After the fire, Pearl has a hard time getting back to normal. At first she wants to lock herself in a room and throw away the key, but eventually she decides—or is forced—to go back to school. She still feels guilty over Hoyt's death and doesn't want to talk about it much, but at least she's taking classes instead of hiding away. In fact, she takes Spanish so she can run off to Mexico in search of Amiel.
As the book ends, we wonder what will happen if and when she finds him there. Will they be together forever? Will he even want to see her again? Do we have any indication that their relationship will last beyond just a summer fling? Is Pearl really just running away from dealing with Robby, Agnès, and her dad by staying in Fallbrook? Yeah, that's a lot of questions. And since the book doesn't answer them, we're left to do so for ourselves. So over to you, Shmoopsters.