96 pages • 3 hours read
Matthew QuickBoy21
Fiction | Novel | YA | Published in 2012A modern alternative to SparkNotes and CliffsNotes, SuperSummary offers high-quality Study Guides with detailed chapter summaries and analysis of major themes, characters, and more. For select classroom titles, we also provide Teaching Guides with discussion and quiz questions to prompt student engagement.
Chapters 9–11Chapter Summaries & Analyses
Chapter 9 Summary
The bedroom door in the Allens’ house opens to a shirtless “Kobe Bryant” with messy braids—unlike the tight, neat braids of his teammates (37). Russ asks if Finley is an Earthling, then says he is “’programmed to treat all Earthlings with kindness”’ (37), introducing himself as Boy21 and informing Finley that he will be leaving Earth soon.
Finley does not respond, and Boy21 goes back to arranging constellations on the blacked-out walls of his room. Boy21 talks to Finley about outer space, asking him what his favorite constellation is. Finley is too surprised to respond, at which point Boy21 asks if he is parsimonious with his words. Finley wonders if this whole situation is a joke, but then realizes it is not.
Boy21 is very polite towards Finley, explaining that he is a prototype sent to Earth to gather information on human emotions. Soon, Boy21 explains, his creators will come get him and he will be “disassembled and ultimately freed” (39). Finley is mostly silent throughout this interaction, which Boy21 takes as a sign that they should go to dinner, donning a shirt that reads: Nubians Are Superior Astronauts (NASA). Boy21 notices Finley looking at his shirt, and says that black men and the cosmos go well together. Finley is again speechless, causing Boy21 to doubt if Finley understands him. They go downstairs to have a mostly silent dinner with Coach and Russ’s grandparents.
After dinner, the boys return to Boy21’s room, and Finley watches as he continues arranging constellations on his ceiling. Boy21 asks why Finley is so quiet, suggesting that perhaps it is because something traumatic happened in Finley’s past. He then asks Finley if Finley believes he is from outer space. When Finley shrugs, Boy21states that Finley will believe his story when Boy21 ascends back to outer space.Boy21 concludes that Finley is both emotional and trustworthy, which makes Finley smile because he does not believe he is emotional. Boy21 asks Finley to show him his culture, so Finley asks if Boy21 will be playing basketball. Boy21 says that he is programmed to be the best, but that he will ascend before the season begins. Finley is relieved, but then thinks that the whole situation is crazy, and worries about people in school dumping carrots on Boy21’s plate. He tells Boy21 that he can’t tell kids at school that he is from outer space. Boy21 questions why Finley cares and Finley responds that he cares about everyone.
After Boy21 is finished arranging the constellations, they turn off the lights and pretend they’re in outer space. Finley realizes he enjoys sitting quietly with Boy21. They are interrupted by Coach, who confusedly tells Finley it is time to go. Boy21 asks Finley where his house is, and says he will appear to Finley later. Finley imagines Boy21 appearing in his front yard in a flying saucer.
Chapter 10 Summary
Coach asks Finley what he thinks of Russ, saying that the name Boy21 is a defense mechanism. He asks Finley to be Russ’s escort around school and to keep his secret.
Finley goes into his house to see Erin playing War with Pop. Pop asks about Russ, and Finley shrugs. Pop calls Finley dumb. Erin forfeits the game, and she and Finley go to the roof to make out.
After a while, they start talking about Boy21, and Erin seems convinced that Finley is exaggerating. They stare in silence at the stars,then Finley walks Erin home. On the walk back, Finley starts worrying about Boy21—about his parents’ murder, and him taking Finley’s spot on the basketball team. Finley realizes that if he does what Coach asks, he might not get to play, but that if he doesn’t do it, he’ll be disobeying Coach for the first time. Finley feels bad for being selfish, and contemplates the idea that Boy21 might be his first real friend.
Once he arrives at his house, Finley finds Boy21 outside. Boy21has apparently been spying on him and Erin, which Finley is surprised to find does not anger him. Boy21 suggests they go up to the roof, but they are intercepted by Finley’s dad. Finley’s dad is weirded out by Boy21’s use of the word “Earthling” and his NASA shirt, calling the Allens to inform them of Boy21’s whereabouts. Pop cautions Boy21 not to walk alone through a neighborhood where people don’t know him, but Boy21 assures him that nothing on Earth can harm him. Boy21 again asks to go up to the roof, and tells Finley he has a calming presence, which Finley appreciates. Coach comes to retrieve Boy21, and Finley lies awake all night thinking about Boy21.
Chapter 11 Summary
The night before school begins, Finley and Erin are making out on Finley’s roof when they see Coach’s truck. They come downstairs and Coach asks Finley to take a ride. Erin sits on the couch to watch television with Pop, who is passed out drunk (again) with “Rosary beads wrapped tightly around his left fist like brass knuckles” (53). Coach is sweaty and nervous and asks Finley if he’ll still help Russ, explaining that Russ has agreed to stop talking about outer space and going by Boy21 while in school. Coach is worried that the stress will cause Russ to slip up, and he wants Finley by Russ’s side even when they use the toilet.
Finley agrees but is worried; looking after Boy21no longer feels like a favor, but his responsibility. They agree to have Boy21 dropped off at Erin’s house so they can all walk to school together. Coach reiterates that Russ is special, reminding Finley that his father was a close friend and asking him not to let Coach down. Finley agrees, and Coach asks if Finley has told Erin about Boy21. Finley says no. Finley worries about his starting position, and Coach reminds Finley of the need for secrecy; this makes Finley uncomfortable, but he agrees.
Chapters 9–11 Analysis
These chapters introduce Russ as an actual character. Through Russ’s characterization, Finley demonstrates the importance he places on the body and on basketball in shaping his identity. Russ first offers outer space as ansuperior method of escape to basketball.
Via Finley’s interactions, or lack thereof, with Russ, the reader begins to understand just how quiet and unused to interpersonal interaction Finley is. Throughout most of his interactions with Russ, Finley does not speak; rather, he watches, much like a spectator at a basketball game. Similarly, Finley does not inform Erin of Russ’s secret, instead keeping silent when she attempts to question him about Russ. In these scenes, the reader learns that silence represents Finley’s default mode in interpersonal interaction, complicating the roles of silence and secrecy within the novel.
In his interactions with Russ, Finley is characterized as empathetic but also incredibly anxious, especially concerning events in the immediate future. Due to Russ’s inability to remain silent—which contrasts sharply with Finley’s preference for silence—Finley worries that Russ will not be able to handle school, where the air is thick with the threat of violence. In this way, silence, secrecy, and violence all blend together under the common thread of creating interpersonal relationships.
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