Jennifer Chan Is Not Alone

At dinner with her parents, Mal bursts into tears and tells them everything. She asks if she is a bad person, and her father says no, but she did something wrong. He understands that she is trying to learn from her mistakes and make amends. He tells her that Catholics go to confession to learn about themselves, not because they need to tell God they are bad. Mal’s mother tells her she doesn’t need to believe in God and that facing one’s faults and learning from them is important. She also tells Mal it’s important for her to not only treat people well, but also to treat herself with kindness and forgive herself for her mistakes. Mal doesn’t trust herself, but her mom tells her to trust that she can fix things.

In her bedroom, Mal pieces back the torn scraps of Jennifer’s journal that she had saved in a plastic bag. She finds a reference in it to crop circles and realizes that what Jennifer had really seen was the fire Ingrid had set in a field. The Morse code message wasn’t “How are…” but the start of Howard Park. Mal deduces that Jennifer may be transmitting signals from the radio tower in Howard Park. Mal uses Ingrid’s model of “MALAISE, METHOD, MESSAGE” to plan her next moves (232). She contacts Kath on the walkie-talkie, and Kath is willing to help. Kath isn’t sure she believes in God, but she invokes her rabbi’s words and the phrase “May all people be forgiven, because all people are at fault” (235). Although Kath is mad at Mal, she forgives her and wants to make amends with Jennifer. Mal contacts Reagan and hopes she will want to do the right thing and drive them to the park. 

The chapter ends with an entry from Jennifer’s journal, Volume VII called “Believe.” Jennifer thinks about how there may be no aliens and that Area 51 is just evidence of human violence. She has an optimistic outlook on their move from Chicago to Florida after her father’s death. Florida ranks second for the most UAP sightings, and she tries to make a fresh start.

Reagan arrives at Mal’s house after picking up Kath first. Kath calls Ingrid, but she refuses to see them. Kath says she believes in goodness, and Reagan tells them she’s glad they care in a tone Mal can’t interpret. Reagan struggles to drive and crashes into Mal’s mailbox. The three begin laughing, and Mrs. Moss runs out of the house to them.

Mal, Kath, and Reagan frantically explain to Mrs. Moss that they know where Jennifer is. Mrs. Moss agrees to drive them to Howard Park after calling everyone’s parents. Reagan is worried about facing Jennifer, and Mal feels that it’s difficult but the right thing to do. Mrs. Moss tells Kath’s father that she thinks the girls need “closure.” He decides to pick up Kath, and Reagan’s father is unreachable. Mal’s parents are surprised to learn that Reagan has been living by herself while her father is away on a business trip. To everyone’s surprise, Ingrid shows up at the house to join them, and Mrs. Moss calls her parents, too.

Ingrid is allowed to join the search party, and Kath convinces her dad to follow in their car. Reagan texts Mal privately during the car ride and says she doesn’t feel needed anymore. Mal coaxes her to do the right thing and face Jennifer, but Reagan is afraid of getting in trouble and thinks seeing Jennifer won’t make a difference. Mal gives Reagan a look that is a mixture of thanks and sorrow as they both realize that their friendship is ending.

At the park, Mal sees Jennifer climbing the radio tower and follows after her. Jennifer refuses to stop, and Mal climbs after her despite her fear of heights. Jennifer tells Mal how frightened she was in the bathroom, and Mal blurts out that it wasn’t personal. Jennifer is even more upset by Mal’s explanation, and Mal apologizes. Mal tells her about her UAP sighting, but Jennifer is disillusioned and doesn’t think anyone will come. Mal tells her that she came. Mal doesn’t know if she can ever explain her actions, but she tells Jennifer that she was envious of her confidence and wanted to take it away from her. Mal thinks about how people hurt each other, but they can also help and rebuild. She feels less afraid, and a bright light flashes in the sky. Jennifer’s hand slips and she falls.

Mal sees Jennifer floating in a beam of light that flashes three times. Jennifer briefly appears suspended in the air, and then she falls to the ground.

Jennifer is rushed to the emergency room and rests at home with a broken leg. Kath and Ingrid make amends with Jennifer. They also stay friendly with Mal, but their friendship is not as strong as it was before. Mal brings a slice of pie for Mrs. Chan and a gift for Jennifer. Mrs. Chan is wary of Mal and tells her to be kind to her daughter. 

In Jennifer’s room, Mal notices gifts from her classmates, including Reagan and Pete. Mal gives Jennifer a new notebook, and she accepts it without a word. Reporters want to interview Jennifer for a story, and she tells Mal that it’s her story, too. Mal is afraid of being pinned as the “bad guy,” but Jennifer explains that the bullying was part of her reason for running away. The other part was that she wanted to find proof and answers. Mal says that the people on Earth are here for her. Jennifer can’t forget the bullying but thanks Mal for finding her, and Mal thanks her for teaching her how to believe. They can’t explain their experience of Jennifer floating, as everyone else saw Jennifer fall straight down. Mal wonders if she and Jennifer will be friends in the future and hopes so.

Mal reflects on how the town came together to support Jennifer, and she begins to think of her town as “Somewhereville.” Jennifer tells her that the human body is 10% hydrogen, an element as old as the universe. She believes they are truly not alone and are part of the cosmos. Mal feels her anxieties drift away and makes room for the expansive universe of possibilities in her life. 

The chapter ends with an entry from Jennifer’s new journal titled “Who Do You Think You Are?” (266), a refrain that Reagan used to taunt Jennifer. Jennifer thinks that gravity and dark energy are forces that work together, just like hurt and healing, and good and bad. She is optimistic that these dynamics make people change for the better in a “messy” world.

The author writes that the novel was inspired by her own experience of being bullied when she was 12 years old. She had a similar confrontation in the bathroom where her bullies taunted her with the phrase, “Who do you think you are?” (269). Keller never forgot about the experience and the longing to understand why she was treated so cruelly. When writing the novel, she reached out to her former bullies to seek answers. Some were willing to talk to her while others were not. They claimed to not remember the events. 

Keller learned from those she spoke with that they felt their attacks on her “wasn’t personal” (271), and she began to think about their stories. She found herself veering from the question of why they were bullies to who they were back then and who they are today. She learned that some of them had felt insecure, angry, and hurt when they were younger, and that they changed and worked on becoming better people as adults. Keller found comfort in being able to return to her traumatic past, acknowledge the pain, and come out stronger. She tells her young readers that they may not forget the hurt of being bullied, but she wishes they can heal. She hopes they can believe in goodness and know that they are resilient and not alone.