67 pages • 2 hours read
Jennifer BrownA modern alternative to SparkNotes and CliffsNotes, SuperSummary offers high-quality Study Guides with detailed chapter summaries and analysis of major themes, characters, and more.
Summary
Part 1, Chapters 1-2
Part 1, Chapters 3-4
Part 1, Chapter 5
Part 2, Chapters 6-7
Part 2, Chapters 8-9
Part 2, Chapters 10-11
Part 2, Chapters 12-13
Part 2, Chapters 14-15
Part 3, Chapters 16-17
Part 3, Chapters 18-19
Part 3, Chapters 20-21
Part 3, Chapters 22-23
Part 3, Chapters 24-25
Part 3, Chapters 26-27
Part 3, Chapters 28-29
Part 3, Chapters 30-31
Part 3, Chapters 32-33
Part 3, Chapters 34-35
Part 3, Chapters 36-37
Part 3, Chapters 38-39
Part 3, Chapters 40-41
Part 3, Chapters 42-43
Part 4, Chapter 44
Character Analysis
Themes
Symbols & Motifs
Important Quotes
Essay Topics
Chapter 3 begins with a news article describing the death of Jeff Hicks, a 15-year-old freshman, struck and killed by a stray bullet. Unlike Christy Bruter, Jeff Hicks’s name doesn’t appear on the hate list; he appears to be a random victim, late for class that day and taking a shortcut he otherwise would not have taken.
As the chapter switches to present time, Valerie narrates her harrowing first day of class with Mrs. Tennille, a stern teacher who can’t look Valerie in the eye and had an adversarial relationship with Nick. Sources state, and Valerie confirms this, that Mr. Kline, the chemistry teacher killed in the shooting, was protecting the whereabouts of Mrs. Tennille, one of Nick’s intended targets. As Valerie notices Mrs. Tennille can’t quite meet her eye, she wonders if it is because “pretty much everyone in the world knew that Mr. Kline had died because he wouldn’t tell Nick where Mrs. Tennille was” (67). Reflecting on Mr. Kline’s wonderful character, Valerie offers that he saved the lives of several other students that day, as well (67).
Facing classmates, many of whom openly act hostile toward her, Valerie feels weak, targeted as she makes her way to her seat: “My leg throbbed and I felt myself limping and silently cursed myself for doing it” (67).