52 pages • 1 hour read
Stuart GibbsBelly Up
Fiction | Novel | Middle Grade | Published in 2010A modern alternative to SparkNotes and CliffsNotes, SuperSummary offers high-quality Study Guides with detailed chapter summaries and analysis of major themes, characters, and more.
Chapters 13-16Chapter Summaries & Analyses
Chapter 13 Summary: “Carnivore Canyon”
Over 2,000 guests attend Carnivore Canyon’s grand opening party, many of them wealthy Texans who grumble about having to pass through two metal detectors on their way to the event. The guests have little interest in the newly opened enclosure, but Teddy and his mother excitedly observe mountain lions, otters, and bears in their new home. Summer finds Teddy and tells him her father wants to speak with him. As the boy approaches J. J. McCracken, he hears the billionaire and Doc talking about how the jaguar died of toxoplasmosis, which is “primarily a disease of house cats” (189). The jaguar likely fell ill in a customs holding facility. The canyon now contains three live jaguars, and Doc criticizes McCracken for buying them from an unscrupulous breeder in Brazil.
McCracken sends Doc away and graciously greets Teddy, telling him Summer has “a heap of good things to say about [him]” (191). This makes both Teddy and Summer blush. McCracken agrees Henry was murdered, and he suspects either the Animal Liberation Front or a rival corporation is responsible. Henry’s death has already cost FunJungle millions in canceled trips and unsold merchandise, with McCracken saying: “Do you have any idea how much damage they’ve done by killing Henry right after the park’s grand opening? [...] I’ve got warehouses full of Henry merchandise I can’t sell now” (195). McCracken asks Teddy to leave the investigation to Buck and praises the boy: “You’re a good kid. You’re smart and you’ve got guts” (198). Teddy agrees to do as he says, and McCracken invites him to give him a call if he has any more ideas about the case. Suddenly, a hungry tiger gets loose and stalks behind Teddy.
Chapter 14 Summary: “The End of the Party”
Kashmir the tiger climbed up a ladder that was left in its enclosure and onto the walkway, blocking Teddy and the others from reaching the exit to Carnivore Canyon. Mrs. Fitzroy urges everyone to be calm and stay still, but McCracken panics and runs, dragging Summer along with him. This triggers the tiger’s attack response, and it lunges toward Teddy and his mother. Teddy’s father appears and drives the tiger back with a broom. Their relief at this daring rescue is short-lived when the big cat races toward the party. Teddy and his mother pull the ladder out of the enclosure so the other tigers can’t climb up. Teddy sees the ladder was lowered using a rope and the end of the rope was cleanly cut. Then Teddy hurries after his parents and the tiger, worried the person who deliberately freed the big cat is nearby. The terrified guests and security guards trample one another in their haste to flee. However, the tiger is much more interested in the buffet tables than in hurting anyone, and two keepers are able to corral it.
The members of the Fitzroy family hug each other close after the ordeal. Mr. Fitzroy explains that Mrs. Fitzroy called him and said Teddy was in trouble, so he hurried back from China at once. He found the broom on the walkway, suggesting the person who released the tiger left it there on purpose. Summer texts Teddy, “Long story. Will call soon. Promise” (211). Pete Thwacker is among the frightened partygoers, and Teddy realizes that the man couldn’t possibly be the cold, calculating mastermind behind the sinister events at the zoo. Buck Grassley arrives on the scene and tries to ask the Fitzroys some questions, but Teddy’s father retorts, “If I’d been one minute later, they’d have been mauled thanks to your security failures” (215). As the family walks home and has dinner together, Teddy tells his father everything that happened in his absence. Mr. Fitzroy is concerned about the jaguar and wonders how many other animal deaths were covered up at FunJungle. He’s also worried about Henry’s enclosure. He resolves to find some answers with his son.
Chapter 15 Summary: “The Dead List”
The next day, the tiger’s escape is all over the news, and FunJungle issues a press release claiming the Animal Liberation Front (ALF) is responsible. In a televised interview, Pete states, “Setting Kashmir free was a blatant terrorist attack designed to both make FunJungle look bad and hurt our bottom line without any consideration for the safety of our guests last night” (218). He also blames ALF for Henry’s death and says evidence of this will be released after the hippo’s funeral that afternoon. Neither Teddy nor his parents are convinced ALF is responsible, and they are determined to find the true culprit.
With his well-respected father on the case, Teddy’s investigation becomes easier. Mr. Fitzroy asks the secretary at the animal hospital for a list of all the animals that died at FunJungle. He claims he needs it to determine which animals he’s meant to photograph. Many animals died, including “Harriet the Howler Monkey, Oswald the Ocelot, Agnes the Agouti, Wally the Wildebeest, Andrea the Anteater, and Jerry the Jaguar” (224). Teddy notices that the majority of these animals are from the Amazon rainforest. He and his father suspect Doc knows more about the deaths, but they decide to investigate Hippo River first.
