Hello, Universe

Fiction | Novel | Middle Grade | Published in 2017

A 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.

Download PDF

Summary

Chapter Summaries & Analyses

Chapters 1-8

Chapters 9-16

Chapters 17-25

Chapters 26-32

Chapters 33-42

Character Analysis

Themes

Symbols & Motifs

Important Quotes

Essay Topics

Tools

Beta

Discussion Questions

Themes

The Hero’s Journey

When Virgil is stuck at the bottom of the well, Ruby begins addressing him as “Bayani.” This is a Filipino word that means “hero.” More precisely, Bayani refers to a person who performs a selfless act of courage on behalf of another. While Virgil would never consider himself to be a hero at the beginning of the story, he demonstrates that he is one by risking his own life to save Gulliver. The novel traces Virgil’s progress from a fearful little boy who is afraid of everything to one who stands up for himself.

Even though Virgil thinks of himself as a grand failure, his first real act of courage lies in contacting Kaori to help him meet Valencia. When Kaori orders him to collect five stones, Virgil doesn’t take the easy way out and search in his own backyard. He enters the somewhat scary woods to find what he seeks. He demonstrates true heroism by trying to retrieve Gulliver from a place that terrifies him. At the bottom of the well, the boy is confronted by two illusions conjured by his own imagination. Pah represents his all-consuming fear, while Ruby represents his tiny spark of hope. Although most heroes battle foes in the outer world, Virgil is confined in a place where no external action can be taken. He must fight his inner demons in order to emerge a changed person after his ordeal.

When Virgil loses all hope of rescue, he contemplates what he would have done differently in his life if given another chance. This represents the turning point in his journey toward heroism. He identifies the fears that have defeated him in the past: Chet’s taunts, Valencia’s potential rejection, and his family’s ridicule for his turtle-like nature. Once Virgil emerges from the well, he is ready to deal with each of these problems in the real world. He tells Chet to back off, insists that his mother use his proper name, and opens a conversation with Valencia. Not only is he no longer a turtle in his shell, he has rightfully earned the title of Bayani.

Cosmic Intervention

Hello, Universe suggests that cosmic forces are always attempting to intervene in human affairs. The problem is that most people aren’t aware of this fact. At the beginning of the story, only Kaori is attuned to the universe as a sentient being with benevolent intentions. Because she is willing to accept this premise, she sees connections in mundane situations that most people would describe as coincidence. The rest of the book details events that are all linked together in an invisible chain, forged by unseen hands.

The universe mediates at every step of Virgil’s quest to connect with Valencia, but it does so in mundane and apparently disconnected ways. Kaori gives Virgil a business card to post for her at the market. Valencia sees the card and establishes her first contact with Kaori. The psychic then tells Virgil to bring her five rocks on Saturday, a mere hour before her first appointment with Valencia. Virgil searches for the rocks in the woods, which happen to be Valencia’s favorite hideout. Chet, on a seemingly random snake hunt, threatens Virgil and drives him down the well to apparent catastrophe. Chet then provides a vital clue to Valencia in piecing together the events of the day.

Virgil’s timeout in the well offers a reboot for his self-defeating behavior. Because he is immobilized, he has no option but to confront his demons and get past them so that when he emerges from the well, his perspective has changed dramatically. While he is able to resolve his problems with both Chet and his mother, the fear of Valencia’s rejection remains until Kaori lectures him on his passivity. She points out every subtle sign that the universe was helping Virgil succeed in achieving his ambition of befriending Valencia. His refusal to recognize and accept that help is all that stands between him and his goal. Fortunately, Virgil realizes that the cosmos has been on his side all along and demonstrates his new conviction by texting a tentative message to Valencia.

Communication Challenges

Given all the ways in which the world of technology keeps people in constant contact with one another, it’s ironic that the two main characters in Hello, Universe are beset with communication challenges. A boy who can’t speak wants to connect with a girl who can’t hear. Virgil’s noisy family has done much to suppress whatever budding communication skills the introverted boy might have possessed. He would need to shout to make himself heard. This feels unnatural to him, as he demonstrates from the bottom of the well when the only chance to save his life consists of yelling at the top of his lungs. The nickname of Turtle is a veiled criticism of Virgil’s low-key communication style. He finally learns to discount his family’s opinion when he asks himself what’s so bad about turtles.

Valencia is also faced with challenges because she can’t hear. She’s bullied at school and segregated in the resource room one day a week with other special needs students. Valencia’s deafness also alienates her from former friends because she can’t keep up with their games. When she arrives at the well, not only can’t she hear Virgil’s cries for help, she compounds his problem by placing the cover back in place. It isn’t until Valencia maximizes her unique communication skills that she begins to make progress. As Lola notes, Valencia can hear with her eyes. The girl has been visually observing nature for years and amasses a strong knowledge of flora and fauna. She knows where Kaori would be likely to find the kind of stone she needs for her ritual and also knows how to treat Chet’s snakebite. Valencia’s powers of observation become even more critical when she recalls seeing a pile of stones near the well with its missing cover. These two facts add up to Virgil’s probable whereabouts.

Eventually, Virgil also compensates for his verbal shyness by using a different means of approaching his dream girl. Early in the book, he covets Valencia’s journal, suggesting that he would like to put his thoughts in writing rather than speaking them aloud. At the end of the story, he’s still having trouble with face-to-face communication but strikes on the perfect solution to his dilemma. He breaks the ice by the simple ploy of texting, “Hello.”