, showing that Annabelle is finally attaining some closure and coping with this terrible incident after speaking up and sharing her story.
The novel opens with Annabelle at Dick’s, a restaurant, where an intoxicated man catcalls her and tries to grab her arm, causing Annabelle to run away. The story comes full circle when Annabelle and her family eat at Dick’s at the end of the novel, after the trial. This moment is significant because it shows that Annabelle can confront places that left her with triggering memories in the past, representing her recovery.
Finally, the wolf tree is used as a symbol in these chapters. A wolf tree is a lone tree that survived some natural disaster. It is old, with bare, gnarled branches due to the disaster it weathered, but it is still alive. Luke thinks wolf trees are beautiful, saying, “It should be dead… you can see that it’s been damaged in the past” (342), but it survives despite the odds. When Annabelle and Luke visit the wolf tree, Luke even points out the gouge where the tree was struck by lightning. Nevertheless, there are new sprouts growing from the tree’s upper branches. This tree embodies Annabelle and her narrative journey. The gouge in the tree represents the moment it was injured, an injury that will always be visible. Similarly, the violent death of her two friends will always be a difficult and painful part of Annabelle’s past. However, the branches at the top of the tree are still growing, similar to how Annabelle still has life, happiness, and recovery ahead of her. Despite the disasters they’ve faced, wolf trees are tough and resilient, which reflects Annabelle’s healing and state of mind at the end of the novel.
