Garden Spells

“Claire was there when someone in town needed a solution to a problem that could be solved only by the flowers grown around that apple tree in the Waverleys’ backyard. She was the first in three generations to openly share that particular gift.”

The opening chapter establishes the peculiarities associated with the Waverley name, which are connected to the apple tree in their backyard. Claire’s sharing of this gift makes her something of a wise woman or benefactor to the town. The comment that she was “the first in three generations” shows how she has already transcended the family name, establishing deeper connections in Bascom.

“Dangerous men had been her specialty, just as she always imagined it had been for her mother—one of the many reasons she left Bascom with nothing but a backpack and a few photos of her mother as a traveling companion.”

This passage suggests that Sydney chose an unrooted life and dangerous men because she thought it might be romantic or poetic to live as her mother had. Sydney’s more tumultuous life contrasts and conflicts with Claire’s steady, rooted one, while the description of dangerous men hints at the conflict Sydney will experience with David. However, the fact that her mother’s photo is her “traveling companion” subtly indicates what a lonely life she is leading.

“What was Claire supposed to do? Sydney was family. Claire had learned the hard way that you weren’t supposed to take them for granted. She’d also learned they could hurt you more than anyone else in the world.”

Though Claire takes Sydney in, her fear that Sydney will leave like other family members have left her becomes part of her character arc as well as a source of conflict between them. Healing Generational Wounds by connecting with biological family is a central theme of the book, and its manifestation in Claire’s journey is established here.

“Relationships were hard. There was no cure for them.”

This observation, simple but profound, reflects Evanelle’s voice, infused with the clarity and wisdom of her mature years. While the point of view of the novel is omniscient, weaving in and out of different characters’ heads, the different characters’ thoughts reflect their unique personalities, conflicts, and outlooks, and Evanelle’s short, declarative sentences offer character development.

“The one thing Sydney could be proud of, and she was already messing it up. This place messed her up. She was never sure of who she was here.”

Sydney’s character conflict is established as a struggle to come to terms with her identity, one of the reasons she left Bascom when she was 18, establishing the theme of The Influence of Place on Identity. Part of her efforts to define herself includes being a present and nurturing mother to Bay, in contrast to what Sydney experienced with Lorelei. Sydney’s care for Bay is another example of the novel’s theme of healing generational wounds.

“Sydney was, in the end, just a Waverley. […] No one realized that she hadn’t known the rules. She’d been in love with Hunter John. She thought it would be forever.”

Emma’s reflection captures how family reputations are used to define people, which plays into the novel’s theme about the influence of place on identity. This brief backstory also helps establish Sydney’s inner conflict about returning to Bascom and seeing Hunter John again. Her comment that she “hadn’t known the rules” highlights the implicit social hierarchy of the town and her understanding of her place in it.

“Sydney had hated everything about this house and this town. Even now she was trying to protect Bay from unnecessary strangeness, not explaining the garden or the apple tree to her, not telling her what being a Waverley meant in Bascom. It was only going to take one comment, one snub from someone, and Sydney would disappear again like smoke.”

Claire’s sense of rootedness in Bascom contrasts with Sydney’s wish to escape, making the sisters foils. This passage touches on Claire’s conflict as she doesn’t believe Sydney will stay; the image of disappearing smoke reveals how she fears that Sydney’s presence, even now, is not substantial. Claire identifies with being a Waverley, and she takes the indication that Sydney has not communicated with Bay about the family reputation as a sign that she continues to resist this identity.

“I thought you left because of me. I thought you left because I kept you from learning things, because I made you hate being a Waverley.”

Claire reveals part of her inner conflict here when she admits to Sydney that she feels guilty for making Sydney leave Bascom, using anaphora with “I thought you left” to emphasize the depth of her connection. Claire feels responsible for Sydney’s conflicted feelings about being a Waverley. The moment of confession is one of a series of small connections that help the sisters better understand one another and build a relationship.

“As crazy as this place is, the way people think, the sameness, is what makes it safe. Bay needs that. I’m her mother, I have to give that to her.”

Sydney’s acknowledgement of the need for rootedness presents a change in her thinking and leads her to identify more with Claire, who values stability and security. While Claire knew as a child that she wanted this sense of belonging, Sydney realizes this is a gift she can give Bay. Her thinking emphasizes the generational focus of the novel.

“Bay knew all along that they were going to leave Seattle […] They just didn’t belong there, and Bay knew where things belonged.”

Bay’s gift of knowing where things belong, which increasingly comes into play over the course of the story, helps establish her identity as a Waverley. This confirms the integration of Sydney and Bay into the Waverley family and home.

“If you eat an apple from that tree, you’ll see what the biggest event in your life will be. If it’s good, you’ll suddenly know that everything else you do will never make you as happy. And if it’s bad, you’ll have to live the rest of your life knowing something bad is going to happen. It’s something no one should know.”

The impact of Waverley plants and foods on the person who eats them illustrates the magical elements of the novel, using the sense of supernatural influence to play out conflicts in human relationships and connections. The danger posed by the gift of the apple tree, however, directly confronts the novel’s unresolved question about The Appropriate Exercise of Talent. Claire sees herself as taking on a guardianship role in trying to protect the citizens of Bascom from her tree, since she believes the gift could cause discomfort and even pain.

