46 pages • 1 hour read
Mary Rand Hess, Kwame AlexanderSwing
Fiction | Novel/Book in Verse | YA | Published in 2018A modern alternative to SparkNotes and CliffsNotes, SuperSummary offers high-quality Study Guides with detailed chapter summaries and analysis of major themes, characters, and more.
Parts 2-3Chapter Summaries & Analyses
Part 2: “I Guess I’ll Hang My Tears Out to Dry” - Part 3: “Second Balcony Jump”
Part 2, Pages 123-152 Summary
Walt/Swing arrives at Noah’s house, wanting to stay for a short time while Noah’s parents are away. He explains that his house is overrun with relatives helping his mother plan her wedding to Walt/Swing’s soon-to-be stepfather. Noah shows him the rest of the letters from Corinthian. Walt/Swing believes it likely that Annemarie was discouraged from dating Corinthian because he was African American and she was not.
The next morning, Walt/Swing spots a piece of art that Noah began the night before. Walt praises it, insisting the two should go to a museum so that Noah can be inspired by professional art up close. On the way to school, they stop at Starbucks and Walt/Swing strikes up a conversation with a man playing a trumpet outside. They discuss the American flags appearing around town, hypothesizing their significance.
Later at school, Sam asks Noah to meet her for lunch, saying she needs to speak with him. Over pizza, she shows Noah a piece of art she has received, labeled, “To: Sam, From: X” (152). It is the collage that Noah made and showed to Walt/Swing.
Part 2, Pages 153-192 Summary
Noah pretends not to know who created the artwork. Later, he angrily confronts Walt/Swing, who insists he gave the artwork to Sam to help Noah take the first step in confessing his feelings to her.
That night, Noah and Sam exchange texts to discuss who might have authored the artwork. Over the following weekend, Noah refuses to speak to Walt/Swing. At Starbucks on Monday morning, Sam admits to Noah that she hopes she has a secret admirer. On Tuesday, Noah accepts Walt/Swing’s apology and Walt/Swing encourages Noah to make a second piece of art to give to Sam.
Walt/Swing asks Noah to accompany him to the thrift store so that he can see Divya again. There, he and Divya discuss jazz as she plays some records. Before they leave, Divya gives Walt/Swing a Miles Davis album and her phone number. He in turn invites her to the party at Noah’s house.
The boys return to Noah’s house, where Walt/Swing plays the album and Noah makes a second piece of art for Sam.
Part 3, Pages 193-240 Summary
Sam shows Noah the second piece of artwork from her mystery admirer. She speculates on who the author might be but never proposes that it is Noah. At Starbucks the next morning, Walt/Swing and Noah run into Cruz, who asks Noah for advice on cementing Sam’s love for him. Noah intentionally sabotages him by suggesting Cruz give her food he knows Sam does not like. After Cruz leaves, Noah shows Walt/Swing a draft of a new piece he is working on for Sam.
That night, Noah stays up late working on the new piece. At breakfast the next morning, Walt/Swing is excited about having talked with Divya on the phone. At school, no one can find Sam. Later, she sends a frantic message to Noah. Sam explains that Cruz took her to McDonald’s, despite her insistence that she does not like its food, and then broke up with her. Noah promises to go to her immediately, equipped with ice cream.
On his way to pick up the ice cream, however, Noah is stopped by a policeman, who inquires whether Noah witnessed a man knock over a woman’s groceries. The woman blames a UPS driver, a person of color, angrily insisting that he was placing small American flags on her car. Noah rushes in to get the ice cream but is stopped by a trumpet-playing man. They talk about Sam, and he advises Noah to buy her unusual flowers to convey his feelings for her.
Noah meets with Sam, and after they eat some ice cream, Sam shows Noah the latest piece of art she has received, wanting Noah to help her analyze the pieces. She asks Noah to read them aloud. They eat more ice cream, and Noah debates kissing Sam. Sam tells him her parents divorced because of her father’s infidelity; she worries this has caused her to distrust men. Cruz phones, but Sam refuses to answer his call.
Noah leaves and heads to the batting cages, where Floyd is watching Walt/Swing miss the ball again and again. Floyd, having been told about Noah making artwork for Sam, advises Noah to let Sam know that he is the author. Floyd takes Noah’s truck keys from him and says he will return them only when Noah has done as he advises.
Part 3, Pages 241-288 Summary
Noah walks home but decides to stop at the thrift store where Divya works. When he tells her he is searching for inspiration, she gives him a record by Dexter Gordon. Back home, Noah plays it for Walt/Swing before going to bed.
Noah wakes to the sound of Sam’s voice and finds her eating breakfast with Walt/Swing. Sam is advising Walt/Swing on his upcoming date with Divya—a trip to a museum. They talk about the paintings in a magazine belonging to Noah, which Sam finds on the coffee table.
