The Cost of Knowing

Fiction | Novel | YA | Published in 2021

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Summary

Background

Chapter Summaries & Analyses

Chapters 1-4

Chapters 5-8

Chapters 9-12

Chapter 13-Epilogue

Character Analysis

Themes

Symbols & Motifs

Important Quotes

Essay Topics

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Discussion Questions

Chapters 5-8Chapter Summaries & Analyses

Chapter 5 Summary: “The Dress”

When the brothers get home, Alex frets about all the ways his brother could die and resigns himself to the fact that he’ll likely be there when it happens. Talia is waiting for them in the kitchen, and she’s wearing the black sundress Alex saw in his vision of their fight. Isaiah falls off a stool, which sends Alex into a panic even though his brother is uninjured. Alex sends Isaiah to the safety of the couch and prepares some food for him. Alex remembers how he first fell in love with Talia years ago. The summer after his visions started, someone shoved Talia off the high dive at a public pool, and she panicked. Alex rushed to help her, saw a vision of them kissing when he touched her, and was so shocked that he nearly drowned, too. Back in the present, Talia kisses Alex and suggests they find some privacy, but Alex turns her down. He doesn’t want to tell her about his aversion to touch and his power because he’s not ready to admit he knew about Shaun’s death. With tears in her eyes, she asks, “Why can’t you tell me what you’re feeling?” (110). When he remains silent, she gathers her things and storms out of the house.

Chapter 6 Summary: “The Bedroom”

After Talia leaves, Alex sees that Isaiah is sleeping peacefully and decides to stay nearby to ensure that no harm comes to his little brother. Alex falls asleep and has a nightmare in which Talia screams at him for hiding the truth from her, digs his grave with her bare hands, and asks, “Shaun [....] Why didn’t you tell me?” (113). He wakes with a start, but he is relieved to see that Isaiah is smiling and joking in a way he hasn’t in years. Mrs. Zaccari and Aunt Mackie are in the kitchen. Mrs. Zaccari wants Santiam Estates to implement background checks before letting people rent out their homes. Her concern is prompted by the upcoming Shiv Skeptic concert. She asks Aunt Mackie to sign her petition, and she tries to pressure Alex and Isaiah into agreeing with her. The boys bristle at their neighbor’s assumptions about “the types of people” who listen to Shiv Skeptic compared to Nyein Chen, a 20-year-old violin virtuoso (124). Isaiah boldly speaks his mind and questions Mrs. Zaccari’s assumptions, but Alex tries to defuse the situation by going along with what she wants to hear.

Isaiah leaves the kitchen, and Alex starts to follow him but is distracted by a text from Scoop. His boss saw him at the cemetery this morning, knows he’s not sick, and won’t be able to open the store tomorrow unless Alex comes into work. Alex practices the breathing exercises his school guidance counselor taught him and sifts through his thoughts. The real reason why he feels he must go to work is because his father always placed a high degree of importance on honoring his commitments. He feels guilty for going against something his father taught him, but he decides that Isaiah must be his priority. Scoop asks Alex if he’s skipping work to go to the Shiv Skeptic concert, and Alex is so upset by his employer’s distrust that he has an anxiety attack.

Isaiah is waiting in Alex’s bedroom, and he offers to tell his older brother how they got their powers in exchange for information about his future. Alex is distracted by more texts from Scoop and by messages from Talia asking if she repulses him. Seeing Isaiah rap and dance to Shiv’s songs makes Alex realize that music is what makes Isaiah happiest, and he wonders if going to the concert could make their powers stop. Alex has enough money for two tickets, but it would reduce the amount he can give to Talia’s mother. Unbeknownst to his girlfriend, Alex has helped Mrs. Gomez pay her rent since Shaun’s death. After carefully weighing his options, Alex decides to help Scoop open the shop tomorrow so he can keep his job and send more money to the Gomez family.

