The Maze of Bones

“She had treated him and Amy like real people, not kids.”

This quote describes the unique nature of Amy and Dan’s relationship with Grace. Amy and Dan appreciate that Grace respects their intelligence and autonomy. However, Grace leaves them in the care of Aunt Beatrice, who neglects them, forcing them to live more independently than any child should. Dan works to make his own money at age 11, while Amy manages the logistics of their lives at 14. In a way, Grace treating them like real adults prepares them for the clue quest and the many dangers that lie ahead, as it required them to mature and learn skills that prove useful in the quest.

“‘Stop that,’ Dan told himself. You’re getting sentimental.”

This quote is an early example of Dan’s inner conflict with his own emotions, establishing the need for Reckoning with Past Trauma. His negative self-talk shows that he views sentimentality as weakness. He divides himself in two, projecting an easygoing, if energetic and distractible, exterior while hiding a much lonelier, grief-stricken core. In contrast to Amy, who expresses difficult emotions like panic and embarrassment more transparently, Dan actively hides his feelings even from his sister. The photo of his parents functions like a crack in Dan’s emotional armor; whenever he looks at it or thinks about it, his feelings of yearning and grief come bubbling up.

“Sometimes in her nightmares, she dreamed she was at the bottom of a giant pit, and all the people she knew were staring down at her, laughing.”

Amy’s dream serves as a visual metaphor for her deepest fear and the heart of her emotional arc. Whenever Amy faces a challenge, particularly a social or emotional challenge, her first instinct is to run away and hide. The dark pit symbolizes that process of retreating from a more present and full-bodied experience of life. The laughter and ridicule speak to Amy’s deep-seated insecurity about her quietness and inability to express herself. This moment ends up being foreshadowing, as Amy and Dan do find themselves at the bottom of a dark pit while the Holts look down from above, laughing at them. Amy’s deepest fear gets realized, and she survives, finding more strength to speak up.

“Angry voices filled the Great Hall. It was like they were tearing up Grace bit by bit.”

This quote points to one of the main themes of the book: The Damaging Power of Greed. The language of the quote dehumanizes Grace, comparing her to the recently destroyed bank notes or an animal being torn apart by predators. This dehumanization parallels the way the selfish and greedy family members see Grace as a means to an end—a road to wealth or power rather than a beloved grandmother or even a human being. This greed brings out a corresponding animalistic violence in them that they ultimately unleash on their competitors throughout the clue quest. Due to their comparatively selfless nature and their personal connection with Grace, Amy and Dan can see the violence clearly and react with disdain.

“It’s a lot of money, Dan told her. A lot of awesome baseball cards.

Mom and Dad would want us to try, Amy replied with her eyes. This is what Grace wanted us to do.”

Amy and Dan know each other so well that they are able to communicate wordlessly and interpret each other’s expressions. This moment provides the emotional motivation for accepting the call to adventure and going on the clue quest. Unlike all their relatives who take the challenge for reasons related to greed, Amy and Dan accept the challenge for family. They view the challenge as a way to make their parents proud and honor Grace’s wishes—a nobler and more personal motivation. When the clue quest grows increasingly difficult and dangerous, Amy and Dan can refer to this moment and find the strength to continue on.

“Amy could’ve lived in the secret library. Instead, she almost died there.”

This opening line to Chapter 5 exemplifies the narrator’s voice and style. The narrator favors short, pithy sentences that get straight to the point, favoring clarity and speed over lyricism or ornament. The parallel structure of the sentence, emphasizing the opposition between “lived” and “died,” gives the line a rhythmic flair. As in many other chapter openers, the narrator plays with the timeline, dropping in a detail from later in the chapter to create suspense. Knowing that Amy is going to nearly die invites the reader to wonder when the danger will arrive, adding tension to every scene.

“There was nothing they could do. A section of the roof crumpled, belching a fireball into the sky. Despair crushed the air right out of Amy’s lungs, like the house was collapsing on top of her.”

This passage uses vivid and violent word choice to illustrate the moment Grace’s mansion collapses and highlight the siblings’ helplessness. The colorful description of the burning roof “belching a fireball” personifies the house and portrays the carnage as some kind of living monster. The internal rhyme between “despair” and “air” gives the description a hint of lyricism, slowing down the reader briefly to allow the siblings and the reader to take in the scene. The narrator uses a simile to compare the collapse of the house with Amy’s despair, highlighting the crushing, paralyzing intensity of her feeling. This also points to the amount of pressure she feels to succeed in the clue hunt, keep her brother safe, and face her social and emotional fears.

“He wanted to collect other photos of them. He wanted to know where else they traveled and what they wore. We wanted to see a picture that had him in it. But there was nothing to collect.”

