Summary
The chapter focuses on Susie’s four year old brother Buckley who is struggling to understand Susie’s absence because of how young he is. He tells his friend Nate that he still sees Susie and they sneak into the crawlspace under Susie’s bed where she keeps the things that matter the most to her; one of these things is a bloodied twig from when Susie saved Buckley from choking on it. This is why Susie believes in rescue but Holly doesn’t. Susie then contemplates whether Buckley has really seen her in some way.
Narrative structure: symbolism and foreshadowing (AO1, AO2)
Susie uses an interesting structure at the beginning of the chapter as she compares a memory of role-playing with her sister Lindsey to a later point in time involving her brother Buckley (and Nate) after her murder. These two events are linked by a household object - a grave rubbing hanging on the wall of the Salmon home which shows a knight with a faithful dog at its feet. The use of symbolism here recalls the novels epigram as it foreshadows the subsequent feelings of members of her family as they feel trapped by Susie’s absence and by her memory.
Characterisation: Buckley Salmon (AO1, AO2)
Susie struggles to relate to Buckley because of how young he was around the time of her death and worries about the potential impact it has had on him. Susie and Buckley had a special bond: Buckley knows about the ‘secret storage space’ that Susie had and he takes Nate there. The bloodied twig is a shared object between them as it is what Buckley nearly choked on the previous year; Buckley’s perspective of this memory was centred around the behaviour of the adults around him as he was hospitalised. In this chapter, objects, memories and emotional states are closely linked together; especially between Susie and Buckley.
What does Franny suggest about the dead contacting young children?
Franny suggests to Susie that what young children see as “imaginary friends“ are actually departed strangers or loved ones “breaking through“ to them.
What does Buckley claim about Susie?
Buckley claims that Susie came into his bedroom at night and kissed him on the cheek whilst he slept.