Isaiah tells Alex that their family has had psychic abilities for hundreds of years. Through his visions, Isaiah can speak with his father, and he’s learned that their father knew he was going to die and that he wanted to prevent his sons from inheriting powers. Not wanting to burden his little brother with the truth of his imminent death, Alex tells Isaiah that he’ll earn a full-ride scholarship to Sutton University and marry a woman named Mandy. Isaiah keeps his side of the bargain by explaining how their family gained abilities. 400 years ago, their ancestor, King Takaa, ruled the Unguzi tribe in West Cameroon. King Takaa was slain in battle. As he lay dying, the king asked Osun, the orisha of water, to give him another life, one in which he didn’t feel fear and knew the unknowable. In his second life, King Takaa could see the consequences of his every action, and the overwhelming guilt drove him to jump off a mountain. Because of the slave trade, the Unguzi tribe no longer exists, and the two brothers are all that remains of their bloodline.

Isaiah asks Alex if he’s seen a future in which they get rid of their abilities, and he lies and says that he has. This fills his little brother with peace. Isaiah hypothesizes that their powers manifested after the accident because they were triggered by a near-death experience, and he suggests that facing their biggest fears could be the way to break the curse. Isaiah drifts off to sleep soon afterward. Alex buys the Shiv Skeptic tickets, which are much pricier than he expected, and hopes he’s doing the right thing.

Chapter 7 Summary: “The News”

In the morning, Alex washes dishes at Scoop’s while worrying about Isaiah’s safety and his relationship with Talia. He turns on the news and sees that someone was killed in a break-in at Santiam Estates. Terrified that his little brother was the victim, Alex tells Scoop that he has to leave but doesn’t explain what happened. Scoop warns him, “If you leave right now, [...] I can’t let you back”. Blinking back tears, Alex decides that “a man who doesn’t protect his family is no man” And hurries to his car (158).

Chapter 8 Summary: “The Block”

Alex is calm as he joins the crowd of people gathered on his block. Even after learning that the break-in was at the Martins’ house, he thinks that his little brother was the victim until he catches sight of Isaiah alive and well. Suddenly, all his anxiety floods back as his mind churns with worries about his brother’s safety. Isaiah was scared that Alex had been killed, and the brothers hug each other. Talia, who had been watching Isaiah that morning, urges the boy to come back inside: “After what happened out here today, I don’t think being around all these officers is a good idea” (168). Mrs. Zaccari asks why the two young Black men might not feel safe around the police, but Alex and Isaiah know she’s not prepared for an honest answer and opt to mollify her feelings. The person who was killed rented a house in the neighborhood and was shot by Mr. Zaccari, a former police officer, when he tried to enter a different house. Alex wonders if the victim truly was dangerous or if he just forgot which house was his rental.

Talia sends Isaiah back inside Aunt Mackie’s house and then asks Alex to join her for a walk. She apologizes for pressuring him to have sex and surprises him with tickets to the Shiv Skeptic concert. Her mother bought them to thank Alex for everything he’s done for their family. Talia knows now that he’s been sending her mother money, and she appreciates it. Alex worries that he would be distracted and wouldn’t be able to keep Isaiah safe if he went to the concert with both his girlfriend and his brother, so he tells Talia that he has to stay with Isaiah instead. The teenagers get into a fight, and Alex tells Talia that she needs to grow up. She retorts that he should act like he’s 16 for a change, and he furiously answers that he can’t because of who he’s lost and how people judge him. Talia is afraid that she’ll lose Alex like she lost her father and her brother, and he’s able to offer her little in the way of reassurance. She tells him, “It already feels like I have [lost you]” (182) and walks away. Alex’s one consolation is knowing that he’ll see Talia again when they have the fight he saw in his vision.

Chapters 5-8 Analysis

In the novel’s second section, Alex gains some answers but still feels as though his life is spiraling out of control. The protagonist demonstrates The Importance of Brotherhood by prioritizing Isaiah over his job and his relationship with his girlfriend. Advancing the theme of Fate Versus Free Will, Alex learns that his ancestor, King Takaa, changed his family’s destiny hundreds of years ago when he asked for the power to “‘see what cannot be seen’ and ‘know the unknowable’” (145). Takaa’s wish connects to the use of water as a motif for the theme of fate versus free will because the orisha of water granted his request. In the Yoruba religion of West Africa, orishas are nature spirits sent by the gods to help humanity. However, Alex and Isaiah see their powers as a curse rather than a gift, and they resolve to exercise their free will and face their greatest fears to break the curse.