Dan examines the photo of his parents. Briefly, Dan’s exterior self—the easy-going, distractible collector—merges with the inner self that misses his parents. His collecting instinct becomes clearer, tied to his wish to learn about a topic in depth and understand the way it works. Dan’s desire to collect more photos of his parents thus speaks to a deeper desire to collect information about them: who they were and how they interacted with him. His desire to find a photo with him in it speaks to a more emotional desire to experience, even if vicariously, a moment of familial happiness.

“Dan grinned with delight. ‘He’s proposing a scientific study of different fart smells. You’re right, Amy. This guy was a genius.’”

This quote exemplifies the humor that runs through the story, particularly in characterizations of Dan. While Amy takes Franklin’s life and history very seriously, Dan finds one of Franklin’s lesser known and more humorous works about flatulence more interesting. This passage references a real historical document Franklin wrote and points to author Rick Riordan’s particular interest in making history fun and accessible to young readers. Including this essay demonstrates that history can be silly and fun and that seemingly mythic, untouchable historical figures can be goofy and relatable.

“The old lawyer hesitated. ‘In the Franklin Institute, you said you warned the Starlings they were in danger.’

‘Of course we did,’ Amy said.

‘They wouldn’t have done the same for you.’”

After receiving the black light from McIntyre, the siblings want to know why he helps them even though he is supposed to remain neutral. This quote reveals his motivation and locates the siblings as the moral heart of the novel. Even as the danger escalates, Amy and Dan remain steadfast in their understanding of right and wrong. While their competitors would happily see Dan and Amy harmed if it would knock them out of the competition, Dan and Amy refuse to compromise their morals, which ultimately wins them favor and assistance from McIntyre.

“‘Oh wow, I love your album!’ Nellie said.

‘Thanks’ Jonah said. ‘Now shut up.’

Nellie looked like she’d been slapped.

‘Hey!’ Dan cried. ‘That’s not cool!’

‘What?’ Jonah said. ‘She’s not a Cahill. I’m not talking to her.’”

This exchange demonstrates Jonah’s elitism and offers important context to the way Cahills fit into the fabric of society. Early on in the novel, McIntyre listed notable historical figures who were Cahills, like Abraham Lincoln and Eleanor Roosevelt. These figures had power, influence, and likely substantial fortunes to contribute to their personal achievements. Jonah has interpreted the family legacy in Hollywood terms, treating the Cahill family like an exclusive in-group that signifies a family member’s superiority. He does not feel a need to treat non-Cahills with any respect. Dan and Amy, meanwhile, have been growing closer to Nellie and see her as a pseudo-family member, a parental surrogate or older sister whom they can actually depend on.

“Once he won this contest, he would become the most powerful Cahill of all time. No one would ever laugh at him again.”

This line comes from the inner monologue of Eisenhower Holt as he thinks about his motivations for joining the clue hunt. While the Holts mostly function like comic relief, frequently deploying their brute strength ineffectually and making slapstick mistakes, this passage reveals Eisenhower’s emotional inner life. He knows people consider him unintelligent and feels great shame about the ways he has failed to measure up. He sees this quest as a way to win respect that has been denied and that he fears he does not deserve. While the Holts continue to behave in a vicious and cruel way, this passage encourages readers to sympathize with Eisenhower, whose fear of ridicule slightly mirrors Amy’s.

“Amy’s hands started to tremble. This was just like her nightmares… stuck in a pit, a crowd of people laughing at her. But this was real.”

This quote calls back to an earlier passage introducing Amy’s innermost fears. She frequently has this nightmare and fears ridicule and attention more than anything else. Now Amy has to face up to her fear in real life. Amy struggles to get through this moment, relying on Dan to speak on her behalf.

“All in all, she looked pretty scary. Then she grabbed Amy and Dan and hugged them fiercely.”

This moment marks the turning point in the siblings’ relationship with Nellie. After hiding the truth about the 39 clues and omitting the reality of the danger, they finally come clean to Nellie. They expect punishment and rejection, thinking that Nellie will behave like every other adult and relative they have encountered, so they are shocked when she responds with warmth and loyalty. Nellie firmly situates herself on the siblings’ side and volunteers to help them fight off their competitors. Nellie steps into a pseudo-familial role, embodying more family connection and intimacy than any of their blood relatives.

“He wondered if they’d be proud of him for getting out of that pit last night, or if they’d be all protective like Amy: You almost got yourself killed, blah blah blah. He decided they would’ve been cooler than that. They’d probably had tons of dangerous adventures.”

Because Dan was so young when his parents died, he barely has any memories of life with them. As a result, he guesses and fantasizes about what they were like, using the references he has around him. His first frame of reference for defining family is Amy, whom he defines as protective, if annoying. He then imagines them as “cool,” a word he previously used to describe Grace. As he and Amy embark on this dangerous adventure, he imagines his parents doing the same kind of thing in an effort to feel connected to them and to imagine that they could relate to what he is experiencing.

“His eyes glittered, like a starving man looking at a Big Mac. ‘Let’s be honest, eh? We all believe Grace gave you inside information.’”

