49 pages • 1 hour read
Meghan QuinnSo This Is War
Fiction | Novel | Adult | Published in 2024A modern alternative to SparkNotes and CliffsNotes, SuperSummary offers high-quality Study Guides with detailed chapter summaries and analysis of major themes, characters, and more.
Chapter 16-EpilogueChapter Summaries & Analyses
Chapter 16 Summary: “Levi”
Levi and Wylie chat in the kitchen the next morning. Levi feels lighthearted after their sexual encounters the night before. He tells Wylie she should spend the day working on her art.
In the locker room, Levi’s teammates tease him about his good mood. They guess that he’s sleeping with Wylie. Levi lies and insists nothing is going on. Wood appears and pulls Levi aside, demanding to know if he’s sleeping with Wylie. He lies, insisting everything is professional. He also suggests that Wood’s plan isn’t working and that Wylie should support the team’s charity so she can see how fun a corporate job might be. Levi is surprised when Wood gives in.
Levi texts the girlfriends updates about his night with Wylie. They’re happy for him and agree to let Wylie work with them on the team’s charity projects.
After winning his game, Levi races home. He’s thrilled to find Wylie naked and bound to his bed. He undresses and draws out her sexual excitement as long as possible. Finally, he unbinds her so they can have penetrative sex. After they both orgasm, they hold each other and talk. Levi says he wants to take care of and protect her.
The next day, Levi texts Wylie about a delivery he’s sending to the apartment for her, and they chat about their night together.
Chapter 17 Summary: “Wylie”
The delivery people arrive with several packages. Wylie is thrilled when she discovers a new leather chair and a side table. She’s also pleased when the delivery people place the Ficus on the table, too. Levi includes a note, saying these items are for Wylie to use while working on her art. That night, she’s sitting in the chair when Levi comes home. Wylie thanks him for the gifts and realizes he loves her in ways her father never has. Levi assures her she can work things out with Wood. After they hug and kiss, Wylie shows Levi the drawing she’s been working on. It’s of Patty Ford “with a man between her legs” (355). Levi is impressed and compliments her talent. He encourages her to email the drawing to Patty. Afterward, they have sex.
Wylie writes and rewrites her email to Patty. She attaches various drawings she’s done of Patty. On FaceTime, Levi encourages her to send the email, reminding her how proud he is of her.
Sandie comes over, and Wylie shows her the Patty drawings and tells her about her and Levi’s relationship. Sandie is happy for her.
Wylie meets with Penny, Blakely, Winnie, and Ollie about the upcoming charity event. They ask questions about Levi, eager to know the details and glad he’s being himself with her.
Chapter 18 Summary: “Levi”
After Levi returns from his away game, he sets up a dinner date in the living room. When she gets home, the romantic scene touches Wylie. Sitting together, they profess their love to one another. While they have sex, Levi tells himself he won’t let anything ruin their relationship.
The next day, Levi texts his teammates that he has something important he wants to tell them soon. They play well that night, and Wood congratulates Levi. Levi imagines what it’d be like if Wood approved of his relationship with Wylie.
After the game, Levi takes Wylie to a high-end jewelry store. He wants everyone to know she’s his and asks her to pick out several permanent bracelets. She chooses three, thrilled by the gesture. Back at home, they have sex and lie together talking. Wylie admits that she likes Levi’s possessiveness because it makes her feel special.
The next morning, Levi wakes up to Wylie screaming in the kitchen. He rushes out to see what’s going on, and she shows him an email from Patty. Patty wants to work with her and asks her to fly to Los Angeles that week. Levi congratulates Wylie. Wylie starts crying and demands that they have rough sex immediately to stop her from crying.
Chapter 19 Summary: “Wylie”
Wylie texts Levi before she meets with Patty. He encourages her and tells her to keep him updated. She travels to Patty’s office, where she meets with Patty and her assistant Deena. They develop a plan to work together. Wylie will draw pictures of customers having sex with Patty for a fee. They will offer tiered packages and have the customers outbid each other.
After his workout, Levi chats with Halsey in the gym. Halsey asks if he’s in a relationship with Wylie. Levi starts explaining how much he loves her when Wood passes through. Halsey leaves, and the locker room empties. Levi gets in the shower. When he gets out, he’s shocked to find Wylie there in a towel. She tells him how well everything went with Patty and straddles him on a bench. She insists it’s fine to have sex there because no one is around. Suddenly, Wood emerges and starts yelling.
Wylie and Wood get into an argument. Wood demands that she return to school and move back in with him. Wylie stands up to him, insists she loves Levi and accuses Wood of never investing in her life. She says she doesn’t want a relationship with him and storms out. In the hall, she kisses Levi and promises nothing will break them up. Andie appears, interrupting their conversation. After Wylie leaves, she calls Sandie for support.
Chapter 20 Summary: “Levi”
Andie pulls Levi into Wood’s office. Wood wants to fire Levi, but Andie says they can only fine him for having sex in the locker room.
Levi meets up with his teammates at the café. He explains everything that’s been going on and his recent run-in with Wood. They promise to support him and come up with a plan to appease Wood.
