51 pages • 1 hour read
Natasha PrestonThe Cellar
Fiction | Novel | YA | Published in 2014A 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 29-34Chapter Summaries & Analyses
Chapter 29 Summary: “Lewis”
On Monday, February 28, Lewis wakes at Summer’s house; he and Dawn discuss how they will never give up looking for her. When Lewis goes out to search this time, he drives to Colin’s house. It appears no one is home. He goes inside the thick line of hedges that surround the property. Through a glass window near the front door, he sees four New Look shoeboxes. He knows this is a ladies’ brand since Summer often shopped there. Colin approaches in his car; Lewis gets away in time by crawling through the hedge. Back at Summer’s house, he tells Henry what he saw. They plan to get inside Colin’s house the next day.
The scene flashes back to December 30, 2008. Henry, Summer, Lewis, Kerri, and Beth go to Pizza Hut. Lewis flirts with Summer, and he realizes he likes her.
Chapter 30 Summary: “Lewis”
Lewis and Henry go to Colin’s house the next day, February 29. Henry crawls through an open window near the kitchen. Lewis finds a bedroom still made up for an older woman and pictures of a woman who looks like Colin kissing him. Lewis thinks it is likely Colin’s mother. They find a wardrobe of women’s clothes and a closet with tampons, pads, makeup, and women’s beauty products. They also find many newspapers featuring Summer’s disappearance. Lewis calls out for Summer with no response. He sends Henry away and calls Walsh. Walsh arrives and forces Lewis to leave. He tells Lewis the police will talk to Colin again but that he will arrest Lewis if he breaks the law again.
Chapter 31 Summary: “Summer”
Summer and the others wonder why Clover is late and what his distracted behavior might mean. Summer and Violet speak privately while Poppy and Rose clean; they agree that the more distracted Clover is, the greater the likelihood he will make a mistake. The four sit together on the sofa, nervous and fearful. Much later than usual, Clover arrives. He leaves the door at the top of the cellar stairs open just inches. He talks cryptically about others who want to separate their “family” and that he has decided on a way never to let that happen. The Flowers huddle together, with Rose closest to Clover.
When he takes out the knife, Rose tries to reason with him. Summer pulls her back, which angers Clover. He stabs Violet in the stomach and Poppy in the side. Summer tells Clover they are not a family and tells Rose to run, but Rose does not. Summer blocks Clover’s attempt to hit her and then punches him. She is ready to kick him when Rose pulls her away. Clover shoves Summer into the brick wall; she hits her head and slowly loses consciousness, hearing screams and a gunshot. A voice tells Summer to stay with them, and she feels herself being carried.
Chapter 32 Summary: “Lewis”
On March 3, Lewis is in London, a long drive from Long Thorpe; he is intent on expanding his search despite the community search slowing. Summer’s father, Daniel, calls to tell him that the police are entering Colin’s house with a warrant after having found him trying to dispose of a box of women’s clothes and cell phone chargers. Lewis starts for home. Daniel calls again and tells Lewis the police found Summer alive in Colin’s basement. Shocked and relieved, Lewis speeds toward the hospital.
When Lewis arrives, Henry tries to prepare him for the changes in Summer. Summer is not acting as though she recognizes them and only wants to know where Poppy, Rose, and Violet are. Henry tells him it seems that Colin, who called himself Clover, changed their names. Lewis wonders how Summer could have lost her identity.
Chapter 33 Summary: “Summer”
Summer wakes in the hospital. Mum is there, crying and asking if she is okay. A nurse checks on Summer and tells her she will bring pain medication. Summer immediately asks about Poppy, Rose, and Violet; she tries to get up to go find them, but the pain in her head is too bad. A doctor enters and explains that Poppy is satisfactory, and Violet is in “critical but stable condition” (324). Summer thinks being called by her real name is strange, “as weird as being called Lily in the beginning” (325). Summer loses focus and returns to Henry, telling her he called her name repeatedly. Her mother tries to hold her hand, but the sensation is too odd, and Summer pulls away. Henry says Lewis is on his way, but Summer does not react. She just wants to sleep, and she asks them to all leave. Her parents sit near the door.
Lewis arrives and sits on her bed. They are quiet, neither knowing what to say. Poppy enters the room, and Summer flies to her, ignoring the protests of her family to get back into bed. Poppy is upset; Violet is dead, and she does not know where Rose is. Summer is struck with grief that Violet did not survive. When the doctor enters, she insists Poppy leave and tells Summer to return to bed. Summer corrects her: “Lily.”
Summer asks her family to leave again. Lewis calls her by his nickname for her, “Sum,” and she recalls their closeness. He embraces her; she cries. He tells her she is safe now and that he will never leave her. She smiles and sleeps.
Chapter 34 Summary: “Summer”
On Saturday, March 26, Summer and Becca (Poppy) visit the graves of Layal and Rose. Rose overdosed on stolen medication; Summer feels guilt over both deaths. She and Becca have grown closer. Becca plans to visit Summer’s house for a movie night that evening, and Summer thinks Becca and Henry may be attracted to one another. After the visit, Henry picks up Becca, and Lewis picks up Summer. Lewis reassures Summer that he will wait as long as it takes for them to become close again, including intimacy and sex.