This section expands upon the foreshadowing laid out in earlier chapters. For example, in Chapter 5, the ominous black sundress that Alex saw in a vision in Chapter 1 appears. This shows the protagonist and the reader that Alex’s foreshadowed fight with Talia is drawing closer. Chapter 5 also helps the reader understand why the teenagers’ relationship is deteriorating. Talia feels confused and rejected, even asking her boyfriend, “Am I disgusting to you?” (135). She knows that Alex is keeping things from her, and, with no other explanation forthcoming, she feels that the physical and emotional distance between them means she repels him. Alex’s reluctance to tell her the truth about his visions stems from his guilt over Shaun, which is a significant source of internal conflict for him. Alex’s dream in Chapter 6 echoes his fears while offering additional foreshadowing of their breakup. In the nightmare, Talia is distraught that Alex didn’t tell her that he knew about Shaun’s death, an actual conversation that plays out in Chapter 10. The guilt of Alex’s past sabotages his present and future.

Alex’s psychic abilities continue to act as an extended metaphor for mental health in these chapters. His narration in Chapter 6 makes a direct comparison between the two: “I realize just how light-headed all this is making me. The vision of Isaiah. The knowing it’s happening, only for it not to. That’s how my visions work. Much like my anxiety” (121). Later that same chapter, Alex has an anxiety attack when he feels like Scoop doesn’t trust him even though he’s been an exemplary employee for four years. Isaiah’s impending death exacerbates Alex’s anxiety in Chapter 7 as well. Overcome with fear for his little brother, Alex flees the ice cream shop without calling his loved ones to learn more about the break-in or explaining to his employer that someone in his neighborhood died that morning. He is fired as a result. As with Talia, Alex’s anxiety and inability to communicate his feelings and experiences to others makes life difficult for himself and those around him.

Alex’s financial anxiety and beliefs about employment are bound up in the theme of The Pressure to Grow Up Too Soon. Underpinning his fears and thoughts on the subject is the pressure to be a provider. When he was only 12 years old, his father taught him that “A man’s not a man without his paycheck” (138). Now at age 16, he feels duty-bound to abide by his beloved father’s lessons, to care for his little brother, to keep his job and his place of employment afloat, and to ensure that his girlfriend and her mother aren’t evicted. Not only are these burdens overwhelmingly heavy for a teenager’s shoulders, but they also conflict with one another. This is seen when Alex agonizes over purchasing the concert tickets in Chapter 6: “Maria is counting on me. Talia is counting on me. I can’t just spend every dime I have on concert tickets, even if it would be Isaiah’s last” (138). The Pressure to Grow Up Too Soon places the protagonist under extreme strain and leads to internal conflict. In Chapter 7, Alex begins to unpack what he’s been taught about what it means to be a man. He appreciates his father for instilling a strong work ethic in him. However, he decides that family is ultimately more important, and he acts on these convictions by going to Isaiah even though it costs him his job. As Alex faces pressuring situations, he learns what his true priorities are and what type of man he wants to be when he becomes an adult.

On top of financial concerns, Alex is pressured to grow up by society’s inequitable treatment of young Black men. Chapter 8 alludes to police brutality against Black men and boys by showing Talia and Alex’s anxiety about Isaiah being near the officers who come to investigate the break-in. In addition, Mr. Zaccari, the neighbor who killed the suspected thief, is a white former police officer. The events of the break-in foreshadow Mr. Zaccari’s murder of Isaiah in Chapter 12. Chapter 8 also examines white fragility as Mrs. Zaccari refuses to acknowledge police brutality or racism. Alex knows his neighbor can’t grasp what he faces daily and that it’s pointless to try to explain it to her. Her unwillingness to face reality forces frightened children to tiptoe around an adult’s feelings.

Although Talia is more sympathetic to Alex’s situation, she doesn’t fully grasp the pressure he’s under either. When she shows him the concert tickets in Chapter 8, what was meant to be a joyous moment of reconciliation and gratitude for the couple turns into a fight. Talia urges Alex to act his age for a change and go to the concert with her, but he retorts that prejudice precludes that: “You think any of these people see a kid when they see me?” (181). Alex is forced to grow up too soon by his personal losses and widespread discrimination, and it has a damaging impact on his mental health and personal relationships. Talia and Alex’s fight ends the section on a suspenseful note, leaving the reader unsure of the couple’s reconciliation.