Nineteen
Contains spoilersOverview
Three weeks after returning to the city, Linus secretly gathers case files until Doreen delivers his approved report, securing Marsyas as a home. He quits DICOMY and journeys back with Helen’s help.
Reunited with the children, Linus promises to stay and help others. After confessing his choices to Arthur, he’s asked to remain, and they seal their commitment with a kiss.
Summary
Three weeks pass in gray routine as Linus dreams of the island and quietly reviews old cases, smuggling files from DICOMY to pursue broader change. Doreen arrives with his final report, signed by Werner, George, Plumb, and Rogers—recommendation approved. The decision confirms Marsyas will remain a home.
Buoyed, Linus challenges the office’s complacency, then leaves quietly, resigning from DICOMY. He tells his neighbor Ms. Klapper he’s leaving for good, packs Calliope, and boards a train toward the sea, determined to make a new life where he belongs.
In the village, Mayor Helen spots him, arranges Merle’s ferry, and drives him to the dock. At sunset, she delivers Linus back to the island, urging him to say what matters. Linus first finds Talia in the garden; emotions break, and she forgives him conditionally, sending him to face the others.
Before the house, Linus admits past mistakes, quotes Sal’s poem, and announces the home’s safety. The children confer and set terms: help in the garden, monthly days in the woods, laundry with tips, buttons for Theodore, being called Linus, and comfort for Lucy’s nightmares. Linus accepts them all, explaining he left to be their voice and to protect them.
Privately, Linus tells Arthur he argued forcefully before Extremely Upper Management, stole files to help other children, and quit because DICOMY wasn’t home. He declares he belongs here and asks to be asked again. Arthur answers, “Stay. Here. With us. With me.” They kiss as the children cheer from the windows, and the day ends in hard-won peace.
Who Appears
- Linus Baker
Protagonist; steals files, gets his report approved, resigns DICOMY, returns to Marsyas, accepts the children’s conditions, pledges to stay.
- Arthur Parnassus
Headmaster; wary at first, hears Linus’s confession, asks him to stay, and seals their commitment with a kiss.
- Lucy
Leads the children’s council, sets conditions, questions Linus’s departure, and pushes the adults toward honesty.
- Talia
First to reunite with Linus; threatens burial, then forgives him and demands gardening help as a condition.
- Helen
Mayor; arranges the ferry, drives Linus to the dock, and encourages him to speak his heart.
- Zoe Chapelwhite
Landlord and ally; amused witness to the reunion, shepherds the children indoors, watches from the window.
- Phee
Sprite child; initially glaring, demands monthly days in the woods with Zoe and Linus.
- Sal
Anxious poet; his words inspire Linus’s speech, relaxes when the home’s safety is confirmed, asks to call him Linus.
- Chauncey
Aspiring bellhop; fidgets with excitement and wins the right to do Linus’s laundry—with tips.
- Theodore
Button-collecting wyvern; chirps and roars, securing a promise for every button Linus can find.
- Doreen (Ms. Bubblegum)
DICOMY aide; delivers Linus’s approved report and pointedly nudges him toward the life he wants.
- Ms. Jenkins
Supervisor; glares, questions Linus at the exit, hears him declare he’s going home.
- Merle
Curmudgeonly ferryman; reluctantly transports the truck to the island at Helen’s insistence.
- Ms. Klapper
Neighbor; shocked by Linus’s departure, hears he quit and may gift her family his house.
- Calliope
Linus’s cat; meows approval, races to the garden, and rubs against Sal during the reunion.