Summer, Henry, and Lewis watch Halloween, but even the murders do not scare Summer, which upsets Henry and Lewis. Summer wants to go to a small get-together at Ethan’s house with friends. Lewis feels protective of her mindset and safety, but she convinces him she will be fine. Getting ready to go out, Summer reflects on how torn her identity is: “I felt like two people” (342). She also thinks about Clover; he was admitted to a secure psychiatric facility and will not stand trial.
Summer is grateful to be near friends. Her friend Rachel feels responsible for the abduction, but Summer convinces Rachel it was wholly Clover’s fault. Summer also tells Rachel she plans on therapy but wants to stay living in denial for a little longer.
The scene shifts to April 10. Summer spends the night alone in her bed (without Lewis), but he arrives early in the morning to check on her. She tells Lewis that Walsh called to report that Clover’s doctors say he is successfully responding to treatment so far. Lewis promises to always protect her, no matter what. Summer isn’t so sure anyone could save her from Clover, but she chooses to avoid thinking about him escaping or being released. Summer wants to have a barbecue and grill steak with Lewis and her family, eager to “not have to pretend to be okay” (347).
Chapters 29-34 Analysis
Several complications and discoveries heighten the suspense as the rising action peaks, leading to the climactic rescue of Summer, Rose, Poppy, and Violet; these complications and discoveries indirectly reveal or emphasize character attributes. The discoveries largely belong to Lewis, while the complications belong to Clover and the Flowers. Lewis’s key discovery occurs when he surveils Colin’s house and sees four shoeboxes he recognizes as a women’s brand from shopping with Summer. This breakthrough leads to the additional clues found inside the house with Henry, which prompts renewed interest from the police. Lewis demonstrates perseverance and hope with each discovery, becoming increasingly convinced of Colin’s guilt; his reactions indirectly show Lewis’s inner strength, courage, and faith in Summer’s ability to withstand severe struggle, supporting the theme of Resilience in the Face of Dire Circumstances.
Lewis’s discoveries spur complications for Colin and, in turn, for Summer, Poppy, Rose, and Violet. Colin sees Lewis as the most direct threat to his “family”; he grows irritable and anxious because of Lewis’s intent to search forever if needed. Colin’s darkening mood and distraction, in turn, mean trouble for the Flowers; he strikes out at them more frequently, and his erratic visits trigger a new fear that they will starve if he stops showing up—both of which contribute to the theme of The Dynamics of Power and Control in Abusive Situations. The young women’s fear and anxiety speak indirectly to their low morale and the wearying effect of Clover’s imprisoning them for months or years. Colin’s ultimate complication occurs when the police discover him with women’s clothing and cell phone chargers; he goes home to kill the Flowers as the police collect their search warrant. In this way, complications and discoveries intersect and lead directly to the climactic scene of rescue.
Summer’s character arc makes an impactful turn in the moments before she is rescued when she finally decides to fight back at Clover, even if it means her death. Her choice of words, screaming that they are not his family, distracts him; she also punches him in the face. She is preparing to kick him when Rose pulls her away. These actions point to Summer’s renewed spirit and hope, which juxtapose against her low points of hopelessness in the last section.
Situational ironies continue in the novel’s falling action. For example, it is ironic that after all of Lewis’s intense searching and insistence to Henry and Walsh that Colin is involved in Summer’s disappearance, he is far away in London when the call comes that she is found. From a storytelling standpoint, this plotting choice provides the opportunity for a strong focus on Lewis’s entrance to Summer’s hospital room and their reunion, as the other family members (being closer in proximity) have a chance to interact with Summer before Lewis arrives. Another irony exists, however, in Lewis’s greeting: After so many months of wishing they could see one another, Lewis and Summer have no words for one another. The moment highlights the harsh realism and irony that many survivors of trauma face. Their relationships with others, including loved ones, may be forever changed.
It is equally ironic that after missing her family, Summer asks several times for them to leave; she also asks immediately and repeatedly about Poppy, Rose, and Violet. This demonstrates that she has grown to think of the other “Flowers” as her family, just as Clover wanted. However, this was due to their need for survival and mutual support while imprisoned in the cellar—not due to submitting to the violent dynamic Clover imposed. Though Summer tries to hold on to her identity throughout her captivity, she ironically interrupts the doctor when she uses Summer’s real name; indoctrinated by the other Flowers, who had to conceal their true identities to survive Clover’s violence, Summer automatically corrects her: “Lily.” These ironies show that Summer was close to losing her identity altogether; Rose’s inability to cope with the real world after having “been down there too long” and dying by suicide is further evidence that Summer only very narrowly escaped with her life and the hope of repairing her identity (336).
Summer’s idea that she is two people now and that eventually Lily and Summer will “collide” further suggests that she realizes healing will take time. Furthermore, the connotation of “collide” emphasizes that the process may be painful but possible with support from friends and family. These ideas cap the development of the themes of Manipulation of Identity and Resistance Against Erasure of Self and Resilience in the Face of Dire Circumstances at the novel’s conclusion.