Chapter 16 Summary: “Bad Plans”
Teddy’s father wants to look at the blueprints for Hippo River, but they’re kept in the heavily guarded administration building. The Fitzroys decide to go there when it is deserted for Henry’s funeral, which begins at noon. Summer is late to let the Fitzroys into the building. Her tardiness and the lack of communication from her since the tiger’s escape makes Teddy feel as if she “didn’t value [their] friendship as highly as [he] did” (232). Summer tries to ignore Teddy’s irritation with her, unlocks the door to the room with the blueprints, and hurries back to the funeral. To the Fitzroys’ horror, they find a model of the park with thrill rides inside the enclosures. The proposed Hippo River ride would be dangerous for both the tourists and the animals. The Fitzroys feel betrayed because McCracken promised he cared about animals, but the plans show his priority is profit. Teddy ducks under a table to retrieve a roll of blueprints. Just then, Buck Grassley enters the room and orders the security guards to arrest Teddy’s parents for breaking and entering.
Chapters 13-16 Analysis
In the novel’s fourth section, Teddy resumes his investigation into Henry’s death amid mounting danger at FunJungle, courageously challenging the zoo’s corruption. Chapter 13 advances the protagonist’s relationship with multiple supporting characters. For example, Summer blushes when her father tells Teddy she speaks highly of him, revealing that she returns Teddy’s affections. The chapter contains Teddy’s first meeting with FunJungle’s owner. This marks a significant achievement for his investigation, especially considering his struggle to make adults take him seriously earlier in the story. Like Buck did in Chapter 12, McCracken asks Teddy to leave the case to the grown-ups. Similar to Buck, McCracken has Teddy’s admiration, which makes it easier to secure the boy’s compliance: “I wasn’t happy to step aside, but I appreciated J.J. taking the time to explain everything to me like I was a grown-up. I could see why he was such a good deal-maker. It was hard not to like him” (199). McCracken proves himself to be a shrewd negotiator in this conversation, but he wants Teddy to abandon the case to protect the park’s image, not the boy. The opposing forces of conservation and the zoo’s greed, complete with the characters that support each side, are emphasized, highlighting The Purposes of Environmental Ethics Versus Greed.
Although Teddy promises Buck and McCracken he’ll stop his detective work, he soon returns to the case due to the tiger’s release and his father’s encouragement, demonstrating the strength of his character. The tiger’s escape during the party at Carnivore Canyon is the second time a dangerous animal is purposely set loose at FunJungle. This time, not only Teddy but Summer, McCracken, and Teddy’s mother are also at risk. McCracken and his daughter’s proximity to the cat decreases the likelihood that he is involved. Chapter 14 gives Mr. Fitzroy a dashing introduction. He protects his wife and son from the tiger, stands up to Buck, and decides to join Teddy’s investigation. These actions exemplify Bravery and Perseverance as Aids Against Greed. Teddy’s father is an also admirable character because of the way he loves and prioritizes his son by rushing back to FunJungle: “He’d also forfeited a high-profile assignment and the chance to see giant pandas in the wild. But Dad acted like it was no big deal; he didn’t want me to think I’d caused him any trouble, even though I had” (208). In Chapter 15, Teddy’s father joins him on the case and demonstrates his resourcefulness by concocting a clever lie to obtain the list of dead animals. The alarming number of animals that have perished at FunJungle confirms the Fitzroys’ suspicion that the mystery goes deeper than Henry’s death, and the Amazon connection offers a clue that proves useful at the novel’s end. Teddy’s character is further developed in these sections, and the need for his inner traits to combat the social evils is emphasized.
The theme of The Purposes of Environmental Ethics Versus Greed takes center stage, showing the two goals as being irreconcilable. For example, Chapter 13 addresses a way animals are treated poorly in the real world. Doc claims the dead jaguar fell ill in a customs holding facility, which Teddy knows is highly plausible: “Unfortunately, the facilities were underfunded and run-down and the animal care was known to be subpar at best. It wouldn’t have been the first time a zoo lost an endangered animal while trying to bring it into the country” (189). In another unethical move related to animal rights, McCracken seeks to pin the blame for Henry's death and the tiger’s escape on the Animal Liberation Front. He’s more interested in giving the media and potential customers the impression that everything is under control at FunJungle than in finding the real killer. As the forces of environmental ethics and greed are further pitted against each other, it becomes clear one will have to triumph over the other; Teddy will need to challenge the zoo’s greed to make it a safer place for its animals.
The most grievous example of prioritizing greed over environmental ethics shows the irreconcilability of the two forces and occurs in Chapter 16 with the revelation of McCracken’s plans for FunJungle’s future. The betrayal cuts Mr. and Mrs. Fitzroy deeply because they love animals and moved to work at FunJungle. As Mrs. Fitzroy explains, “J.J. lied to us. He told us that this park was all about the animals. About the research” (241). Chapter 16 ends on a cliffhanger when Teddy’s parents are arrested. With only a few chapters remaining, the reader wonders how Teddy will manage to clear his parents’ names, bring Henry’s killer to justice, and protect the other animals from the greed of the people running FunJungle. The battle between these two forces will serve as the novel’s climax.
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By Stuart Gibbs
