Bob

Fiction | Novel | Middle Grade | Published in 2018

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Summary

Background

Chapter Summaries & Analyses

Chapters 1-7

Chapters 8-13

Chapters 14-20

Character Analysis

Themes

Symbols & Motifs

Important Quotes

Essay Topics

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Discussion Questions

Chapters 14-20Chapter Summaries & Analyses

Chapter 14 Summary

Bob explains how he and Livy sneak past Gran—who is on the phone with the bank once again—as they enter the house and open the jar. Livy struggles with it for a while but finally opens it to reveal two pieces of licorice and a photo of herself reading a book upside down. While Bob eats the licorice, Livy ponders the photo.

She discerns that the book (which is upside down) in the photo is titled Fairy and Folk Tales From A to Z. The cover of the book features several creatures, one who resembles Bob. Livy is certain that this book will explain who Bob is. She attempts to locate the book but cannot; Bob knows that this is the book that Sarah has taken. Before he can tell Livy this, however, Gran tells Livy that they must leave. Livy hurries off, leaving Bob alone to eat a snack and plan the next step.

Chapter 15 Summary

Livy arrives at Sarah’s restaurant with Gran, where she learns that Danny is missing. Gran explains that this has happened before, but his family is organizing a search. At the restaurant, his family consults maps of the town. Livy is introduced to more of Sarah and Danny’s family, and then she and Gran are given snacks and water to take with them on their search.

Chapter 16 Summary

Bob describes how he walks to Sarah’s house, pretending to be a chicken. Upon arriving, he first surveys the yard and surrounding area while staying hidden. A police officer is stationed on the porch, but Bob remains unseen.

Bob enters the house through the dog door and then searches for the book in Sarah’s bedroom. When he does not find the book, he searches Danny’s room. On the wall of Danny’s room is a painting of a well. Bob studies it. It depicts a creature with “four long, green fingers” (163) climbing out of the well. On the well itself is the phrase “Please help us, well dweller” (163).

Chapter 17 Summary

Livy describes how she and Gran search the woods for Danny. Livy has been given a whistle to blow to alert Danny and to use if she and Gran are separated. She keeps it in her pocket next to the black pawn.

As they walk, Livy asks Gran questions about why she remains in Australia despite the drought. Gran tells Livy a bit about her mother as a child and then recalls one morning on her prior visit when Livy appeared wet in the early morning. Livy questions Gran further, but Gran has no explanation for how Livy became wet. Livy asks Gran about the missing book, but Gran has not seen it in a while.

Suddenly, Bob appears in the distance, trying to catch Livy’s attention.

Chapter 18 Summary

Bob shows Livy the painting of the well, which he has removed from the wall in Danny’s bedroom. Livy is certain that Bob must have been in the well and that Livy climbed in to get him out, explaining how she got wet. Bob wants to ask Danny about the painting, but Livy explains that he is missing.

Livy wonders if the details in the painting might explain where Danny has gone. The two decide to search for a tree that resembles the one in the painting. They find it near a brick wall and a well, just like in the painting. Danny is there, with the missing book and a box.

Chapter 19 Summary

Livy takes the book from Danny and discovers a story called “The Well Dwellers.” It depicts a creature that looks like Bob, which excites Bob. As Livy reads, however, a rumbling noise comes from the well, and the earth shakes.

As this happens, Bob walks toward the well, and large, green arms emerge from the well and reach out for Bob. Bob recognizes his mother. Danny attempts to give her the contents of the box—a cupcake, which he says will end the drought, as explained in the story—but Bob eats it first.

Livy tries to speak with Bob’s mother, but she makes unintelligible sounds. Bob translates the sounds for Livy, explaining that she is thanking Livy for returning Bob to her. It seems his mother wants something from Livy, and, when Livy offers her the contents of her pockets, Bob’s mother takes the black pawn.

