103 pages • 3 hours read
Alicia D. WilliamsGenesis Begins Again
Fiction | Novel | Middle Grade | Published in 2019A 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 20-24Chapter Summaries & Analyses
Chapter 20 Summary
Mama drops Genesis off at Sophia’s house on Saturday. They are both shocked by how big her house is. Sophia’s mom, Mrs. Papageorgiou, and the rest of her family are very friendly and welcoming to Genesis. They make a huge dinner, and Genesis helps Sophia set the table. She is embarrassed when Sophia tells her she isn’t doing it right and corrects her, taking extra care to readjust the silverware. When they join Sophia’s large family at the dining room table for dinner, Genesis notices that both Sophia and her dad make sure the different foods on their plate don’t touch.
After dinner, Sophia and Genesis go up to Sophia’s room. Genesis confides in her that she has never had a best friend before. She says they should make it official by telling each other a secret. Sophia nervously shares that she doesn’t have any friends because she has obsessive compulsive disorder (OCD), and she got tired of people calling her weird making fun of her for it. Genesis tells her that she has never had any friends because she is “too ugly,” and everyone makes fun of how dark her skin is (241). She says that she hates her skin and her hair and wishes she were light-skinned with “good hair” (241). Sophia asks what “good hair is,” and when Genesis tries to explain, Sophia nods like she gets it, but then asks if she can touch Genesis’s hair. Genesis is taken aback. Everybody she knows not to ask to touch someone’s hair. Sophia blushes and seems embarrassed when Genesis asks her why she would even ask that. Sophia says that she’s just never touched “hair like [hers]” (238).
Genesis starts to think about Sophia’s OCD, and how some of Sophia’s behavior that she thought was weird before now makes sense. She tells Sophia that she would never call her “weird,” and Sophia tells her that she would never call her “ugly” (238).
Genesis’s good mood quickly evaporates when she gets back home. Mama tells her that her dad is in a bad mood because his liquor is missing. He accused Mama of pouring it out. Genesis can’t bring herself to tell Mama that she's responsible.
Chapter 21 Summary
On Wednesday, Genesis and Sophia make their way to the auditorium to support Troy during his talent show audition. A short while into the auditions, Yvette, Belinda, and a third girl take the stage. They are amazing, swaying and moving in perfect unison, just like Genesis does when she is alone in her room. Troy tells her that they won second place last year, and that they have a good chance of winning this year.
Nia auditions next. She plays an acoustic guitar cover of “Here” by Alessia Cara. Her beautiful, soulful voice captures everyone’s attention, and Genesis thinks she is almost as good as Yvette’s group.
Troy auditions next. As he makes his way to the stage, people whisper to each other that he is a nerd. He starts to play his violin, and Genesis is surprised that he plays classical music. It’s not that he isn’t great, but she doesn’t think that he could win by playing classical music in a middle school talent show. She and Sophia are the only ones who stand and cheer for him when he is finished.
Mrs. Hill announces that that marks the end of the talent show auditions, unless anyone else didn’t get a chance to audition and would like to now. Genesis swears that Mrs. Hill looks right at her. Before she can think twice, Genesis stands up and makes her way to the stage. She can’t think of any song to sing except for the one she always sings with her dad, “Ain’t No Mountain High Enough.” As she gets up to the microphone, she opens her mouth to sing, but nothing comes out. Mrs. Hill encourages her by asking her where she first heard the song, and Genesis thinks about her dad. She closes her eyes and starts to sing. When she opens her eyes, the auditorium is silent. Mrs. Hill’s eyes are glistening with tears.
She quickly makes her way back to Sophia and Troy, who are overjoyed for her and ask her where she’s been hiding her amazing voice. Genesis hopes that she might win because her dad will finally be proud of her. Nia comes up to her and tells her she gave a powerful audition. Genesis still can’t believe that she actually sang on stage, in front of people, all by herself.
Chapter 22 Summary
Genesis and Troy are ecstatic when they see that they both made the cut following the audition. Genesis notices Nia, who has also made the cut, on her way to chorus class, and she catches up to her to say congratulations. As they talk, Genesis wonders to herself how Nia can do anything else besides neo-soul because she has locs. She suddenly realizes that she is being judgmental like Grandma and decides that Nia should be whoever she wants.
Yvette and Belinda come up behind Genesis as Nia turns into the classroom. Yvette tells Genesis that she shouldn’t talk to Nia because she is stuck-up. She calls her a freak, then says that she heard that her hair stinks and she probably doesn’t even wash it. Yvette says that she knows the value of a good hairstyle and that her mother paid a lot of money for her weave. She tells Genesis, “no offense,” but she can smell her “cooked hair” (255). Genesis is taken aback.
Yvette and Belinda tell Genesis that she might be excited about the show now, but she will be really stressed when it actually comes time to perform. Yvette tells her that she would rather die than perform all alone, and Genesis begins to get nervous. She tells them that Troy said the talent show is fun, and Yvette laughs and says Troy wouldn’t know because all he does is talk about Star Trek. Genesis doesn’t like how she is making fun of her friend.
Chapter 23 Summary
Genesis comes home to find another note on the door from the landlord, Todd, addressed to her dad. The note says that her dad hasn’t paid the rent for this month, so now there is an additional late charge. If the full balance isn’t paid immediately, they will begin the eviction process.
