As Brave As You

Fiction | Novel | Middle Grade | Published in 2016

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Summary

Chapter Summaries & Analyses

Chapters 1-4

Chapters 5-8

Chapters 9-11

Chapters 12-15

Chapters 16-18

Chapters 19-21

Character Analysis

Themes

Symbols & Motifs

Important Quotes

Essay Topics

Chapters 16-18Chapter Summaries & Analyses

Chapter 16 Summary

Their grandmother rushes Genie and Ernie to the hospital, where a doctor re-implants two of Ernie’s three missing teeth. At the hospital, the boys learn that their grandmother was a nurse for 30 years before retiring. They return home, and Ernie is self-conscious about his teeth. Genie tries to cheer him up, and the boys talk about fear, bravery, and trusting their instincts.

Their grandmother shows them the Purple Heart medal that Wood was awarded posthumously for his bravery in the Desert Storm conflict. Wood wrote her a letter shortly before he was killed, and she could tell that he was afraid. She tells the boys that they’re descended from a line of brave men—Brooke, their father, and their uncle were all brave, although they showed it in different ways. When their grandmother calls Genie’s parents to tell them about Ernie’s teeth, Genie’s father is livid about Brooke’s role in the accident and refuses to talk to him. Later that night, when Genie and Brooke go outside again, Brooke pointedly leaves his gun on the table dismantled. A rainstorm begins while they’re outside, and they let the rain wash over them.

Chapter 17 Summary

Embarrassed about his teeth, Ernie refuses to see Tess, afraid that she won’t like him anymore. Genie goes with his grandmother to the market to sell peas. They tell Binks about Ernie’s accident, and Genie’s grandma asks Binks to look at Ernie’s mouth as a second opinion. Genie buys a tooth that supposedly came from Bruce Lee as a good-luck charm for Ernie, who practices karate. Tess gives Ernie one of her mom’s medical face masks to cover up his teeth. Her mother has been coming to terms with her own hypochondria; she actually left the house to drive Tess to the market.

At their grandparents’ house, Genie tells Ernie about their grandmother’s plan to take him to see Binks. Ernie adamantly refuses to go, afraid that Binks will harvest his teeth to sell. Genie hides the Bruce Lee tooth in Uncle Wood’s folded U.S. armed services flag. Meanwhile, ever since Ernie’s accident with the gun, Brooke has been pensive and withdrawn, mostly staying in the sunroom by himself.

Chapter 18 Summary

Genie, Ernie, and Tess go down to Tess’s house, where her mother insists that they inspect all her clothes for skin irritants. Genie spots a button on a jacket that is similar enough to the broken fire truck wheel to replace it, and Tess gives it to him. Later, Genie glues it onto the truck, relieved that he was able to fix it.

Chapters 16-18 Analysis

Some of the novel’s conflicts here come to a close. Ernie and Genie come to understand their family heritage better after their conversations with their grandmother about Wood and his military service. They also learn that Brooke will still accept them even if they don’t participate in the shooting tradition. Ernie is self-conscious about his appearance after he has dental work done on his teeth, but discovers that Tess still likes him anyway. And Genie’s guilt over causing the fire truck to break is resolved when he finds a button that can serve as a stand-in wheel. (Reynolds keeps three other conflicts active until the last section of the book: the dead bird and Genie’s guilt over it, Brooke’s guilt over Ernie’s shooting accident, and the strained relationship between Genie’s dad and Brooke.)

Other conflicts escalate, building tension for the novel’s denouement. Genie and Brooke’s relationship weakens after the shooting incident because of Brooke’s withdrawal from the rest of the family. Brooke is wrestling with his feelings of guilt, helplessness, and anger about the shooting incident; Genie sees the faults and flaws in his grandfather’s character. Seeing his grandfather’s mistake and wrestling with the complex emotion of watching someone he admires struggle with failure, bad judgment, and vulnerability will lead Genie to confess the bird’s death to his grandfather late in the book. As he comes of age, Genie realizes that adults aren’t perfect and that difficult feelings like guilt, fear, betrayal, and anger are a manageable and natural part of life. Moreover, Genie begins to shift his understanding of authority figures as he learns more about his grandmother’s role as a nurse for many years and regards her with a new respect.