Book 3 Listicle: Ashes to Ashes

After being bullied by Reeve in Middle school Mary takes her life. After taking her own life Mary's spirit is trapped on Jar Island until she frees her spirit. Flash forward to the future now in high school, Reeve is the star player on the football team, he's popular, and he's homecoming king.  Now Marry is a ghost and she has come back to haunt him. Mary believes the only way for her to be freed from Jar Island is if Reeve takes his own life. Instead of taking his life she ends up saving his life. The question that remains is: Is Mary a villain or a hero?

1-She's totally a villain.
She tries to kill Reeve multiple times in the book. She starts by trying to kill him in his dreams by penetrating his mind at night when he sleeps. "I visit Reeve night after night. I meet him in his dreams." Then she tries to drown him when he's in a pool alone.
When that doesn't work she gets him to try to kill himself because of what he did to her many years ago.

2-She's a hero.
She saves Reeve, Lillia, and Kat when the house bursts into flames. Without her they would've all died. Even though she was the one that caused the house to burst into flame to begin with. "They will die if I don't do something. They will die just like I did. For no good reason at all."

3- She's a villain.
She gets mad at Lillia for betraying her by dating Reeve. As revenge Mary tries to hurt Lillia and Reeve. She also tears apart Lillia's room when she's not home. In addition she also RSVP's Lillia to a gala she wasn't going to go to. "I flip on the light switch, and then I let out a scream. My room is completely trashed. Clothes are everywhere. My down pillows have been slashed open and feathers float through the air. The belly of my stuffed rabbit has been slashed too, and his beany insides spill out onto the carpet. My perfume bottle is shattered on the vanity table; glass is everywhere. My dollhouse is smashed. And there is Mary, sitting cross-legged on my floor in the middle of it all."

4- She's a hero.
She tries to drown Reeve in the pool but during his last few seconds between life and death she decides to let him go and live. Even though she did try to drown him and he was just seconds away from death she let him go and he was able to live because she decided to let him go free. "I couldn't do it. After all this time, after all he's done to me, I couldn't do it."

 

 

5- She's a villain

She goes and burns Kat's letter of recommendation before her source sends it to her. She does this because Kat works at the place that is trying to "preserve" the house where Mary lived before she took her own life. "To Whom It May Concern: I am writing to highly recommend acceptance of Katherine DeBrassio to Oberlin College. I have worked with Katherine for the last several months on a preservation project here on the island and am so impressed with the character... It goes on and on, full of praise, glowing praise, detailing what a hard and motivated  worker Katherine DeBrassio is. How she'd be as asset to any college. Ah. Yes. I get it. It makes me extra mad, knowing that she's helped the place that basically stole our family house. I pick the letter up between two fingers, blink, and the thing goes up in flames." 

In conclusion the obvious answer to the question of whether Mary is a hero or villain is she's a villain. Mary is a villain throughout the whole book. The only time she's truly a hero is when she saves Reeve, Lillia, and Kat from the fire. Throughout the whole book Mary is constantly trying to hurt everyone. So therefore she's a villain.