58 pages • 1 hour read
B. B. AlstonAmari and the Night Brothers
Fiction | Novel | Middle Grade | Published in 2021A 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 26-29Chapter Summaries & Analyses
Chapter 26 Summary
Content Warning: This section of the guide discusses an instance of racism.
Lara fails the second tryout and takes it out on Amari. She pulls up Amari’s discipline record from Jefferson Academy and publicly announces it to the cafeteria, calling Amari “ghetto.” In retaliation, Amari creates an illusion of herself that dumps spaghetti on Lara’s head.
Later, Amari learns that Quinton left a second briefcase to Agent Magnus before he vanished; Quinton discovered the identity of the Key Holder and left it inside the briefcase. This is why Maria and Quinton were kidnapped: to obtain this information from them. Magnus reassures Amari that the Black Book is still secure inside the Great Vault. If Amari makes Junior Agent and officially becomes part of the Bureau, she will inherit all of Quinton’s belongings, including the briefcase and the information inside.
Chapter 27 Summary
Amari attends her very first All-Souls Festival, an annual event wherein all souls, living or dead, are invited to celebrate together in a ghostly festival. While there, Amari meets the author of her spell book, Madame Violet, who offers Amari the knowledge she needs in exchange for a secret. Elsie pays the cost, confessing her secret to Amari: Elsie hasn’t shifted into a dragon yet because it requires a great feat of courage, and Elsie has been a “scaredy-cat” her whole life (340). Madame Violet advises Amari that “an illusionist should never trust that which giggles and grins” (341). As they leave Madame Violet’s, Lara and her friends corner Amari and Elsie. Amari casts “Magna Fobia” on Lara to defend herself, and learns that Lara’s greatest fear is the same as Amari’s: she fears that her sister really is gone for good.
Chapter 28 Summary
After the incident with Lara, Amari resolves never to use foul magic again. As part of the final tryout, all Junior Agent trainees must give a demonstration of their supernatural ability. Because Amari has only her magic, which is illegal, she is not permitted to participate in this part of the final; however, she worries that Director Van Helsing will use this as an excuse to disqualify her. Dylan and Amari secretly arrange for Amari to give a demonstration of her illusions, which she does successfully for the audience assembled at the demonstrations. Amari “paints” her neighborhood and describes her home life and her family. She concludes with brilliant, colorful illusions, such as the night sky and a circus scene. The audience is in awe of her illusions, and 3 out of 4 judges give Amari stellar marks. The demonstration also gives Amari an opportunity to show people her true self and prove that they have all been judging her by stereotypes. She concludes her presentation by asking for a chance to prove to everyone that she will be a good magician. At that moment, screams erupt.
Chapter 29 Summary
An army of hybrids attacks the Bureau. A masked figure appears, and Dylan chases them down. Amari catches up with them, and Dylan claims the vault doors were open when he arrived. The figure reveals themselves to be Maria Van Helsing just as Agent Fiona and Director Van Helsing arrive. Maria escapes: she has stolen the Black Book from the vault.
Chapters 26-29 Analysis
The All-Souls Festival and visit to Madame Violet in Chapter 27 are important moments for Amari and Elsie. Elsie confesses that she is a coward. This creates a distinct goal and direction for her arc, rounding out her previously static character. Madame Violet’s warning that “an illusionist should not trust that which giggles and grins” foreshadows the impending reveal about Moreau’s illusion (341), but also introduces the question of which other things in Amari’s life are mere illusions, foreshadowing Dylan’s betrayal as well.
The events with Lara at the end of Chapter 27 mark a turning point for Amari. After using foul magic to defend herself, Amari is horrified by how she has hurt another and resolves never to use her magic for harm again. This moment also grants insight into Lara’s character and elicits sympathy for her as Amari learns that deep inside, she and Lara fear the same things. Though they do not connect over this—Lara flees once Amari dispels the illusion—the scene builds on the previously established fact that Bonds of Family Loyalty are Lara’s primary motivation, just as they are Amari’s. Amari’s compassionate reaction and resolution not to use foul magic again exemplify her empathetic nature, even for her greatest bullies. Their confrontation also humanizes Lara, hinting that Lara is not the major antagonist of the novel despite her actions.
Chapter 28 develops the Hope in the Face of Prejudice theme and is an important moment for Amari’s character arc. She uses her illusions to demonstrate that magic can be used for good, beautiful things. After the initial shock, the audience responds positively to her illusions and to Amari herself, joking with her and applauding her. In this way, Amari bridges the gap between the distant, fearsome magicians most people in the supernatural world think of, and the reality of magicians like herself: good, normal people who just happen to have magic. Amari’s demonstration also gives her a chance to assert her identity, reinforcing the Self-Confidence and Discovering Identity theme, as Amari later learns that “[she is] changing minds by simply not shutting [herself] off” (387). This audience’s reaction to her demonstration teaches Amari both the importance of having the confidence to share herself authentically with others, and that many who initially have prejudiced reactions to magicians only do so out of ignorance. Their minds can be changed if they are given an opportunity to understand the reality of the situation—in this case, that reality that not all magicians are alike.
The stakes increase once again at the end of Chapter 29 as it’s revealed that Maria Van Helsing is Moreau’s apprentice and that she now possesses the Black Book. The urgency of this news creates a more serious tone and faster pacing. The appearance of Maria is a red herring, however: a false clue that Alston drops to mislead readers. Alston drops a brief hint of Dylan’s dishonesty by having him dash toward the vault in the chaos, an action that Amari misinterprets as bravery and family loyalty. The plot twist in Chapter 32 reveals that Dylan, as Moreau’s true apprentice, created the image of Maria with his magic.