Levi returns home to find Wylie in the nanny's apartment. Wylie apologizes for everything that happened and suggests they break up so as not to jeopardize Levi’s job. He insists he wants to stay together, that it isn’t her fault, and that he’ll figure everything out. They have sex.
That night, Wood texts Wylie demanding to know where she is. She calls him to say she’s with Levi and they’re staying together. She then asks what happened with him and her mom. Her mom left when she was little, but she never knew why. He dismisses the question, and they argue about her relationship with Levi. She insists that she loves him, then begs Wood to work on their relationship. Wood says they should go their separate ways. After they hang up, Wylie cries and Levi comforts her.
Chapter 21 Summary: “Coach Wood”
Throughout the following games, Wood benches Levi. His other players start confronting him one by one about Levi. They tell Wood how good Levi has been to them and how good he’ll be to Wylie, too. Finally, Levi confronts Wood. He shows him a drawing Wylie made of him and Wood together when Wylie was little and urges Wood to invest in Wylie’s life before he loses her.
Chapter 22 Summary: “Wylie”
Wylie is working on a new drawing when Levi returns home. They talk about the game and their relationship before having sex.
Levi gets Wylie a jersey with his name for her to wear to the game. Wylie is thrilled to be in the arena with Penny, Blakely, Ollie, and Winnie. After the game, Wylie and Levi meet up. On their way out, they run into Wood. Wood asks to see Wylie, and they go into the arena to talk. He apologizes for everything he did. He explains that her mom was an artist and left him when he didn’t support her dreams. He tried to control Wylie because he was afraid of losing her like he did her mom. They make amends and hug. Afterward, Wylie meets up with Levi in the car. They talk about what happened, kiss, and drive home.
Epilogue Summary: “Levi”
Levi and Wylie spend Christmas together. Levi gives Wylie a gold necklace, and they eat bologna sandwiches with chips. Afterward, Wylie gives Levi a scrapbook of erotic images she drew of herself. They kiss and profess their love again.
Chapter 16-Epilogue Analysis
The final chapters of the novel develop the narrative’s explorations of Power Dynamics in Relationships and Identity and Self-Discovery Through Love. Ever since Wylie and Levi entered a consensual romantic and sexual relationship, their dynamic has become more balanced. The new lovers are no longer fighting for control over one another but are fighting for each other. They begin to support one another’s dreams, support each other through difficult emotional periods, and actively invest in preserving their relationships. These dynamics capture how a balance of power in romantic relationships provides opportunities for deeper forms of connection and levels of trust. At the same time, Wylie and Levi’s evolving romance encourages both protagonists to claim who they are as individuals and pursue their goals unhindered. This is, for example, why Wylie and Levi refuse to back down even after Wood discovers them together in Chapter 19. Wylie and Levi have learned how valuable they are as individuals and to each other. In standing up to Wood, they are therefore standing up for themselves, for each other, and for the love they’ve developed.
This final narrative sequence uses symbolism to underscore the depth of Wylie and Levi’s connection. Examples of these images include the furniture Levi gives to Wylie, Wylie’s Patty Ford drawings, the bracelets Levi buys for Wylie, and the Christmas gifts they exchange in the epilogue. The deliveries Levi sends to Wylie “offer [her] a space where [she] can curl up and let [her] art inspire” (352), as he writes to her. They are manifestations both of Levi’s love for Wylie and of his support for her creative aspirations. These home furnishings as well as the permanent bracelets he buys for her make Wylie “feel so cherished” and important (352). Levi’s desire to woo Wylie is inspired by his desire to show his appreciation for their relationship and his investment in her as a person. His love for her therefore ushers her along her journey of self-discovery and personal growth.
Meanwhile, Wylie’s Patty Ford drawings and erotica scrapbook are manifestations of her dreams, her determination, and her love for Levi. Although she doesn’t have her dad’s support, Wylie doesn’t give up on what she wants. Levi’s unconditional investment in her buoys her along the way and gives her the courage to stand up for herself and to fight for what she wants. Beyond this, using her artistic interests to depict sexual scenarios implies her desire for sexual liberation after her dad’s demands restrict her throughout the narrative. She is initially uncertain about reaching out to Patty Ford and pursuing art, but as she resolves her conflicts and becomes more confident, she enters a contract with Patty and offers drawings of herself to Levi. This indicates that she feels comfortable with both her artistic goals and her sexual relationship.
The final sequences of the novel also lead the narrative through its climax, descending action, denouement, and resolution. The locker room sex scene in Chapter 19 acts as the narrative climax as it forces the primary characters to make big decisions about their futures. It exposes Wylie and Levi’s secret love affair and compels them to articulate how they feel and what they need without fear or shame. Although they don’t immediately resolve their issues with Wood, Wylie and Levi embrace openness and honesty throughout this fraught interpersonal dynamic. Their behaviors in turn prove their integrity. Ultimately, their heartfelt discussions with Wood not only awaken Wood to his mistakes but resolve the lingering power struggles between the three characters. The drawing that Levi shows Wood of him and Wylie is particularly influential in this regard. The image symbolizes reconciliation and closeness, and it helps the characters realign their values and embrace love instead of combativeness. Finally, the epilogue grants the characters a peaceful, redemptive ending as they pursue a new future together.
