Opening
A TV broadcast forces a Catholic school to reckon with its prejudice, thrusting a six-year-old into the public eye before his first day of class. At home, his parents split over how to protect him, while at school a hardline principal turns his difference into a target. What follows is a week of silence, lies told to spare loved ones, and the quiet birth of a lifelong fight for dignity.
What Happens
Chapter 11: The News
Samuel 'Sam' Hill repeats the name Sister Beatrice gave him—“Devil Boy”—to his reflection, tasting the insult as if it might be true. His father, Maxwell Hill, gently floats the idea of returning to public school to avoid trouble, but Sam won’t commit. That night, their tidy dinner routine breaks when Madeline Hill turns on the TV. The local news runs a story about a Catholic school refusing a boy because of his red eyes, and Maxwell sits stunned.
On-screen, Madeline holds up Sister Beatrice’s letter and condemns Our Lady of Mercy for betraying the values it teaches. The reporter notes Sister Beatrice isn’t available to comment. The parish pastor, Father Brogan, appears rattled, calling the situation a “misunderstanding” and denying discrimination. The segment ends with Madeline saying she hopes the “misunderstanding” is corrected. Immediately, the phone rings—Father Brogan. Madeline accepts his apology and confirms that Sam will start first grade at Our Lady of Mercy in the morning.
Chapter 12: A Bed of His Own Making
Tension settles over the Hill home. From upstairs, Sam hears his parents arguing: Maxwell believes Madeline’s media stunt paints a target on their son and that Sam will bear the fallout at school; his plan is to help Sam blend in and avoid attention. Madeline refuses to let fear set their boundaries. She insists that discrimination must be confronted, not evaded, even if the fight is messy.
When Madeline reveals that Sister Beatrice called Sam “devil boy,” Maxwell is horrified. Madeline vows the nun won’t be principal for long. Later, she finds Sam crying and reframes his difference as purpose: “God gave you extraordinary eyes, Samuel, because he intends for you to lead an extraordinary life.” She urges faith and patience, arguing that cruelty comes from ignorance. Alone in the dark, Sam feels unconvinced. He imagines smashing his piggy bank of prayers and spends them all on a single wish: normal eyes.
Chapter 13: Righteousness
A nightmare arrives like a prophecy: a black crow pecks at Sam’s eyes. He wakes the same as before—prayers unanswered, eyes still red—and understands that his mother’s fight is about righteousness, not just admission. His parents film him getting ready for school with a home movie camera; his fear trembles on the film even as they coax smiles.
Maxwell suggests celebrating at Santoro’s after school, over-bright with hope. Sam is too nauseous with dread to care. Madeline is calm and precise: he’ll be in Sister Kathleen’s 1B, and his presence makes an even two dozen—perhaps a lucky sign. The optimism feels fragile, like a promise made against the weather.
Chapter 14: A Hard Lesson Learned
At Our Lady of Mercy, the media storm Madeline stirred has already gathered. A news crew, onlookers, and murmurs turn Sam’s first day into a public reckoning. Sister Beatrice stands at the gate with the implacable poise of the Blessed Mother statue behind her. She greets Sam with impersonal formality that chills more than open scorn.
When Madeline moves to walk her son in, Sister Beatrice stops her, citing a rule about visitor passes “to protect the children.” Madeline kneels to give Sam a brave goodbye—she believes he’ll have the best first day ever—and watches him follow Sister Beatrice into the courtyard. Then the principal turns and delivers a lesson disguised as doctrine: “Arrogance is a sin, Mr. Hill. God punishes the arrogant. Humility will be taught, and it will be a hard lesson learned.”
Chapter 15: The Perfect Plan
The cruelty Sam dreaded doesn’t come as blows—it comes as air. His classmates stare and then refuse to see him. He is not included in games, not invited into conversations; the word “Devil Boy” floats past like a draft. Silence becomes a daily verdict.
At home, his parents’ hope becomes its own burden. To protect them, Sam invents a joyous school life: friends, kickball, belonging. They beam, believing the victory is real. He tells himself they’re white lies—kindnesses. The plan threatens to unravel when Madeline suggests he invite his new friends over. Panic spikes. The chapter closes on a promise that this quiet isolation will not last—it will get louder.
Character Development
These chapters chart the first battlefield of Sam’s identity: what the world names him versus who he might become. Each parent embodies a strategy for survival, and Sister Beatrice becomes the face of institutional harm that cloaks itself in virtue.
- Samuel “Sam” Hill: Internalizes the slur “Devil Boy,” then resists by crafting a protective fiction for his parents. He learns early to manage other people’s feelings—even at the cost of his own.
- Madeline Hill: Emerges as a fearless strategist who leverages public pressure and faith to confront injustice. She reframes Sam’s difference as destiny and refuses quiet compliance.
- Maxwell Hill: Loving but cautious, he prioritizes safety through assimilation. His fear of backlash pits him against Madeline’s public defiance.
- Sister Beatrice: Establishes herself as a punitive antagonist who weaponizes religious language to intimidate a child and his mother.
- Father Brogan: Embodies institutional self-preservation—quick denial in public, quick apology in private.
Themes & Symbols
These chapters crystallize Parental Love and Sacrifice into two philosophies: Madeline’s sword versus Maxwell’s shield. Her media campaign forces the institution to act, but Maxwell’s worry—about the costs a child will pay for adult battles—haunts every scene. Public victory doesn’t erase private risk, complicating Overcoming Otherness and Prejudice: policy changes under pressure, while hearts and hallways stay cold.
Sam’s unanswered prayers and recurring dread test Faith and Doubt. Madeline’s theology centers purpose in suffering; Sam’s lived experience—fear, stigma, silence—pushes back. Meanwhile, Bullying and Its Lasting Impact arrives as erasure rather than attacks. Sister Beatrice’s threat sanctions the social shunning that follows, showing how authority can authorize cruelty without touching it.
Symbol: The crow nightmare embodies Sam’s fear that his very eyes invite violence. Its repetition turns private terror into an emblem of the constant vigilance required to move through a world eager to cut him down to size.
Key Quotes
“Devil Boy.” Sam’s whispered rehearsal shows how stigma invades the self. By trying the name on in private, he tests—and resists—the identity others want to force on him.
“God gave you extraordinary eyes, Samuel, because he intends for you to lead an extraordinary life.” Madeline transforms a perceived defect into vocation. The line anchors her moral framework: difference as destiny, not deficiency, even if Sam can’t yet believe it.
“Arrogance is a sin, Mr. Hill. God punishes the arrogant. Humility will be taught, and it will be a hard lesson learned.” Sister Beatrice fuses doctrine with domination, turning theology into a threat. The “lesson” she promises frames future cruelty as moral education, absolving herself in advance.
“A misunderstanding.” Father Brogan’s euphemism minimizes harm and protects the institution. The contrast between public denial and a private apology exposes the politics of reputation over repentance.
“Righteousness.” Sam’s name for his mother’s fight recasts the conflict from access to moral struggle. He grasps that they aren’t just entering a school—they’re entering a battleground of values.
Why This Matters and Section Significance
This sequence ignites the novel’s central conflict: Sam’s difference, placed under a spotlight, collides with a system invested in its own innocence. Madeline’s victory gets him through the gate, but Sister Beatrice’s warning makes clear that acceptance will not follow admittance. The parental divide—fight loudly or survive quietly—becomes the pressure that shapes Sam’s choices, from the lies he tells to the courage he will need. The silence that greets him at school is only the beginning; the story signals that the next blows will be more direct, and the lessons far costlier.