Clementine

Fiction | Novel | Middle Grade | Published in 2006

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Summary

Chapter Summaries & Analyses

Chapters 1-2

Chapters 3-4

Chapters 5-7

Chapters 8-10

Character Analysis

Themes

Symbols & Motifs

Important Quotes

Essay Topics

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Chapters 1-2Chapter Summaries & Analyses

Chapter 1 Summary

In Chapter 1, Clementine describes the beginning of her “not so good” week (1), starting with what happened in art class and Margaret’s hair. When Clementine notices that Margaret left class for a while with a sad face, Clementine goes to the girls’ bathroom, where she finds Margaret with a chunk of hair cut from the side of her head. Clementine helps Margaret by cutting off more of her hair until Margaret looks “like a dandelion” (10).

When she gets sent to the principal’s office after the art teacher finds them, Clementine tries to pay attention but gets distracted, and Principal Rice gets frustrated with her behavior. Clementine also shares that she is good at art and in the gifted class for math, but she has trouble in English class.

Chapter 2 Summary

Back at home after school, Clementine runs into Margaret, who was waiting in the lobby of their apartment building. Margaret is upset by how her hair looks, and Clementine offers to help by making her “hair red, just like [Clementine’s]” (16). Margaret finds this plan exciting, and Clementine goes to find her mother’s extra-permanent markers.

Since Margaret’s mother isn’t home, Clementine goes over to Margaret’s apartment. It makes her sad to see Mascara, Margaret’s cat, since Clementine’s cat Polka Dottie died.

In Margaret’s room, Clementine feels “itchy” because it “looks like a magazine picture” and she wants to touch everything, but Margaret says she can’t (20). Clementine colors all over Margaret’s head with the red marker and feels jealous when Margaret says she is “getting bracelets put on her teeth” (23). That night, Clementine tries to convince her parents that she should also get braces like Margaret.

Chapters 1-2 Analysis

Clementine’s mind works in different ways and is one of the most important features of her personality. She is a creative and observant young person who watches the world and interprets what she sees, often to the frustration of the adults around her. The narrative shows this with her thoughtful support of Margaret; Clementine is the only person who notices “Margaret’s empty seat” when Margaret leaves the art room with glue in her hair (5). By seeing the world a little differently and not focusing on the lesson itself, Clementine is able to be there when her friend needs her. Even though there are negative consequences to cutting Margaret’s hair, Clementine’s compassion and attentiveness allow Margaret to be less alone.

Clementine’s alternative way of thinking also makes it hard for her to follow rules and be as clean or organized as other people. When she visits Margaret’s extra clean room, Clementine doesn’t understand how Margaret can never have “a single smudge of dirt on her” (21). Margaret has a very different personality than Clementine’s. She serves as a foil, a character who, through contrast, reveals traits of the protagonist or another character. Margaret helps highlight Clementine’s unique way of being in the world. Over the course of the book, the tension between Clementine and Margaret’s perspectives and behaviors will come to a head.

Clementine’s sense of being different emerges in the way that she describes her academic abilities. She wishes there was “a special class for gifted kids in art” (10) and doesn’t know why schools don’t have those. Clementine is also aware of her ability to do math and feels insecure about her skills in English class. It could be that Clementine has more difficulty in English because she has trouble sustaining her attention and prefers to release her energy in more creative, spontaneous ways.