51 pages • 1 hour read
Jennifer L. HolmThe Lion of Mars
Fiction | Novel | Middle Grade | Published in 2021A 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 10-14Chapter Summaries & Analyses
Chapter 10 Summary: “Algae Days”
The settlers are getting tired of eating the same algae-based meals every day while they are waiting for the supply ship to arrive. Sai announces harvest duty for everyone, meaning that they will collect algae and process it to restock their toilet paper provisions. Trey is upset once again when Bell is assigned to kitchen duty instead because his shoulder is still mending.
In the kitchen, while Bell and Salty Bill are trying to come up with ideas for the next meals, the older cook reminisces about the time when all the settlements cooperated, and he could just ask neighbors for sugar or yeast.
Later, the children are watching Earth movies (or “digi-reels”) and pointing out strange terrestrial customs, like fashion styles and restaurants. They discuss the possibility of ever experiencing those things. While Bell is afraid of leaving his home and meeting new people, Vera says she wants to do more than stay in the settlement forever.
Chapter 11 Summary: “Supply Feast”
The supply ship arrives, and everyone at the base gathers to watch it land before unloading it together. They take stock of the items they’ve received, and the children find the box that is usually sent to them by Earth inhabitants. Each of them can pick one item for themselves, and Bell chooses a quilt made by schoolchildren.
After the unloading, the settlers celebrate with their traditional Supply Feast and enjoy the fresh new foods they just received. Some items they requested are missing, which prompts Bell to ask Sai why the people of Earth never send cats. Sai explains that the Nanny program, which was put in place to encourage young people to settle on Mars provided they brought a newborn child with them, was suspended. Each of the children at the settlement was brought by a different nanny, who dropped them off and were then dispatched into their home country settlements.
Later that night, Bell walks up to the COR because he cannot sleep, and finds Sai there reading a message from Earth. The message mentions ongoing hostilities back on Earth, with France, China, Russia, and Japan engaged in a war. Bell asks Sai about his own nanny, and learns that she was a Russian lady called Sasha.
After Chapter 11, a Secure Communication transcript sent by Sai to Earth shows a list of the missing items they requested for resupply.
Chapter 12 Summary: “Family Name”
As he signs a thank you note to Earth command for the supplies, Bell reflects on his lack of a family name, an Earth custom he likes. A few minutes later, Bell is confused when he overhears Sai and Phinneus argue. Sai wants to keep the children confined to the settlement for their own safety, whereas Phinneus claims that it was not built to be a prison.
Later that day, another alarm sounds off during the children’s French lesson, and the settlers rush to the kitchen. Salty Bill just found mice, who probably came on the supply ship and ate his muffins. The children insist on keeping one of the mice as a pet. They name it Muffin of Mars, because Bell insists it should have a last name to make it a member of their family.
Chapter 13 Summary: “Love and Attention”
The mouse habitat is kept in the algae farm to keep Leo away from it. Bell worries that the mouse will feel lonely and cooped up in its cage; Phinneus pointedly tells the young boy that they will need to give the mouse “a lot of love and attention” (114).
Later that day, the children start planning Meems’s birthday. Bell sets out to make a carrot cake with Albie’s help but needs to go to the algae farm to get more carrots. When he gets there, he finds Phinneus and first thinks he is asleep, before he realizes that the old man is unresponsive.
After Chapter 13, a Secure Communication transcript sent by Sai to Earth informs them that Mission Specialist Phinneus Peck has died.
Chapter 14 Summary: “Cake”
The settlers have a funeral for Phinneus instead of Meems’s birthday party. They then gather for lunch, where they share their favorite memories of their friend. Bell recalls the time Phinneus taught him to plant seeds for the first time. They end up eating the carrot cake together while reminiscing. Bell realizes that the adults around him are also getting older, and worries about their future.
After Phinneus’s death, the settlers take up his share of the work, but they lack his experience. Bell, who has learned the most from him, decides to help by sorting and labeling all the supplies and plants at the algae farm.
Chapters 10-14 Analysis
A few details in these chapters hint at the characters’ implicit desire for social connections and community support. Salty Bill, for example, laments that he cannot simply ask his neighbors for ingredients anymore. Vera also says that she wants to explore life beyond the confines of the settlement, which Bell does not consciously understand at this point in the narrative. However, he does start thinking about isolation from a different perspective.
When Bell questions Sai about his Nanny or worries that his pet mouse might feel lonely, Bell is planting the seed for his eventual reflection on The Importance of Community. This is further reinforced by his fascination with family names, going so far as to make sure the settlers give the mouse a last name “so that he knows he’s part of [their] family” (113). Bell’s thought process has not reached full maturity, as evidenced by his failure to grasp Phinneus’s meaning when the latter suggests that “living in a cage is no kind of life, even for a mouse” (115). Phinneus’s words may allude to the settlers’ isolation being a kind of prison.
Phinneus’s death in Chapter 13 marks a turning point in the settlers’ dynamic, especially for Bell, who is heavily influenced by his mentor. The previous chapter foreshadows Phinneus’s old age and declining health, as Bell notes that Phinneus “was moving more slowly than usual, using one hand to steady himself with the cane while the other touched the wall” (81). By replacing Meems’s anticipated birthday with Phinneus’s unexpected death, the tone and atmosphere of the story switch dramatically. As for character development, Bell becomes aware of his friends’ vulnerability, and of the vulnerability of older people in general:
Meems said Phinneus had died from a heart attack. She said it was typical for old people. I know she thought she was being reassuring, but I was horrified. Because when I looked at the grown-ups, all I could see was gray hair and wrinkles (123).
Bell grows into his role within the group, as evidenced when he takes on more responsibility at the algae farm. He is becoming increasingly aware of The Dangers of Isolation, and he is starting to question the settlers’ lack of support:
[...] who would send a condolence message to us? Who would tell us how sorry they were that we’d lost a member of our family? Because that’s what Phinneus had been—family (124).
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By Jennifer L. Holm
