108 pages • 3 hours read
Barbara Haworth-AttardTheories of Relativity
Fiction | Novel | YA | Published in 2003A 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 13-15Chapter Summaries & Analyses
Chapter 13 Summary
Dylan takes the bus to his old neighborhood. He needs to get his grandparents’ address from his mom. He recalls past Christmases, when his mom failed to get a tree or decorate. He also recalls Jenna yelling at him in the youth center a week ago. After she left, Ainsley told him that Jenna shows the signs of someone who has been sexually abused.
When Dylan arrives at his house, he is heartbroken to see Christmas lights in the window, sure that this means his family has moved again. To his surprise, Jordan comes out of the house. After greeting Dylan, Jordan calls to their mom to inform her of Dylan’s arrival. She sends Jordan back inside and asks what Dylan wants. Dylan says he’s there to see his brothers and that he needs information. He learns that Micha is out playing with other kids, which is another anomaly to Dylan. After a tense conversation, Dylan’s mom lets him in for a short time but warns him not to mess things up for her and Dan. Before they enter, Micha returns from the park and tackles Dylan in a big hug. Dylan is surprised to see Micha now owns a snowsuit.
Inside, Dylan’s surprise continues. The house is clean, the couch isn’t covered in laundry, and there’s a Christmas tree in the living room. Dylan’s mom introduces him to Dan as her nephew, officially disowning Dylan to the rest of the family. Dan invites Dylan to stay for pancakes, and Dylan accepts, to his mother’s dismay.
While Dan is in the kitchen, Dylan tells his mom that he came for information about his grandparents. His mom reluctantly gives him an unopened letter addressed to Dylan from his granddad. It’s three years old, and Dylan realizes his mom kept the letter from him. Dylan also learns that his grandmother died four years prior.
Dan announces the pancakes are ready, and the family sits at the kitchen table. Dylan tests boundaries and pushes for trouble, highlighting the fact that he knows where everything in the house is and making up family members that his mom will have to explain to Dan later. Dan is a seemingly perfect father figure, serving the boys before himself and helping Micha cut up his food. Dylan learns Dan and his mom are getting married after New Year’s Day.
When Dylan gets ready to leave, Micha asks if he’ll return for Christmas. Dan tells him he’s welcome to come for Christmas. Dylan says he’ll be wrapped up with his own huge family, alluding to all the people he made up. Before Dylan leaves, he gives Micha a big hug and tells him to be good for Santa.
Chapter 14 Summary
Dylan rests at a bus stop and reads the letter from his grandfather. In the letter, Dylan’s grandfather describes how he misses his wife and Dylan. At the time of writing, Dylan’s grandfather hadn’t seen him in six years. The letter ends with Dylan’s grandfather inviting Dylan to come live with him. Dylan cries at the missed opportunity to live on the farm with his granddad but wonders if he would’ve had the strength to move away from Micha and Jordan.
Dylan takes a bus back to the city and encounters Twitch the moment he steps off. Twitch tells Dylan he found an old factory for them to squat at. Dylan is skeptical but follows Twitch to the edge of the city. They enter the property through a hole in the wire fence and work their way to the upstairs level, which is littered with needles, rats, urine, and garbage. Dylan realizes that there are many more people in the factory than he can see in the dark.
Twitch leads Dylan around holes in the ground to the fire in the middle of the floor. Twitch is proud of his discovery of the factory, but Dylan is unsure if he’ll stay, noting the dangers. Twitch takes a seat at the fire next to Amber and falls into a coughing fit. Dylan asks if Twitch went to his doctor’s appointment, but Twitch says he forgot.
Dylan tells Amber he’s surprised to see her there since she had a room to stay in. Amber reveals she’s too pregnant to keep working for Vulture, so she couldn’t keep her room. This worries Dylan because Jenna will have to take Amber’s place.
With a flashlight, Dylan uses the restroom. He is disgusted by the state of the place and regrets shining the light on the bathroom. The smell is rancid. He pees and leaves the bathroom as fast as he can.
Dylan unrolls his sleeping bag by the fire but tries not to sleep, worried about his safety. As he dozes in and out, he sees Twitch shooting up with a needle in his arm, hears two people fight briefly, and sees Amber push a man off of her. In the morning, Dylan departs, leaving Twitch passed out by the dead fire.
Chapter 15 Summary
Dylan sits at Mandy’s with a cup of coffee, looking at his photo from his grandparents’ wedding. He plans to look up the return address on the letter and find a way to the farm, if possible. He washes up in the bathroom, then heads to the library. Forgetting the library is closed on Sundays, Dylan arrives to locked doors. He thinks of an alternative and pulls out the flyer for the computer school.
