Slugfest

As the events of Slugfest challenge the characters’ expectations, the children find new ways to understand themselves and the world. From the beginning of the novel, Cleo has mixed feelings about Yash. While she appreciates his athletic talent, she is also annoyed at the privilege that those talents have afforded him. She’s shocked that he has to attend summer school to make up gym because she “always thought Yash was an overprivileged jock who has the whole school eating out of his hand” (15-16). As the summer progresses and Cleo sees Yash’s patience in training the slugs for the tournament, she realizes that Yash is more than a cocky, overprivileged jock who uses his status to get what he wants. He works hard and wants to earn his place, values that Cleo shares as an athlete. In setting aside her preconceived image of Yash as a stereotypical privileged jock, Cleo allows herself to see who he really is.

Just as Cleo learns to see beyond stereotypes in her friendship with Yash, Yash learns to set aside his own preconceived notions in interacting with the other “slugs” of summer school gym. When Yash learns that he’ll be attending a class labeled “Slugfest” for the perceived un-athleticism of its students, he immediately assumes that his class will be full of brainy people with no athletic aptitude whatsoever.