This line comes from a conversation between the siblings and Alistair Oh in which Alistair reveals why the other teams seem so focused on harming Amy and Dan. The simile, which uses the narrator’s signature colloquial humor, emphasizes Alistair’s greedy motivations, In this case, he demonstrates how he and the other family members are hungry for information, jealous of any favoritism Grace showed to Amy and Dan, and resentful to such an extreme degree that they will try to harm Amy and Dan. Alistair’s obvious greed keeps the siblings from trusting him at all, preventing any chance of an alliance or positive familial relationship.

“Amy hated crowds, but the idea of plunging into the middle of seven million dead people didn’t bother her.”

This line calls back to an introductory passage characterizing Amy by her fear of crowds and tendency to freeze up when too many people are looking at or depending on her. This line humorously reframes Amy’s hatred of crowds by comparing it to a strength—namely, her fearlessness when forging ahead into the Catacombs. The parallel illustrates how much Amy’s character has developed: She has faced some of her deepest fears and survived.

“‘One move and I’ll—I’ll crush the skulls. You’ll never get the numbers.’

It didn’t sound like a very convincing threat, even to her, but Ian paled.”

This line comes from a high-tension exchange between Amy and the Kabras and marks a significant turning point in Amy’s journey to find her voice. For the first time, Amy manages to respond to the Kabras in real time, standing up to their demands. By threatening to destroy the skulls, Amy gains the upper hand in the conflict, forcing the Kabras to negotiate with her. Amy doesn’t even fully believe in the power of her voice at this point and worries immediately that her threat won’t be convincing. However, the effectiveness of her threat ends up building her confidence further.

“She held her brother, who was crying harder than he had since he was little.”

This moment marks an important turning point in Dan’s character arc. He has just lost the backpack containing the photo of his parents and can no longer hide how he feels. Amy specifically notes how Dan’s tears remind her of the way he used to cry when he was younger. Dan views his emotional repression as a kind of maturity and relies on that emotional compartmentalization to deal with having to be an independent child with no reliable parent or guardian. The near-death experience on the train tracks shows him that he needs to face those feelings and be more emotionally honest with his sister if he wants to move on.

“Grace didn’t care enough to tell you about the quest in person. If Dan had died in that rail pit, it would’ve been Grace’s fault. No, she decided. That wasn’t true. Grace must’ve had a reason.”

Amy’s inner monologue debates the purpose and morality of Grace’s decision to send her young descendants on this dangerous clue quest. The reality of the danger sinks in for Amy when Dan nearly gets seriously hurt on the train tracks, and she begins to see the moral ambiguity of the whole quest. This moment points to the ambiguity of Grace’s character and the contradictions that complicate her legacy. While she was a loving, present grandmother, she left the siblings in a neglectful and loveless home. While she has tremendous resources and knowledge to share, she bequeaths it via a competitive quest that pits her descendants against each other. Amy’s own steadfast commitment to her moral values causes her to reevaluate Grace despite her belief that her grandmother had important reasons to lead them on the quest.

“‘A fire.’ Amy clutched her jade necklace. ‘Like Grace’s mansion. Like what happened to our parents. We haven’t changed in all these centuries. We’re still trying to destroy each other.’”

Amy and Dan make a significant discovery in the Catacombs: a mural depicting the original four siblings fighting while somebody’s house burns down. They notice the parallels between the fire that killed their parents and the fire that burned down Grace’s house. The intrafamily conflict seems to be a cycle that keeps repeating generation after generation. The siblings take in the gravity of the conflict, realizing that they’ve been affected by it for their entire lives.

“Dan and Nellie stared at her in amazement, but Amy didn’t care. She didn’t care how valuable the vial might be, either. She’d had enough of the Cahill family’s backstabbing. She was so angry she did feel like throwing the glass cylinder against the floor.”

This moment signifies the completion of Amy’s emotional arc. She has found her voice and figured out how to speak up on behalf of her beliefs and ideals. While she loves using her skills to investigate and wants to make her parents and grandmother proud by going on adventures, she is unwilling to sacrifice everything for the clue. She especially isn’t willing to put her brother in harm’s way or give in to the traitorous, backstabbing tactics used by her relatives. After seeing the mural and realizing how far back in time the Cahill conflict goes, Amy is willing to sacrifice the treasure if it means breaking the cycle of conflict.

“CRACCCK! The sky exploded. Sparks rained down all around her, hissing on the wet tiles.”

This is the climax of the novel. As Amy and Dan race to the roof to charge the vial, all the other families remaining in the quest converge on the church to stop them. As Amy reaches the apex of the church, the action of the book reaches its metaphorical apex. The narrator uses vivid diction and an onomatopoeia to describe the explosive intensity of the lightning strike and the deafening sound. The sibilance of “sparks” and “hissing” evoke the sizzle of the hot, burning material, while the hard consonance in the word “CRACK” punches through the prose, mimicking lightning.