“Claire felt tears come to her eyes, a joy of birth, of redemption. Somewhere deep inside her, Claire had always known. It had been the source of all her jealousy when they were kids. Sydney had been born here. That was a gift, and this had always been inside Sydney, just waiting for her to embrace it.”

Claire’s asking Sydney to cut her hair is an important turning point in the relationship between the sisters. Thematically, it reveals Sydney’s gift for using hair to bring out a person’s best qualities. Claire calls this gift her Waverley magic, integrating Sydney into the family heritage in a positive way. Claire’s ability to be vulnerable and allow Sydney to change her appearance proves she is starting to let Sydney past her emotional defenses, an important step in Claire’s character growth.

“When people believe you have something to give, something no one else has, they’ll go to great lengths and pay a lot of money for it.”

Claire’s remarks to Sydney confirm the Waverley identity by the possession of unusual gifts, but they also question the appropriate exercise of talent and whether it is appropriate to take advantage of someone’s need or use for one’s talent. The hint of greed in this passage foreshadows the confrontation with David, who believes Sydney belongs to him.

“The flowers grown in our backyard are special. Or maybe it’s the way the dishes made from them are prepared that makes them so special. They can affect the eater.”

Sydney shows her understanding of the Waverley heritage in the matter-of-fact way she explains to Tyler what the edible plants from the Waverley garden do, and the effects they have. Enhancing the properties attributed to plants and giving them potent effects lends the urban fantasy conventions of the novel.

“Why should the Waverleys have so many beautiful apples, apples they didn’t even eat? And it was almost as if the apple tree wanted her to have them, the way they would roll to a stop at her feet.”

A brief history of the Waverley family and the source of their reputation around town describes how the apple tree has always been central to the family land and thus their identity. The apple tree, besides being a powerful symbol in the book, is personified as a part of the family, given anthropomorphic properties in its ability to throw apples and move items.

“She just doesn’t like when she can’t control things. Some people don’t know how to fall in love, like not knowing how to swim. They panic first when they jump in. Then they figure it out.”

Sydney uses the analogy of not knowing how to swim to describe Claire’s resistance to Tyler, despite her obvious interest. Claire’s character arc of falling in love with Tyler echoes the arc of several other major characters, who are all, in some way, in search of love or belonging. Claire has to overcome her “panic” and fear of abandonment to fully complete her journey.

“Some things couldn’t be explained. Some things could. Sometimes you liked the explanation. Sometimes you didn’t. That’s when you called it myth.”

Tyler’s reflection when he is told about the Waverley apple tree is to contemplate how stories become myths, and what it means when they do. While the origin or intentions of the apple tree are not entirely clear in the story, it holds a powerful influence on characters and events, as well as adding a fantastical element.

“Everything about Claire screamed fate. And everything that had brought him here to Bascom, following dreams that never came true, led him to this. The one dream that did.”

Tyler, like Sydney (and later, David), comes to Bascom in search of something. His quest is also a parallel to Bay’s in that he hopes to bring an image to life—in this case, the image he saw when he ate one of the Waverley apples. Realizing their dream of love and security is a goal most of the major characters in the novel share.

“I don’t know if [Lorelei] ever intended to stay, but when we came here, I knew I was never going to leave again. The house and Grandma Waverley were permanent things, and when I was young, that’s all I ever dreamed of.”

Claire’s confession to Sydney about why she took such solace in having a home and a nurturing parent, after her early childhood with their mother, provides a point of connection as the sisters develop their understanding of one another. This shared knowledge and connection advance the theme of healing generational wounds as Claire provides Sydney with an alternate perspective that will contribute to her decision to stay in Bascom.

“I just want you to know that I understand how you felt when you came here when you were six. I took everything I had here for granted. But I’ve come to realize this is the only security I’ve ever known.”

Corresponding to Claire’s confession, Sydney makes one of her own in telling Claire about her past 10 years. The moment connects the sisters not only on the basis of emotional intimacy but also by showing how they both know what it means to long for security.

“It was time to let him in. She was going to live or she was going to die. Tyler was going to stay or he was going to go. She had lived thirty-four years keeping everything inside, and now she was letting everything go, like butterflies released from a box.”

This is a turning point in Claire’s character arc as she decides to risk everything for a relationship with Tyler. The simile of released butterflies captures how Claire feels positive, even buoyant, about her decision to pursue a relationship with Tyler.

“There were tiny vines of thorns starting to sprout along the edge of the garden, so small and so well hidden that even Claire, who knew everything that happened in the garden, couldn’t see them yet.”

Part of what adds to the fantasy elements of the novel is the activities in the garden. Not just the tree, but the plants grow as warnings, first ivy and here, thorns. That Bay notices them suggests she feels at home here and is becoming attuned to things that are special to the Waverleys, thus becoming integrated into the family heritage.

“It tried so hard to be a part of the family when no one wanted it to be.”

The apple tree, which is a significant image throughout the novel, becomes a participating character in the last chapter, in particular when it helps protect the family. The tree is an example of a Waverley entity that understands and tries to use its gifts. It also contributes to themes of identity and belonging, as it evinces its desire to be a member of the Waverley family.