At the computer school, Dylan runs into Mr. Crowe. Mr. Crowe remarks that he thought Dylan moved, and Dylan tells him that his plans changed. Mr. Crowe observes that Dylan looks dreadful. Dylan asks what Mr. Crowe is doing there, and Mr. Crowe replies that he helps out on weekends.
Glen comes from the back room and greets Dylan. Dylan asks what the place is for, and Glen explains that it’s an alternative to traditional schooling meant to help with literacy, diplomas, job searches, and resumes. Dylan asks if he can use a computer, and Glen has Dylan fill out a form first.
Dylan is nervous about having adults hovering around him and remarks that he thought the school was a peer tutoring group. Mr. Crowe confirms that it is but that none of the tutors are around at the moment. He also tells Dylan that Glen’s company donated most of the computers and pays the rent, leading Dylan to wonder why Glen is so dedicated to helping street kids.
Dylan searches his grandfather’s details after pausing to recall his grandfather’s first name. The town, Murdock, is over five hours away, but there’s a bus that can take him there. He also finds his grandfather’s phone number but decides not to call.
Glen, who is observing, offers to help Dylan with the bus fare. He clarifies that it isn’t a gift: He wants Dylan to pay it off by working as a peer tutor. Glen outlines the job details, which include helping Glen at the office as well. Dylan asks why Glen wants to help him so much. Glen tells Dylan that he sees potential in Dylan and wants to get him off the streets “before something happens” (132) to him. Dylan says he’ll consider the offer.
Chapters 13-15 Analysis
Chapter 13 brings a heavy focus to Dylan’s family dynamic, setting up a duality between the home Dylan left behind and the home Dylan returns to. Throughout the novel, Dylan has illustrated the neglect, hardships, and poor conditions of his upbringing. As Dylan rides the bus to his neighborhood, recounting past Christmases with his family, the reader is given a specific image of empty and joyless holidays. The contrast between Dylan’s memories and the present-day home is so jarring that Dylan is certain his family has moved upon seeing the Christmas lights in the window. Once he’s inside, the divergence between his memories and the current state of the home only intensifies. The Christmas tree, the clean house, Micha’s snowsuit, and Dan acting as a responsible father figure all create a home that is much more idyllic than the one Dylan left.
Seeing the way Dan treats Micha and Jordan affects Dylan’s actions in this chapter. Before having extended contact with Dan, Dylan tries to make things more difficult for his mother by making up family members she’ll have to explain and blaming her for him not being in school. However, as Dylan sees Dan cut up Micha’s food and treat Micha and Jordan as his own, Dylan abruptly removes himself from the breakfast table and declines Dan’s invitation to celebrate Christmas with them. Dylan’s actions show his inner conflict: He wants to return home, but he realizes that his absence has made space for Dan to take on the fatherly role that Dylan has had to fill over the years.
The factory setting in Chapter 14 symbolizes the darkest, most desolate aspects of street life. The people in the factory are there out of desperation, as it offers protection from the harsh winter weather. However, the factory brings its own dangers. Used needles litter the floor, piles of garbage bring rats and roaches, several holes endanger those walking, and festering toilets breed filth and bacteria. This imagery drives home the deplorable conditions that the city’s homeless population must deal with to survive the winter. As Dylan leaves, he notes, “The stink of the place clings to my clothes and I recognize it now. Desolation” (126). The sharp contrast between Dylan and Twitch’s reaction to the factory may be attributed to their respective time on the street. Twitch has been living on the streets for years now, but for Dylan, it has only been a couple months. While Twitch seems excited to have found such a place to stay, Dylan cannot bring himself to feel comfortable there among the filth, strangers, and darkness. This contrast plays into a theme of a gradual lowering of standards for those who live on the street, which is explored through Amber, Jenna, and Dylan’s stories at various points in the novel.
Chapter 15 introduces a new potential conflict for Dylan. He’s been careful not to rack up debts living life on the streets. Thus far, he’s avoided any situation in which he’d need to owe something to someone. However, Dylan is determined to find his grandfather, so when Glen offers to pay for Dylan’s bus ticket in exchange for labor, Dylan realizes this may be his only option. He is hesitant to accept this offer, despite how good it seems, because “[i]t’s a commitment, and [he doesn’t] like commitments. But it is a way to see [his] grandfather” (131). Dylan’s reluctance to accept Glen’s help plays into his concerns about being tamed like a dog, which first emerged when Glen gave Dylan a second sausage roll and recurs here when Glen provides Dylan with gloves.