The week passes and Noah debates whether to tell Sam that he is the author of the artwork. He hides a new piece underneath her desk in her trigonometry class, but it is discovered by another student. Students mock the piece, which contains a spelling error, and Sam becomes convinced that the artwork was a joke all along.
The day of the party arrives. Walt/Swing’s uncle’s band plays at the party, and people who Noah does not know arrive. Divya attends, wanting to know if Noah plans to reveal to Sam that he is her secret admirer. Noah waits for Sam to arrive, but she arrives late. Meanwhile, Cruz and a group of baseball players congregate in the swimming pool. Suddenly, Cruz takes the microphone from the band and declares his love for Sam, insisting that he is the author of the artwork. Walt/Swing protests that Cruz is not the author. Noah speaks up, telling Sam that he is the author. When Cruz asks him to provide proof, Noah pulls a new piece of artwork from his pocket.
Parts 2-3 Analysis
Tension mounts when Walt/Swing takes it upon himself to give Noah’s artwork to Sam—a turning point in the theme of Friendship: Support, Encouragement, and Commitment. Walt/Swing’s intentions are well-meaning: In his view, Noah needs someone else to step in and take action. Walt/Swing regards giving the artwork to Sam as the nudge that will push Noah into confessing his true feelings to Sam. This is consistent with Walt’s insistence on Perseverance in the Pursuit of Passions. By not informing Sam that Noah is the creator of the artwork, Walt/Swing is simultaneously able to remain loyal to the trust Noah has in him. Nevertheless, Noah is angry at Walt/Swing and fearful that Sam will respond negatively to the artwork. When it becomes clear that Sam is moved by the words of love and admiration, Noah is relieved. However, he is placed in the awkward position of having to pretend that he, like Sam, does not know the author of the artwork. As Sam rereads the words, delighting in their praises, she speculates as to who the secret admirer might be. Her excitement over the artwork pleases Noah, as he has effectively conveyed his feelings to Sam in a way that she enjoys—a goal he had always doubted he could achieve.
Walt/Swing’s actions regarding Sam are not the only way this section develops the theme of friendship. Walt/Swing encourages Noah to visit a museum so that he can view art up close. Walt/Swing recognizes Noah’s passion for visual art and seeks to support and encourage this interest. This interest parallels Walt/Swing’s own passion for jazz; Walt/Swing has learned that increased exposure to the medium increases not only his understanding but his love for it. He hopes to help Noah hone the same kind of passion for the visual arts. Further, Walt/Swing believes that Noah’s knowledge of art could impress Sam and win over her affections, enacting The Power of Art, Words, and Music. Likewise, although Noah remains skeptical of Walt/Swing’s athletic abilities, he supports Walt/Swing’s pursuit of earning a place on the baseball team. Noah watches Walt/Swing while he practices in the batting cage and, in being present, enacts his support for Walt/Swing and his appreciation for their friendship.
As the section unfolds, the mismatch between Cruz and Sam is revealed. Unlike Noah, Cruz knows little about the meaningful aspects of Sam’s person. That he does not know, for instance, of her dislike of McDonald’s suggests he is not a close observer of the traits that are important to her identity. Noah, having been lifelong friends with Sam, knows her much better. Indeed, Sam confides in Noah in ways she does not with Cruz, revealing her insecurities about her own handling of relationships due to her father’s infidelity and her parents’ subsequent divorce. Despite the fact that Noah and Sam’s strong friendship is in many ways a truer relationship than she has with Cruz, Noah is tortured by the fact that he is not the object of her romantic affections.
The party Walt/Swing and Noah throw is still in progress at the end of this section. So far, it has had a mixed amount of success. On the one hand, numerous teens attend and enjoy themselves, resulting in Noah and Walt/Swing having successfully taken steps toward securing their “cool.” The outburst from Cruz, however, threatens to ruin all Noah’s efforts to convey his feelings to Sam. This sets up suspense about whether she will believe that Cruz or Noah is the true artist and creator of the letters, a resolution that is withheld until the next section.
Tensions also mount surrounding the presence of the American flags throughout town. Police appear more frequently in the narrative, seeming eager to discover the cause of the flags and certain that their placement is intended as a threat. Significantly, there is no indication in the novel that the flags are meant as threatening, but this assumption on the part of the police escalates as the novel unfolds. At times, it is hinted that the police’s search for the perpetrator may be racially biased, as they target people of color as those potentially distributing the flags. Walt/Swing underscores the sense of racial tension by suggesting that racial differences could have prevented Corinthian and Annemarie from pursuing their relationship. While there is no specific basis for his speculation, it indicates that racial bias is something Walt/Swing is keenly aware of. This foreshadows the novel’s ending, when Walt/Swing and his brother Mo will become the victims of unwarranted police violence.
Related Titles
By these authors
