The Giver of Stars

Beth, Izzy, Alice, and Kathleen ride out to Arnott’s Ridge where, after some difficulty, they find the McCullough cabin. Alice attempts to get someone’s attention, but they’re met with an eerie silence. Then, a girl, Verna McCullough, points a shotgun at Alice and demands that they all leave. Kathleen approaches next and reminds the girls—Verna and her sister—that she knows them from way back. Alice and Kathleen both attempt to soothe the girls’ fears, and after a while, Verna lowers the gun. Verna admits that she isn’t sad her father died. Moreover, the sheriff didn’t tell her who the killer was or what might happen.

The librarians realize that the McCullough girls have no idea what’s actually happening in town or to Margery. Once the air settles, Verna invites them all in. When she opens the door, however, they’re all shocked: “There was a brief silence while they all took in what was in front of them” (362). Izzy, who hates cursing, suddenly curses because of what she sees (the chapter ends without explaining what they see). 

Alice arrives at the courthouse early the next morning, where she’s told by Deputy Dulles that Margery is refusing food. When Alice enters the courtroom itself, she spies a disheveled Sven sitting a few rows behind her. She asks Izzy for any news, and Izzy says, “not yet.” When Judge Arthur enters, the defense begins its case.

Sven’s lawyer paints Margery as someone in the wrong place at the wrong time. Suddenly, Kathleen bounds into the courtroom and speaks with the lawyer. The lawyer then asks the judge if they can call forward a key witness. The judge and lawyers converse, though the entire courtroom can hear that the witness is Verna McCullough. Mr. Van Cleve is so upset at the turn of events that the sheriff must restrain him from interrupting the judge’s counsel.

Verna takes the stand, shy and unsure, but she eventually finds strength to speak. She tells the court that her father was a known drunk who threatened to kill their mother, and that their mother has disappeared since then. Moreover, he threatened to abandon the girls many times. Verna tells the courtroom that her father left on the fateful day of his death—to return his library book.

The court erupts in shouts and murmurs. Verna then paints a picture of Clem McCullough as someone sympathetic to the library. He was going to return his copy of Little Women but never returned home. For the first time in the trial, Margery looks up in disbelief. At the same time, Sophia slips quietly out of the courtroom.

The defense then calls the doctor back to the stand, and the attorney asks if the Little Women book could have killed Clem if he slipped on the icy mountain road and fallen onto it. The doctor says it’s entirely possible. With this, the judge finds that there isn’t any evidence to accuse Margery. He rules the death an accident and sets Margery free.

Sven whisks Margery out of the courtroom and brings her to the library. The librarians congratulate her on finally being free, though Margery doesn’t seem like the person she once was. Then Sven returns with Victoria, and when the baby recognizes her mother, Margery softens and cries. Everyone leaves to give Sven and Margery some time alone.

Days later, the library ledger, which Sophia hinted to the sheriff might be missing (she hid it under the desk), appears back in its rightful place. An entry on the day of Clem’s death looks fresher than the other entries. It shows Little Women checked out to Clem but never returned.

With the trial now over, Baileyville clears of out-of-towners and things begin getting back to normal. Normal, however, is still an unclear concept to Alice. Now that Sven is back and Margery is free, Alice feels like a complete interloper at Margery’s place. She stays with Izzy to give the couple space and plans to leave in a day’s time for England. Alice has a drink with Fred, no longer concerned with what the public thinks about her. When she reads a letter from her parents while he waits, her mood changes.

Fred then reads the letter and takes offense at how her parents verbally abuse her. She says it’s all her fault for trying to improve her marriage with the little blue book. Fred is visibly confused, and though embarrassed, Alice confesses that she doesn’t know if she and Bennett consummated their marriage. Though he finds it hard to believe that someone might not know this, he’s happy nonetheless: “This is great news! […] This is wonderful” (379). Fred takes Alice to the library, where he shows her various legal books that explain she isn’t technically married because she never had sex with Bennett. This fact means she can get an annulment from Bennett—and marry whomever she pleases.

Overcome with joy, Fred and Alice make love right then and there on the library floor. Afterwards, Alice admits that “I have definitely never done that” (380).

Margery and Sven marry in late October. They even have a public wedding. Margery still feels weird about being so happy, but Alice assures her that “You’ll get used to it” (382). Margery and Sven get a new dog, and Margery goes back to work at the library. Verna and her sister move into a cabin on Margery’s property, and Verna becomes Victoria’s wet nurse while she nurses her own child, Peter.

Fred and Alice marry a month after Margery and Sven. Fred persuaded Mr. Van Cleve to agree to a quiet annulment, so as not to drag the Van Cleve family name through the mud. Mr. Van Cleve also stops speaking ill of the library, and Bennett marries Peggy. Alice and Fred live a happy, energetic life. Alice feels like a new person.

Sophia and William return to Louisville when Sophia receives a job offer at the colored library. She later earns a promotion, and the two are happy to live in a city with a thriving black community.

Though Kathleen doesn’t remarry, she does begin spending more time with Jim Horner, with the pair taking their kids to holiday events and walking together at night.

Beth suddenly informs the rest that she’s going to India. Though they think she’s joking, she shows them her ticket, then leaves to complete the travels she has always talked about. They later find that she might have been making and selling moonshine to afford her ticket.

Izzy becomes a local celebrity, then a nationwide one, when she cuts a record. She even performs with Tex Lafayette. Meanwhile, Mrs. Brady receives praise from Mrs. Nofcier, Kentucky’s head library services member, about the way the library weathered misogyny.

The library soon opens five days a week, both delivering books and accepting walk-in customers. One day, Peggy Van Cleve enters and asks Margery for the little blue book. Margery, though wanting to chuckle, dutifully gives Peggy the marriage book.