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57 pages 1 hour read

Jennifer Richard Jacobson

Paper Things

Fiction | Novel | Middle Grade | Published in 2015

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Chapters 31-43Chapter Summaries & Analyses

Chapter 31 Summary: “Gift Wrap”

Ari sneaks into the school breakfast without being signed up because she is starving. Afterward, she finds a girl named Hannah from her class in the bathroom, and Hannah asks Ari to braid her hair for her. Ari does so, and then Hannah braids Ari’s hair. Ari is relieved that Hannah’s hair is tangly, and Hannah doesn’t seem to judge Ari. Later on, the fifth-grade leadership positions are announced, and Ari doesn’t make the list. She is certain now that she won’t be going to Carter with her friends. In English class, the students discuss civil disobedience and decide to rally together to bring back Crazy Hat Day—something Ari had already been planning to do.

After computer class, Ms. Finch pulls Ari aside and explains that she bought some shoes for her niece that turned out to be too small. She offers the shoes to Ari, who can’t believe her good fortune. They are plaid shoes, and Ari loves them. She thanks Ms. Finch through tears. Everyone compliments Ari’s new shoes, except Gage, who criticizes her for taking a gift. That evening, Gage takes Ari to Chloe’s place, but Chloe seems irritated to see Ari again, and Ari can sense it. She makes up a story about going over to Sasha’s to work on their applications together and pretends to call her on the phone. Ari hates the idea of being responsible for Gage and Chloe’s relationship going sour.

Chapter 32 Summary: “Tissues”

Ari sits by herself in Chloe’s apartment listening to sirens and parties around her. She is hungry and lonely as she watches people on TV look at houses to buy. Thinking about home, Ari starts to cry, realizing she has had a home all along and chose to leave it. She makes the decision to call Janna to come pick her up, regardless of how it might hurt Gage.

Chapter 33 Summary: “Contracts”

Back at home with Janna, Ari confesses that she and Gage never had an apartment. Janna feels terrible for not seeing what was going on and letting her emotions get in the way of intervening. Ari is grateful to hear Janna’s apology but worries about Gage, who hasn’t come to visit yet.

After three days of Ari being at home, Gage finally appears, and Ari can hear Janna tell Gage that she wants to help him in any way she can. Gage comes in to see Ari, who cries in his arms and tells him she’s sorry for leaving him. Gage apologizes for taking Ari out of their home when he had nowhere to go, and Ari assures him that they can stick together even if they don’t live together. Gage plans to get his own place with West’s help, and Ari plans to stay with Janna, but they will remain a family. Janna assures Gage and Ari that the only reason she never adopted them was because she thought they wouldn’t want her to. Ari is shocked when she watches Gage and Janna hug for the first time.

Chapter 34 Summary: “Hats”

Ari hears rumors that Crazy Hat Day is planned for Friday. Sasha’s new best friend is the one planning it, which Ari is okay with now. Ari talks to Mr. O, who tells her that her project on Louisa May Alcott was amazing. She asks Mr. O if she can set up a craft table for the kids who didn’t hear about the event or who can’t afford a silly hat, and Mr. O suggests putting the table right in front of the principal’s office to really make a statement. Ari uses her savings from collecting coins on the street (almost $50) to buy craft supplies for the event. She invites Daniel to host the craft table with her. Daniel hesitates at first, and Ari can see that he’s confused about her sudden change of heart. Ari decides to tell Daniel the truth about her experiences with Gage over the past several weeks, and Daniel listens patiently. The more Ari talks, the less ashamed she feels, and she realizes that she and Gage were lucky to have the help they did. She knows, too, that she and Gage never really changed, only their circumstances did. Finally, Daniel agrees to help with the craft table if Ari agrees to jump off the school bleachers with him.

