41 pages • 1 hour read
Nic StoneFast Pitch
Fiction | Novel | Middle Grade | Published in 2021A 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 13-15Chapter Summaries & Analyses
Chapter 13 Summary: “Playbook”
Shenice and her family visit Uncle Jack, but he sleeps while they are there. In the car, Shenice asks why her parents did not tell her Jack was sick; her dad explains that they wanted her to connect with Jack and not write him off as a dying old man. Once they arrive home, Shenice closes herself in her room and reads JonJon’s journal. He primarily writes about day-to-day life, but a few entries corroborate Jack’s story. A few days later, they return to visit Jack and, though he is awake, he is not lucid. His nurse discusses softball with Shenice before handing her a note from Uncle Jack containing an address.
Chapter 14 Summary: “Stealing Home”
Shenice tries to find the address; she fails until she asks her dad about the street name. He reveals that the street’s name changed and asks why she wants to know. She spins a story about a Civil Rights Movement project she is working on; she cannot tell whether her dad believes her. She asks her dad to drop her off early for practice, which he does without question since arranging Uncle Jack’s affairs. She finds the house, which is run down, but is the most “together” house on the street. She approaches the back door and tries to go inside, but a dog charges at her before she can do so.
Chapter 15 Summary: “Safe”
Shenice wakes up in a hospital; her friends Britt-Marie, Laury, and Scoob are with her. When she regains complete consciousness, they explain that a dog stood guard over her after she passed out behind a creepy house. Her teammates expressed concern when she did not attend practice, and her dad found her behind Uncle Jack’s old house. She has 11 stitches in her arm and panics that she has ruined her team’s chances in the tournament. Once she calms down, she explains everything to her friends.
Chapters 13-15 Analysis
Fast Pitch approaches its climax as Shenice closes in on finding the Joe DiMaggio glove. Her challenges now come from tackling her obstacles alone. These chapters focus on Shenice learning the necessity of Teamwork and Effective Leadership. Shenice reads JonJon’s diary and uncovers his individual history in the journal, which contains “a line [...] that gets [her] blood boiling, but overall, it’s clear he was just recording bits of his life” (114). By reading about JonJon’s life, she reestablishes her connection with her family’s legacy. She realizes that “[that] lying Jacob Carlyle might’ve hit pause on Great-Grampy JonJon’s dreams, but they lived on in his son and grandson” (115). This narrative reconnection becomes significant to the Sports’ Connection to Personal and Familial Identity theme. Though Shenice has now reestablished her connection with baseball, she still bears the burden of reestablishing her family’s connection to baseball by restoring JonJon’s history in the game. Even though Shenice has achieved personal satisfaction, she cannot let go until the second part of the task is complete. For that to happen, she needs her friends.
“Base-related ball” appears infrequently in these three chapters of Shenice’s story. She only mentions the game relative to JonJon or how she uses practices as an excuse to pursue answers. Now, she focuses on the generational trauma her family carries because of JonJon’s erased legacy and Jack’s attempts to redeem his brother. Shenice wonders, “What if he spent his whole life with this thing draped over his back like some grungy coat of lead…and I could take it off for him by being the person who listened and believed” (124). On the surface, she refers to Jack’s attempts to clear his brother’s name; on a deeper level, she relates to the trauma. Instead of considering how to put down the emotional burden, she presumes the weight must carry on. Though she wants to prove her great-grandfather’s innocence, she chooses to carry the challenges from the past forward with her. She bears the burden alone, which culminates in her passing out and her father taking her to the hospital. Her passing out becomes symbolic of the expectations crushing her spirit to an extent she can no longer manage alone. Chapter 15 concludes with Shenice shedding “tears again. Happy ones this time” (135), and she chooses not to carry the weight of history alone—instead, she decides to share it with her friends and feels lighter than her journey has allowed her to thus far.
The dog, which appears in Chapters 14 and 15, represents the miscommunication of intent. When the dog first approaches Shenice, she describes the situation: “Slowly, carefully, I turn my head to peek over my shoulder. Behind me is the biggest, scariest dog I’ve ever seen. A rottweiler” (127). Throughout her encounter with the animal, Stone chooses aggressive words that create a malicious tone. The dog lunges, growls, and bares its teeth. These descriptors generate the image of an aggressive dog attacking or defending its perceived territory. However, when her friends fill her in, they describe the dog as “a giant dog at your side—like she was watching over you, your dad said. I think you might have a new pet, actually” (131). The author uses a dog breed traditionally perceived as aggressive to demonstrate that appearance and history do not define people, and that people should be taken at face value, like the rottweiler who protects Shenice, rather than be judged based on others’ biased and inaccurate perceptions.
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By Nic Stone
