51 pages • 1 hour read
Tony AbbottFiregirl
Fiction | Novel | Middle Grade | Published in 2006A modern alternative to SparkNotes and CliffsNotes, SuperSummary offers high-quality Study Guides with detailed chapter summaries and analysis of major themes, characters, and more.
Chapters 17-20Chapter Summaries & Analyses
Chapter 17 Summary
On class election day, Tom is excited to nominate Courtney. Jeff arrives late, looking angry and skittish. Mrs. Tracy explains the criteria, then asks for nominees. Tom’s hand goes up quickly, but Jeff shouts out Courtney’s name. Tom is furious: He knows that Jeff purposefully tried to hurt him because Jeff knew about Tom’s plan to nominate Courtney. Other students are nominated. Jessica surprises Tom by nominating him. Tom feels embarrassed and ashamed and angry, as if he had been lying.
Tom realizes the only way the class will accept Jessica is if she gets more involved, and he decides to nominate her. Mrs. Tracy gives a last call for candidates. Tom says Jessica’s name, but Mrs. Tracy continues, oblivious. Tom thinks he did not say Jessica’s name out loud. He feels useless. Courtney wins the election. Tom receives one vote: Jessica’s. Tom did not vote for himself and forgot he could write in Jessica’s name. He feels like a “complete loser,” no different from the others who shun, fear, or reject Jessica. After school, Tom tries to call Jessica, but he gives up. He ignores a phone call from Jeff. Jessica calls and asks Tom to come over. Although Tom does not want to see her, he agrees.
Chapter 18 Summary
Tom is physically and emotionally tired as he walks to Jessica’s house. He wonders why he is going there and what she expects from him. Jeff and his Uncle Chuck drive up in the Cobra. The car is everything Tom hoped for: red and fast with a throaty engine. Jeff tells Tom that he made his uncle drive up that evening just for Tom. Jeff has told Courtney they are coming by, and they can all squeeze in the car together. Jeff calls Tom “Cobraman” and urges him to get in the car. Tom hesitates, and Jeff sees him look at Jessica’s house. Jeff calls Tom a “dork,” angrily and wonders if Tom loves Jessica, and tells him to “let it go” (130).
Tom tells Jeff not to call him Cobraman. Tom feels tightly strung, as though an electric current were passing through him. Tom starts to tell Jeff to leave but loses his voice and gestures instead. Jeff curses, exclaims “Freaking firegirl!” and he and his uncle tear off down the street (131). Shaking, Tom goes to Jessica’s door.
Chapter 19 Summary
Sitting with Jessica in her room in the fading evening light, Tom wants to apologize for not nominating her and to encourage her to work with Courtney, but Jessica announces she is leaving: Her treatment is not going well, and she must return to Boston. Tom is angry and sad. He confesses that he hopes she does not hate him for being fearful and distant like other kids. Jessica admits hating the kids who do not want her around, but her accident made her realize there are more important things in life. Jessica says that the fact Tom nominated her was meaningful. Tom is surprised that he did say her name aloud. She jokes about his election slogan and suggests that he should speak louder.
Tom laughs and cries, and knows Jessica is smiling though he cannot see her face. Tom feels he is in the right place. Jessica shares that her mom was with her when she first woke after the accident, and that Jessica only hates her sometimes. She treasures a stuffed green frog her mother gave her. Tom says he is glad she is alive: She can do a lot. Jessica thinks Tom taught her not to ask for too much. They say goodbye. Crying, Tom hugs Jessica and feels her cheek is also damp. At home, Tom imagines Jessica’s burned face merging with the face from the photograph into something new.
Chapter 20 Summary
Everyone feels like they can be a normal class again when they learn Jessica is leaving. Tom watches the Feeneys pack, and observes Jessica playfully use her stuffed frog to give her mother a kiss. Mrs. Feeney puts her arm around Jessica. The next day, the Feeneys are gone. Courtney tells Tom he was nice to Jessica. Tom’s “mixed-up thoughts” spill out. He tears up and tells Courtney he wishes he had done more. Courtney, also teary, thinks Tom was nicer than any of them and knows Jessica liked him.