Chapter 35 Summary: “Newspapers”

On the morning of Crazy Hat Day, Ari sees Reggie on the way to school. He happily tells her that he has started folding paper planes for people in shelters across the city to help them think about a goal or dream they have. Ari congratulates him and goes on her way. When she gets to school, she finds that most of the kids seem nervous to wear their hats. She and Daniel set up the craft table and start calling kids over to make hats. Slowly, it catches on. At the height of the excitement, the principal appears.

Chapter 36 Summary: “Permission Slips”

The principal approaches the table just as his secretary approaches him to announce that a reporter is outside interviewing students about the children’s protest in holding Crazy Hat Day. Ari follows the principal out to the schoolyard and sees Sasha’s friend talking to a reporter about tradition as an important source of community building. Ari has a chance to talk about her craft table and bravely relates her experiences of being without a home, feeling on the outside of things, losing her best friend, and struggling to survive with her brother. Daniel compliments Ari on how brave it was for her to be so honest. Later that day, the principal announces that the traditions will be reintroduced and that the yearly library sleepover for the fifth graders is set to go ahead in May—for “eligible fifth graders” (338).

Chapter 37 Summary: “Hearts”

After school, Ari finds Sasha waiting for her. Sasha seems calmer and curious about everything that has happened after hearing what Ari said to the reporter. Ari explains that she didn’t tell Sasha because she was afraid of how Sasha would react or judge her. Sasha admits that she believed Ari was jealous of her leadership roles. Before parting ways, Sasha reminds Ari that she still has one day left to apply for Carter. Ari goes to Head Start, where she helps the kids make paper crowns. Afterward, she spends the evening with Gage and fills out her application. She includes her experiences at Head Start and Reggie’s paper plane wishes. When Ari reaches the final question on the application, which asks what sets her apart, she wonders if she should write about her experiences of homelessness. She decides that there must be something else that sets her apart and decides to wait until morning to see if something comes to mind.

Chapter 38 Summary: “Scraps”

In the morning, Ari comes into the kitchen for breakfast and sees Janna reading an article in the newspaper. Janna reads the article out loud, which headlines Ari’s efforts in helping all students feel included on Crazy Hat Day and her desire to keep the traditions and community alive. Janna brings out a scrapbook filled with photos of Ari and Gage from the time they were young until the present, and Ari realizes that Janna has been documenting their lives without her knowing. Janna puts the article in the scrapbook with the caption “Proud Moment,” and Ari is glad to know that Janna is not ashamed of her. She decides to photocopy the article to include in her application to Carter.

Chapter 39 Summary: “Report Cards”

At school, kids ask Ari questions about her experience of being without a home, and Ari does her best to answer them, knowing that the kids are only curious and not malicious. She wonders if she will be allowed to attend the fifth-grade sleepover. At home that night, Ari shows Janna her Louisa May Alcott presentation, which Janna is touched by. The intimate moment allows Ari to feel comfortable asking Janna why her father chose her mother and not Janna. Janna replies without shock, instead answering simply that her rigid life plans didn’t work with his own easygoing personality. Ari hopes to ask Janna more questions about her father one day soon.

Chapter 40 Summary: “Sheet Music”

Ari does her presentation on Louisa May Alcott, breaking halfway to bravely perform a melodrama, something that Alcott was fond of in her personal life and in her stories. Ari’s presentation ends with a quote from Alcott about an ordinary girl turning into something amazing, and Ari’s teacher tells her that her presentation was great. He also tells Ari that she qualifies to go to the fifth-grade sleepover. On the night of the sleepover, Ari arranges to sleep near Sasha and some other girls. Daniel manages to get the entire class involved in singing familiar children’s songs in one final ode to their childhoods. Afterward, Ari meets Daniel in the art room, where he gifts her a necklace with a snowflake on it in commemoration of their snowflake day. He holds her hand as they walk back to the group together.

Chapter 41 Summary: “Fortunes”

Ari walks to Head Start and notices paper airplane wishes all over the place. She is happy to see that her idea has taken off and that Reggie has found a way to make a difference in the world. For Ari personally, she no longer wants to wish on things, thinking that wishes can prevent you from seeing other opportunities. She looks to the future, knowing that it is uncertain but feeling comfortable with that now.

