The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue: Part 1, Chapter 17 Summary & Analysis

New York City. March 12, 2014. Addie feels better today. It’s sunny and much warmer. And New York is a great city, full of art, culture, and food. Addie loves how big it is. She could spend years in a place like New York and never see all there is to see. Now, Addie approaches a new bookstore called The Last Word, and she’s thrilled to find a place she’s never been before. The Last Word is a maze of bookcases with shelves stacked two and three books deep; Addie loves it immediately. As Addie browses, an orange cat knocks into Addie’s elbow.  

Addie hears a male voice from behind her note how the cat, Book, doesn’t usually interact with people. Addie turns and sees a boy who, for a moment, she thinks is the stranger. But this boy’s black curls are looser, and his eyes are gray, and he’s rather fragile. Addie continues to browse. The bell jingles as a girl walks through the front door and approaches the boy. Addie watches the boy smile bashfully as the girl reaches out to touch his arm.

Addie takes advantage of the boy’s distraction to slip the book underneath her arm and exit the shop. But just as she steps outside, the boy calls out to her and says she must pay for the book. Addie is shocked: how does he remember her? She apologizes and hands the book back. The boy examines it: why would she even bother to steal a tattered copy of The Odyssey, and written in Greek, no less? “Silly me,” Addie says. The boy nearly smiles, but then he stops and tells Addie to just take it.