77 pages • 2 hours read
April HenryGirl, Stolen
Fiction | Novel | YA | 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. For select classroom titles, we also provide Teaching Guides with discussion and quiz questions to prompt student engagement.
Chapters 27-28Chapter Summaries & Analyses
Chapter 27 Summary: “Face the Facts”
Two hours earlier, Griffin had woken up with a large bump on his head and a headache. Nevertheless, he was able to follow Cheyenne’s trail to find her. Now walking together toward the road, he steps into a hole and breaks his ankle. Unable to go on, and as Cheyenne begs him not to give up, he tells her, “I can’t. If either one of us is going to survive, you have to get to that road as soon as possible” (180).
Chapter 28 Summary: “A Quarter-Million Dollars, Two Guns, and a Dead Man”
Griffin is beginning to freeze. He hears Jimbo and TJ getting closer; they are discussing leaving with their share of the money. Griffin shouts for them. Griffin says he was trying to track Cheyenne down when he was injured. He had left a note indicating this back at the house as a cover. The men notice, however, that Cheyenne’s scarf is next to him, and Jimbo suspects that he may have done something with Cheyenne. “Apple doesn’t fall far from the tree,” he states (184). Jimbo then reveals that Roy killed Griffin’s mother and that they buried her in the back of the house. Griffin goes into shock.
TJ proposes to Jimbo that they leave Griffin in the woods to die and points his gun at Griffin. Jimbo pushes the gun away, telling TJ “Don’t be stupid” (186). They argue. TJ loses his temper and shoots Jimbo. TJ vomits, indicating this is the first time he has killed someone. TJ takes Jimbo’s backpack full of money and offers half of it to Griffin, who refuses. When TJ opens the bag up, he realizes the money is now covered in blood. Washing his bloody hands with snow, he walks off, leaving Griffin, the backpack, guns, and Jimbo’s body.
Chapters 27-28 Analysis
Chapter 27 and 28 are told from Griffin’s point of view and detail his time alone in the woods after he is unable to go on. They are also the last chapters written from his perspective, which reinforces his role as a secondary protagonist. Ultimately, this is Cheyenne’s story; the narrative begins and ends with her.
Griffin’s decision to stay put is complicated, and forced by his injury, but it reflects a decision to put Cheyenne’s needs above his own. He knows there is a chance he will freeze to death and that he will hinder any chance of her survival. However, he acknowledges that the only way he can survive is through Cheyenne’s survival. This demonstrates a shift in their dynamic, as their roles reverse: Griffin is now dependent on Cheyenne to live.
TJ shoots Jimbo out of anger, which is triggered by Jimbo calling TJ an idiot. This connects to an overarching theme about the damage of emotional and verbal abuse. There is little sympathy for TJ, since he has been characterized by sadism and misogyny throughout, but the text hints at some remorse with his reaction to the bloodied money. He leaves almost everything behind, even items that might prove useful to him later. The washing of hands in the snow is both literal and symbolic; he wants to wash his hands of the whole affair. His guilt is tempered in the final chapter, which reveals that TJ will be undergoing a mental health evaluation.
Related Titles
By April Henry