Chapter 42 Summary: “Pages”

Ari gets her letter from Carter and calls Gage to come over so she can open it with him. In the meantime, Daniel calls Ari to tell her he got accepted, which is a pleasant surprise. When Gage arrives, Ari opens the letter and reads out her acceptance into Carter. She and Janna both cry, and Gage gives her a catalog containing two of her most precious paper figures: the ones meant to resemble her and her brother. Ari feels that she has left that life behind but is grateful for this reminder of it. Janna gives Ari her scrapbook and tells her to continue it on her own, and Ari decides to fill it with things that represent what she has learned and experienced over the past few months.

Chapter 43 Summary: “Diplomas”

Ari attends her graduation ceremony and is thrilled as the announcer names her parents, Janna, and Gage, along with her own name. Ari hears from Sasha that she was waitlisted for Carter, but Sasha is optimistic about her future. After the ceremony, Daniel finds Ari and invites her to the gym where he has set up some soft mats underneath the folded bleachers. He helps Ari climb to the top, and when she hesitates, he reminds her of all the scary things she’s done this year. Together, they hold hands and jump off.

Chapters 31-43 Analysis

Ari’s life, her exhaustion, her loneliness, and her stress reach their maximum in the novel’s climax when Ari is alone in Chloe’s apartment and finally decides to go back home. As she sits watching people on television pick out the perfect house, she realizes she doesn’t need to dream about such things because she already had it with Janna. This becomes the most important of Ari’s decisions and the one that saves her from potentially spiraling. She can no longer bear the lack of sleep, always wondering whether she will eat, losing her friends, and risking not getting into her chosen middle school. Ari’s decision to go home clearly hurts Gage at first, as it takes him three days to finally come over and talk with Ari and Janna. After having time to reflect, he realizes that he should never have let Ari leave with him to begin with and apologizes for that neglectful decision. Ari has grown and matured, and while she wants to maintain her strong connection to her brother, she knows that it is best for her well-being if she stays with Janna. Together, they come to the realization that they can be together even if they don’t live together.

The Necessity of Community comes to the fore in this section, as it is essential in inspiring Ari to return to Janna’s. Similarly, this section’s positivity is related to The Power of Hope: that Ari can get into Carter and that her life will improve. Her teacher gives her shoes, and Ari finally feels close enough to Daniel to tell him the truth about what she has been through. This is key to the novel’s destigmatizing message and its treatment of The Connection Between Homelessness and Shame. Talking to Daniel relieves much of the shame that Ari had about her and Gage’s situation and helps her open back up to Sasha and even to making new friends. Crucially, it is Daniel’s ability to listen without judging that makes this openness a positive experience for Ari. Daniel brings the fifth-grade community together one final time during the year-end sleepover by encouraging everyone to sing songs together, demonstrating his own unique leadership abilities. After revealing her truth to Daniel, Ari feels confident enough to tell the news reporter her story, and it becomes an inspiration. Ari realizes that it isn’t exactly living without a home that set her apart; rather, it was her decision to learn from the experience and become kinder, more thoughtful, and more eager to help those less fortunate than her. Because of all this, she ends up getting into Carter. In the novel’s symbolic conclusion, Ari and Daniel jump off the bleachers together. The act represents both their newfound bond and their bravery and willingness to embrace whatever might lie ahead. Ari feels mature, grown up, and prepared for the world now that she has endured so much. She is also ready to let go of her paper world, indicating that she has in fact grown beyond that grieving, worried version of herself: “Rebuilding my Paper Things collection just doesn’t feel right. That folder represents a me that no longer exists. I’m not embarrassed of her, but at the same time, I no longer want to be her. I’ve moved on” (370). The novel ends by showing Ari embarking on a new chapter of life with hope and positivity now that she has the security that a young person needs.

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