Summary

In Part II, “Molecule,” Chapter 15, Sam keeps expecting Mitchell to leave. He promises he has given up traveling and drinking, magic and music, to make a new life. In the spring, he watches Sam compete for the first time. When it is her turn, she is dizzy with fear. During her climb, she forces herself to focus on the wall. She gets to the top.

In Chapter 16, over the following years, Sam gets better and better at climbing. By the time she is 14, “she is strong” (81). While out with her family one day, Courtney tells Mitchell she is proud of him.

Sam visits Mitchell at work. He tells her about the wall behind St. Mary’s. He also tells her about his mom, the books he has read, and his meetings. Although “It sounds so boring” to Sam, Courtney says “boring is good...