96 pages • 3 hours read
Boy21
A modern alternative to SparkNotes and CliffsNotes, SuperSummary offers high-quality Study Guides with detailed chapter summaries and analysis of major themes, characters, and more. For select classroom titles, we also provide Teaching Guides with discussion and quiz questions to prompt student engagement.
Chapters 18–20Chapter Summaries & Analyses
Chapter 18 Summary
Erin and Finley are having a snowball fight when they are interrupted by Coach, who asks Finley to take a ride with him. Finley and Coach sit in the car and Coach asks Finley about Russ, who has been quiet since his birthday. Basketball season is around the corner, but Finley explains that Russ doesn’t seem to be interested in or stable enough to play basketball. This makes Coach angry, and Finley then gets annoyed at Coach for being angry. Coach tells Finley to make sure that Russ gets to his physical and comes to the Friday team meeting, then thanks Finley and tells him that these efforts are all to help Russ, which Finley doesn’t believe. Finley goes inside to find Erin watching television with his father and grandfather. Erin and Finley go up to the roof, she asks about Coach’s visit, and Finley tells her that Coach wants Russ to play basketball. They kiss.
The next day, Erin asks Russ about basketball, and Russ looks at Finley for an answer. Finley says nothing. They get physicals, but Russ does not show up to the Friday meeting. Coach asks Finley about it, saying that Russ has reverted to talking about his parents coming to get him from outer space. Finley admits that he has not encouraged Russ to try out for the team, which angers Coach. Coach admonishes Finley to make sure that Russ is at the first practice, because he thinks that the routine will be good for his mental health. Finley gets frustrated, wishing that Coach would pick someone else to babysit Russ, but Coach says he knows Finley won’t let him down.
Chapter 19 Summary
On Thanksgiving, Erin, Boy21, and Finley watch a school football game outside. The first day of basketball practice is the next day, and Finley feels conflicted. The football team loses, but no one cares. Terrell Patterson’s mother introduces “White Rabbit” to her friends and says that he looks just like his father. Coach takes Boy21 to have Thanksgiving at the Allens’ house, and Erin and Finley walk home together.
Like before every other basketball season, Erin suggests that they not break up, but Finley thinks she’s too much of a distraction. Even though they get back together after every season, Finley feels an unshakeable sense of dread. Finley says he especially should focus this year, but when Erin asks what he means, he won’t tell her.
Chapter 20 Summary
Erin and Finley eat Thanksgiving at Erin’s house with Rod, who checks to make sure no one’s bothering them. Erin, Finley, and Rod talk basketball, although Rod mostly ignores Erin’s questions. Rod no longer plays basketball, which upsets Finley because he remembers watching him play as a kid. Rod says that “Coach is pretty much the only good black man I’ve ever met” (95), which neither Erin nor Finley acknowledge. Erin doesn’t want to fight because Rod doesn’t visit often, but she misses the old, non-racist, basketball-playing Rod. Erin tries to engage everyone in conversation, but only gets one- and two-word answers. Eventually, she gives up, and Rod leaves.
Erin and Finley bring leftovers to Finley’s dad. The holidays and basketball season are especially hard for Finley’s father and grandfather, because it reminds them of the wives they lost. Erin and Finley escape up to the roof to kiss for the last time until basketball season ends, but Finley can’t concentrate. Erin notices, and Finley finally tells her everything, including Russ’s secrets. Erin is understandably frustrated but Finley apologizes, admitting that he is concerned that Russ will take his spot on the basketball team. Erin tries to come up with justifications for why that will not happen.
Erin wonders aloud why Coach picked Finley to help Russ, thinking that it might have something to do with the violence in their pasts. Finley asks Erin what she means, and Erin backtracks hard, switching the conversation over to how much Russ appreciates Finley as a friend. Erin and Finley lie on the roof until midnight, when Finley walks Erin home. They agree to just take some time apart instead of breaking up, because they both know they’ll be together forever.
Chapters 18–20 Analysis
These chapters foreshadow the sacrifices required by friendship, specifically through the lens of Coach’s actions. Coach’s behavior towards Finley indicates that he is neither the friend nor the role model that Finley originally thought. Similarly, a gap emerges in Finley and Russ’s grasp of friendship. Whereas Russ is willing to sacrifice playing basketball—and potentially his psychological stability—for Finley, Finley is not willing to sacrifice his concentration on basketball for Erin.
These chapters also elucidate the problems associated with silence. In keeping silent, Erin and Finley tacitly accept Rod’s racism, allowing his beliefs to continue within their community. Similarly, Finley’s silence towards Erin concerning Russ’s situation causes a rift between them. Eventually, Finley realizes that his silence is unhealthy both for himself and for their relationship, and breaks the covenant of secrecy. However, Finley still refuses to speak about his mother’s death and his own past trauma, which prevents his relationship with Erin from growing and stunts his own growth as a character.
Unlock all 96 pages of this Study GuidePlus, gain access to 8,800+ more expert-written Study Guides.
Including features:
Related Titles
By Matthew Quick