Tom feels changed. He no longer fantasizes as much about Courtney. He does not hang out with Jeff, though the two still talk. He is glad Jeff has a new friend in Rich to keep him company after school. Tom wonders what Jessica thinks about always moving around and having people stare at her. He imagines Jessica’s experiences in school and in the hospital. He is not sure he is a better person for knowing her, but he wonders what she would think of his actions. Tom believes Jessica would tell him to use his superpowers and imaginings for a good cause and thinks that he might someday. Tom knows if he ever sees Jessica again, the two of them will talk nonstop, and he will thank her “loud enough for everyone to hear” (145).
Chapters 17-20 Analysis
In this final section, Tom makes a life-changing personal decision that reflects a change in his values and his sense of self. Themes of friendship, acceptance, and speaking out come to fruition as Tom is at last able to express his feelings out loud and show that emotional connections overcome the fear of difference.
The class election is Tom’s chance to make his fantasy a reality and connect Courtney’s name with his. He masters his nerves, prepares to speak out, but he is undermined by Jeff: a significant blow to their newly strained friendship. Tom is embarrassed and ashamed when Jessica courageously nominates him and creates a connection between them in the eyes of others. Tom realizes he can make up for his “lie” of being nice, and his feelings of guilt, and act to improve Jessica’s experience in school. By nominating her, Tom can “get Jessica into the class” and ensure her acceptance (123). Tom’s desire to include Jessica shows that he fully recognizes her as an individual. He sees past her disfigurement to the person inside, observing that Jessica is “smart and nice” (123). Tom, however, fails to speak out successfully to nominate Jessica, though he later learns he did speak, albeit too quietly.
Tom berates himself for his inaction at school but takes a stand when tempted by Jeff and the Cobra. The car symbolizes a crossroads in Tom’s life path—a choice between values. In rejecting the ride and the nickname “Cobraman,” Tom rejects part of his old personality; the shallowness of his self-focused imaginary adventures. He also rejects Jeff’s uncompassionate nature. By choosing to visit Jessica rather than ride in the Cobra, Tom chooses Jessica’s friendship over that of Jeff. Tom’s decision is emotionally and physically challenging, however. Tom loses his ability to speak to Jeff and physically feels tense and hot. Tom’s choice is also self-sacrificing: Tom does love the Cobra but gives it up to be with Jessica. He chooses friendship and emotional connection over more material desires.
Getting to know Jessica changes Tom’s outlook on life, his priorities and sense of self. Tom fully accepts Jessica for who she is and marvels at her fortitude. He sees past her burns, discovering and appreciating that her eyes are green. He is not afraid to touch and hug her. Mentally, Tom conflates the image of Jessica before the accident with her current appearance into a new iteration, revealing he sees her as a whole and unique individual. Tom also internalizes some of Jessica’s values: He recognizes that his Courtney fantasies are not as important as they used to be and does not resume the same level of friendship with Jeff after Jessica leaves, feeling that he cannot be the same person who laughed at Jeff’s random antics. Still, his empathy extends to Jeff, and Tom is glad Jeff has Rich as a new friend to keep him company after school. Unlike Jeff, Tom is compassionate and inclusive.
Although uncertain whether knowing Jessica has made him a “better person,” Tom now has less trouble articulating his thoughts and feelings. He speaks to Courtney, sharing his feelings with her: something he would not have done before knowing Jessica. Now, Courtney is a real person and not just an actress in Tom’s imagination. Tom even contemplates getting more socially involved, knowing that Jessica would want him to make a difference, superpowers or not. Jessica has helped Tom learn about himself and discover who he wants to be.
Jessica’s last encounter with Tom reveals that she also learned something from Tom: One should appreciate the small things. The implication is that Tom’s belief in small superpowers colors Jessica’s feelings about her mother. Though her mother wasn’t able to save her from the burning vehicle, she was there to comfort her when she awoke, and Jessica now sees that that small superpower should be appreciated.
