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.
Before You Read
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
Part 2 begins in the past, with Valerie recollecting the events immediately following the shooting. She wakes up in a hospital bed after surgery. As her parents and the police reveal more information to Valerie about the shooting, she expresses shock when they explain Nick shot her. Valerie begins to cry uncontrollably. At a loss, her parents fight and leave the room; Valerie is alone with her brother, Frankie, who wants to know what she did. Valerie, unable to answer, realizes she bears responsibility for the shooting that day, but remains unable to process that guilt just yet. When Valerie asks about Nick, Frankie tells her Nick committed suicide shortly after shooting Valerie.
Valerie shares more about herself as she explains the origins of her romance with Nick and her former, growing obsession with hate and anger: “It’s funny that the name that would turn out to be the most recognizable of my class […] Nick Levilwas a name nobody’d heard of before our freshman year” (131). In fact, outside of their small crowd, Nick didn’t seem known for anything other than getting picked on and coming from the poorer part of town. She describes Nick as the opposite of everyone else: his clothes old, cheap, and worn, and that he had a huge chip on his shoulder.