'Twelfth' Book Club: Day 3 [End]

“There are always more battles to fight . . . But we keep fighting them. Maybe we don’t win right away or in exactly the way we want to, but we always win in the long run.”

Welcome to the final day of the OwlCrate Jr book club read-along for Twelfth by Janet Key. How will this incredible decades-long mystery wrap up? Will Camp Goodman be saved? Join me at the edge of my seat and let’s find out!

This is a spoiler discussion for pages 233 - 335, so if you haven’t finished the book yet, beware! You have until Wednesday, July 27th to get caught up and join in on the conversation. Anyone who participates in the discussion questions below will be entered to win a free OwlCrate Jr box, one per post!

The Story Concludes . . .

Maren is awoken by a surprise bunk inspection. Although Mr. Cairn doesn’t find anything incriminating, Maren now knows someone is watching Twelfth Team closely. When Maren believes the current clue is pointing them towards the beehives, Graham immediately wants to put a stop to their treasure hunt. To appease him, Maren, Theo, and Sal assure Graham they’ll re-think approaching the beehives, but then secretly agree between the three of them to go ahead with the original plan.

While speaking with Jo after dress rehearsals, Maren learns that Renee Wallace will be attending the gala, so Maren plans to head to the beehives herself to locate the ring before Renee. On the morning of the gala, Theo says they’re ill but the truth is they’re devastated because someone stole their camera and all the footage detailing the treasure hunt.

With the gala in full swing, Theo sneaks away to the beehives to catch the potential thief in the act. Maren is discovered sneaking away by Monty, who’s also lingering alone on the patio. Once Monty returns inside, Maren heads straight for the beehives and runs into a fleeing Theo. The two hide just as Charlotte Goodman’s ghost walks down the path back towards the camp. Maren and Theo are baffled when Theo suddenly smells smoke. Hurrying back, they see that the auditorium is on fire.

Back in 1953, Charlie and Emma confess their love for each other and plan to run away together. But on the day they plan to escape, Waymond discovers Emma’s goodbye letter earlier than they expected and he arrives at the studio angrier than ever.

Maren and Theo find themselves once more sitting on Jo’s sofa. It dawns on Maren that Jo, Mr. Cairn, and even Monty suspect Maren caused the fire. Desperate to prove their innocence, Theo re-tells the whole mystery, but at the mention of Charlotte Goodman’s ghost, Jo dismisses them. Renee shows up and offers to pay them whatever they want for the camp just as calls from alumni and families flood in with donations. When Jo doesn’t accept, Renee swears they’ll regret it.

Maren is absolutely distraught thinking they’ve lost the ring, but Theo assures her that the ghost put something back. Sal appears and reveals that Graham is in trouble, having gone to the hives by himself even though he’s allergic to bees. Theo and Sal hurry off to help him, but Maren stays behind thinking she’ll make everything worse.

Maren receives a phone call from Hadley and admits she’s angry at herself for not having realized how bad Hadley had gotten. Maren hangs up and takes off to help her friends, discovering Graham, Theo, and Sal being held by Renee and her cousin, Monty. Renee is desperate to find the ring she claims rightfully belongs to her and confesses to having burned down the camp’s auditorium. Maren carefully extracts the clue hidden in the hives and when Renee forcefully gets Graham stung, Maren agrees to solve the remaining clues for her.

Maren and Renee head to the clock in the village church and though they discover a small velvet box in the bell tower, it only contains another card. Renee is infuriated and tumbles down the winding staircase. They two are discovered by Lee August, Jo’s father. Police officers arrive and arrest Renee and Monty as Maren reveals everything she’s learned.

Maren confidently assures the gathered crowd that she and Theo did in fact see Charlotte Goodman because Charlie and Emma didn’t die in the fire years ago. The two survived, ran away to Europe as planned, and returned with their child, Jo. Charlie is Lee August, and they and Emma had sold the ring years ago to fund their escape. In Emma’s last year, she had created the treasure hunt as her final farewell to Charlie, leaving behind the sole surviving copy of their Twelfth Night film.

One year later, Maren and Theo welcome Theo’s hero, Quigley Forrager, to Camp Goodman to preserve Charlie and Emma’s film. This year’s production is A Midsummer Night’s Dream starring both Theo as Puck and Maren as Titania. Camp Goodman is safe, and the fight goes on.

Discussion Questions:

1. Which character in Twelfth is your favorite and why?
   
   
2. Share any other thoughts you had on Twelfth!

Thank you so much for joining us on this book club read-along and I hope you've enjoyed it as much as have. We’ll be back in a couple of weeks to read through our July book, to be revealed soon. Happy reading!

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