His mother then carries Bob with her back into the well, and Bob shouts his goodbyes. Just when they have disappeared, a clap of thunder sounds. Danny shouts in happiness, and he and Livy make their way back to the part of the woods where Gran is. As they walk, Livy checks the contents of her pockets, sensing that something is missing but unsure what the item is. It seems both she and Danny have already forgotten Bob and Bob’s mother.

Chapter 20 Summary

Bob narrates the final chapter, explaining that he now remembers that he is a well dweller. He and his family live in a network of tunnels between wells and are responsible for bringing rain. Bob was tempted away from the well by the smell of human food, and he traveled too far from the well and forgot how to make rain.

Despite being happy to be home, Bob escapes from the well one more time. He returns to Gran’s house where he takes the dictionary, the tutu, and the Lego pirate ship to bring back with him. He leaves the black pawn in the paw of Rufus, hoping Livy will find it and remember him.

Chapters 14-20 Analysis

The final section provides resolution to the conflict, as Bob and Livy discover Bob’s true identity. The time capsule provides significant information regarding Bob’s existence: a photo of the Fairy and Folk Tales From A to Z book. Importantly, Bob recalls some of the details of the time capsule, including where Livy hid it. That “Old Livy” predicted both that her future self would forget the information the book contains regarding Bob and that she and Bob would desire that information speaks of her maturity, wisdom, and insight. Though a young child, Livy recognized the need to keep such information hidden from adults but accessible to her future self via coded clues.

Throughout the section, previously mentioned details that appeared to be minor or innocuous become important keys to uncovering Bob’s existence, illustrating the novel’s theme of Discovering the Truth. For instance, Bob notes that Sarah once stole a book from the bedroom at Gran’s house. This detail is not expanded upon when Bob initially mentions it and thus strikes readers as intended to characterize Sarah, illustrating one of her flaws. However, the book that Sarah steals—the A to Z book—ultimately leads Livy and Bob to the answers they have sought. It is unclear whether Sarah chose this book deliberately, and it is also unclear whether she read of the well dwellers. She gives no indication that she suspects Livy of hiding Bob and does not challenge Livy’s explanation of Bob as her imaginary friend.

Similarly, Bob’s desire for human food is explained at the novel’s end. Like other details in the novel, this initially appears to be a character trait that defines Bob: He is joyful when Livy leaves him potato chips, beans, and orange soda. Later, he relishes Gran’s cookie, which Livy saves for him. Fairy and Folk Tales From A to Z, however, reveals the reason Bob loves food, which proves to have great significance as it is how he was lured from the well. In this way, human food is dangerous to Bob and other well dwellers, tempting them away from their home and causing them to forget where they are from.

The structure of the novel continues to be impactful in this section. Readers are privy to knowledge that main characters initially are not through the multiple narrators. For instance, Bob’s discovery of Danny’s drawing of the well and the phrase “well dweller” is witnessed by the reader before it is known by Livy. The multiple points of view allow readers to briefly hold information that Livy does not yet know—a kind of “magic” for the reader.

Bob’s reunion with his mother and return to the well provides the “happy ending” hoped for by readers and concludes the novel’s theme of The Importance of Family and Friends. Bob is overjoyed to be greeted by his mother, and his final chapter speaks explicitly of the satisfaction and meaning he derives from being a well dweller and thus alleviating the drought. Bob’s existence is essential for humans, though their paths are not meant to cross directly. Indeed, Bob’s mother taking the pawn indicates that she seeks to prevent Bob from returning to the human world in the future. Her reasons for this are not fully clear, and room is left for readers to draw their own inferences. Preventing Livy and Bob from reuniting in the future, however, makes the ending bittersweet, eliciting mixed emotions from both Bob and Livy.

Bob recognizes that his mother intends to thwart any future contact between him and Livy by seizing the black pawn. Despite this, Bob defies her and returns the pawn to Livy, risking being seen by other humans as he journeys back to her. In doing this, Bob creates the possibility for a reunion in the future.