Today Tonight Tomorrow

This section of the novel functions firstly to fully establish the concept of Howl, a long-standing senior tradition at Westview High School. While the previous section merely foreshadowed the events of Howl, this section seeks to explain to readers not only the purpose of Howl within the history and context of the school but also within the context of the story’s central conflicts. With the description of Howl—what it is, how to win it, and what the rules are—readers are able to anticipate the coming events and conflicts that may be introduced as the game goes on. For instance, the principal conflict at this point revolves around Rowan’s desire to win Howl and beat Neil once and for all, at any cost. Inserting a detailed description of the game, and particularly the stakes at hand—i.e., a $5,000 prize—into the narrative creates tension and further entices the reader. Creating this tension, especially between known rivals Rowan and Neil, also pushes readers to pick a side based on what they have gathered about each character so far.

Similarly, this section of the novel also works to establish another central conflict: Delilah Park’s book signing, which will occur while the game is still in progress. The deeper issue, however, is Rowan’s sense of secrecy surrounding the signing of her favorite author. Rowan’s instinct to hide the event and her admiration for Delilah Park stems from a deep-seated shame of her love for romance novels. Rowan’s narration about the stigma against romance and women-oriented media creates tension in the narrative, as she has previously received harsh criticism from loved ones over her literary interests. In addition, this conflict affords readers an opportunity to better understand and empathize with Rowan, who is clearly negatively affected by what others think of her passion. As a high-achieving individual who is set on beating Neil, Rowan cares deeply about public perception and the approval of her loved ones and peers, which speaks to The Pressure to Live Up to Others’ Expectations. This theme recurs throughout the novel as Rowan grows more confident in her own interests and their validity, but at this point, she is very much concerned with approval, as we see in both her goal of winning Howl and being named valedictorian.

After introducing secondary characters Kirby and Mara in the previous section, these chapters seek to draw readers further into the dynamic that exists between Kirby, Mara, and Rowan. In particular, these chapters enable readers to realize that this friendship is in danger of sinking. Mara and Kirby insist that Rowan has been an absent and inattentive friend for the past few months, highlighting cracks in the friendship that Rowan has likely not previously recognized. Additionally, Kirby and Mara, who are also a couple, are in agreement and acting as a unit, so Rowan’s life is changing in more ways than simply leaving high school. As someone not involved in their romance, Rowan already exists on the outside of their relationship; after being told that she has essentially been a bad friend all year, Rowan is left to contend with how this friendship might dissolve as they all move on from high school. These changes to her main friendships signal to another major theme, The Difficult Experience of Growing Up and Embracing Change. For Rowan, high school ending is a pivotal change and a moment of growing up. The conflict with Mara and Kirby helps illustrate the difficulty of this period of time; growing up often means changing, and Rowan’s friends have noticed a change in her behavior. Rowan will need to choose to embrace this change for the sake of her friendships and her own growth, and the tension surrounding the conflict with Mara and Kirby speaks to the difficulty of growing up and embracing such change.

Lastly, this section establishes conflict through the character of Savannah Bell, a fellow senior who is determined to take both Rowan and Neil out of the game. Rowan is privy to Savannah’s gameplan, which is significant because it establishes that Rowan is not as liked by her peers as she would hope. Indeed, she is surprised when she overhears Savannah’s plan, even shrieking when Neil approaches her unannounced. This overheard conversation also works to create tension and intrigue, as Rowan must now strategize to take out not only Neil but also Savannah and her posse. Moreover, it spawns an unlikely alliance between Rowan and Neil, thus driving much of the future action in the plot.