88 pages • 2 hours read
Jordan SonnenblickDrums, Girls, and Dangerous Pie
Fiction | Novel | Middle Grade | Published in 2004A 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 19-21Chapter Summaries & Analyses
Chapter 19 Summary: “Rock Star”
In homeroom on the morning of the spring concert, Renee gives Steven a copy of the concert program; just inside the cover is a large picture of Jeffrey, with the statement, “All proceeds from tonight’s concert will benefit the Jeffrey Alper Medical Trust” (244). Steven notices that both Annette and Renee have gotten “REALLY short haircuts” but assumes it must be a coincidence (244). At the end of the day, Steven gets called down to the office and begins to worry that something bad has happened to Jeffrey. However, it turns out that Jeffrey and his mom just wanted to pick him up from school on the day of his big concert. On the drive home, his mom tells him that Jeffrey’s liver tests still don’t look good but that the doctor gave Jeffrey a special discharge from the hospital in Philadelphia so that he can go to the concert. At home, Steven is nervous about the big performance and can’t settle down to eat dinner. When it’s finally time to go, Steven lets Jeffrey and his mom come with him to the band room. When they enter the room, Steven realizes that everyone in the band is wearing a baseball cap. Biff steps forward to tell Jeffrey that they have made him an honorary member of the band and would like to present him with an All-City T-shirt and baseball cap. Biff removes his baseball cap to give to Jeffrey, and the rest of the band members take off their caps as well. All the boys have shaved their heads and all the girls have cut their hair short in solidarity with Jeffrey. Just as they are going onstage, Steven sees his dad walk into the auditorium.
The first half of the concert goes very well, and Steven plays better than he ever has before. During intermission, Steven sees his mom talking to Mr. Stoll. When he approaches them, she tells him he is playing very well “for someone who hasn’t paid for a drum lesson in over a month” (257). Instead of getting mad, she gives him a hug and tells him “You are a wonderful son, and a wonderful man” (257). Mr. Watras calls all the players into the band room where Steven’s dad surprises his son by making a speech to thank everyone for what they have done for his family. He says that he has finally realized that his family “needs a dad more than they need a few extra bucks” and thanks Steven for everything he has done to take care of the family this year (259). Renee and Annette announce they have already raised $21,000. Suddenly, Jeffrey starts to vomit, and Steven notices his brother has a temperature. Jeffrey tells Steven that he is really scared and begs him to come with him to the E.R. Steven remembers his promise to Sam to stay with Jeffrey no matter what and tells Mr. Watras that he won’t be able to play in the rest of the concert. As he is leaving, Annette kisses Steven on the cheek and tells him she thinks they make “a great team” (262).
Chapter 20 Summary: “The End”
At the emergency room, the Alper family learns that Jeffrey only has an ear infection. Steven is very relieved and agrees to ride with Jeffrey in the ambulance for his testing in Philadelphia the next day. The next morning, Steven realizes that lots of people have left messages on the answering machine congratulating him on his performance and asking if Jeffrey is okay. Mr. Stoll tells Steven that he filled in for him during the second half of the concert, Renee reports that they raised $23,489.19 in total, and Annette asks Steven to call her to discuss “what happened” (i.e., the kiss on the cheek). Steven suddenly realizes that his feelings toward Annette have changed. After getting Jeffrey settled in the hospital in Philadelphia, Steven goes to find Samantha. When he gets to her room, he sees that the bed has been stripped. He pulls the cord to call the nurse, who tells him that Sam died early the morning before. Her older sister was not able to visit before she died. Steven begins to cry hysterically until his mom comes to comfort him. A nurse gives Steven a package addressed to him from Sam with a note and the drumsticks he gave her. The note says: “Thank you for the company, and for the loan. Please think of me when you use these, OK? Love, Sam” (268).
Chapter 21 Summary: “Epilogue”
Two months later, Steven is sitting between Annette and Renee at his middle-school graduation in the “special seats for kids who win the big awards” (269). Annette is now Steven’s girlfriend. Renee wins the “Outstanding Achievement in Mathematics” