51 pages • 1 hour read
And Then, Boom!
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Pages 217-288Chapter Summaries & Analyses
Content Warning: This section of the guide contains descriptions of extreme poverty, starvation, injury, and child abandonment.
Note: These pages contain the poems “On the Tip of My Tongue,” “My Favorite Day,” “Not Quite Right,” “Howling Winds,” “Trapped,” “A Big Pile of Poo,” “It’s Just Beginning,” “Lighting Strikes,” “And Then,” “Here It Comes,” “The Tornado,” “Holding On,” “Superman,” “Survived the Storm,” “After A Storm,” “Hurt,” “Take Care of Yourself,” “My Story,” “My Story,” “Bracing,” “All Kinds of Lucky,” “Barely Recognizable,” “Hunger Three-Finger Rundown,” “Clean Start,” “A Lot of Ifs,” “The Suitcase,” “Everybody Knows Now,” “Slushy Manor,” “A Little Overwhelming,” “Phoenix and Olivia,” “The Davisons,” “A Minute to Get Used to All This,” “Surrounded By Food,” “Learn From Each Other,” “The Fifth Chair,” “Taken Care Of,” “Before They Get So Bad,” “My Room,” “Rebuilding,” “My Boy,” “Little Free Pantries,” “Do What You Can,” “The View From Here,” and “Even Superheroes Need Help.”
Pages 217-288 Summary
Uncle Frankie comes back and asks Joey about his mom. Joey almost admits that she left but tells another lie instead, insisting that he is fine. Uncle Frankie invites him over for dinner.
It’s Joey’s favorite day—the sunshine festival. Everything from hot dogs to concerts in the park to swimming at the pool is free. At night, Joey watches the fireworks and admits that today is also his 12th birthday. He imagines that the festivities are for him.
One day, Joey feels an ache in his gut. The clouds darken and the sky turns green, indicating a storm. The dogs behave erratically as the storm begins and quickly intensifies. Joey tries to comfort the dogs, and tornado sirens begin to sound. He remembers Nick saying that the mobile home is not safe in a storm. He and the dogs have to find shelter.
Joey packs his backpack and grabs the folder with all his important documents. The wind blows so hard that he can’t open the front door; he is trapped in the house. He grabs the baseball bat and smashes the window, then puts the pups in his backpack and holds Lucky as he jumps out.
