Four Directions

“‘I wanted to talk to you….I wanted to tell you…Rich and I are getting married.’” This is the climax of the chapter. All of the anecdotes and explanations lead up to Waverly telling her mother of her engagement. It is the part of the chapter where everything comes together.

“And hiding in this place, behind my invisible barriers, I knew what lay on the other side: Her side attacks. Her secret weapons. Her uncanny ability to rind my weakest spots. But in the brief instant that I had peered over the barriers I could finally see what was really there: an old woman, a wok for her armor, a knitting needle for her sword, getting a little crabby as she waited patiently for her daughter to invite her in.” In this quote, Waverly realizes that she had read her mother completely wrong. She had thought for a long time that her mother was intentionally making snide comments and stabbing her with little barbs. In reality, however, her mother was only waiting for Waverly to include her in her life and to tell her things.

Today many mothers and daughters have problems with miscommunication. Mothers try to get their daughters to share details from their lives and their daughters resent them because they think their mothers are prying.



"a wok for her armor"



"a knitting needle for her sword"