Genesis is angry that they trusted her dad to be different this time, but she doesn’t want to waste time on anger. She wants to take action, so she decides that she will take a bus to her dad’s work to convince Todd to give them more time. When she gets there, someone tells her that Emory, her father, doesn't work there anymore. Chico, a friend of her father's calls to her, but she turns away without answering.
When Genesis gets home, she's angry and upset that her dad is a liar. She puts on her Ella Fitzgerald CD to distract herself, and it lifts her mood a little bit. Even though she did something today she shouldn’t have, she is proud of herself for taking action. She is proud of herself for making the talent show.
When her dad still isn’t home hours later, Genesis starts to get anxious all over again. She wonders what he does all day and what else he is lying about.
Chapter 24 Summary
In Ms. Luctenburg’s English class the next day, Genesis is shocked when Jason passes her a note asking if she will sing a hook for he and Terrence’s talent show number. Ms. Luctenburg enters the classroom before Genesis has a chance to answer.
During class, Ms. Luctenburg leads the class in a discussion about the book they are reading, The Outsiders. She asks them to think about whether there’s a difference between the Greasers and the Socs in the book. Genesis answers that neither group stops to think for themselves, they judge each other by what is on the outside without even getting to know one another. Sophia bounces off Genesis’s answer with a similar idea.
Jason catches up with Genesis after class and asks again if she will sing a hook for them. He says her “dope” voice is what his song needs (271). Genesis decides on the spot and tells him she will sing for him.
Later in the library, Sophia tells Genesis to be careful and that Jason might just be using her for her voice. Genesis’s excitement fades as she wonders if that’s true. She goes to the computers to research again how to lighten her skin and reads about bleaching cream. She is amazed at the pictures of all of the dark-skinned women who use it and boast its success. Troy comes up behind her and asks her what she’s looking at. Genesis quickly closes the tab and tells him it’s nothing, but she sees the disappointment in his eyes. When she gets home, she steals her mom’s emergency credit card and orders the cream.
The next day in gym class, Yvette and Belinda approach Genesis and tell her that they have decided that Genesis should join their group for the talent show. Yvette tells her that she will do her hair for the show too. Genesis is thrilled, but a part of her worries about what Sophia told her in the library. She hopes that Yvette and Belinda are not just using her for her voice.
Chapters 20-24 Analysis
Genesis begins to show significant signs of growth in Chapters 20-24. She confides in Sophia about her insecurities, something that she has never shared before with anyone else. She also auditions for the talent show, which marks the first time she has ever sung by herself in front of people. Finally, she figures out how to take the bus all the way to her dad’s work to try and take control over their living situation. In all of these instances, Genesis is learning to take control of her own life in a way that she hasn’t done before.
Singing at the auditions for the talent show was a major turning point for Genesis because she shared a very precious and private side of herself—one that she usually reserves for when she is alone in her room listening to music—with her peers. It’s clear that Mrs. Hill has played an important role in her life, even in just the short amount of time she has known her. Without Mrs. Hill’s encouragement, Genesis may not have even entertained the thought of auditioning. Mrs. Hill acts as an important adult figure in her life because up until this point, few people in Genesis’s life have encouraged her or made her feel special or talented, especially the adult figures in her life who are supposed to cheer her on (Dad, Grandma).
It is significant that it isn’t until Genesis thinks about her dad that she is able to let go and start singing. Music is the only point of connection that Genesis has with her dad, the only times where her dad smiles at her and shares a real piece of himself with her. She tries to sing “Ain’t No Mountain High Enough’’ at the audition, but it isn’t until she remembers first hearing her dad sing the song that she is able to let the music take over her. She says, “He sang it, and he sounded so good. I promised to remember the words so we could sing it together. And I did. And oh, oh thank you thank you, the words come back to me now. I close my eyes, and let the song out, let it free” (247).
Genesis doesn’t realize it yet, but just like Billie Holiday, she is pouring her heartache and loneliness, most often inflicted by her father, into her music. The few times where Genesis loses herself in the present moment and lets herself feel her emotions is when she is singing, first during “Follow the Drinking Gourd,” and then again during her audition. Both times, her mind goes to her father, the former to a memory that fills her with sorrow and pain and the latter to a memory that fills her with joy. Throughout the novel, music serves as a symbol for Genesis’s authentic emotions, a freedom from the pressures all around her.
Genesis is beginning to build up her courage and confidence through music, but she is still struggling to gain control over the things in her life that she desperately wishes would change, like the way she looks and the way her dad treats her. As her dad’s lies and addictive behavior worsens, Genesis grows even more determined to find a way to lighten her skin, so much so that she steals Mama’s credit card to purchase the bleaching cream. At this point in the novel, Genesis is tired of feeling like she has no control over what happens in her life. When she finds out her dad hasn’t paid the rent again, she thinks to herself, “I’m not moving again. I’m not! And you know what else? I’m tired of no one doing anything about it! Shoot. Lying here won’t help. It’s gotta be me, I reason” (260). Her impulsive decision to take the bus to her dad’s job reveals her desire to take control of her life, which is so often spiraling with uncertainty because of her dad’s gambling addiction. Likewise, her reckless decision to steal Mama’s credit card reflects her determination to take control over her appearance, no matter the cost to her and her mother's relationship.
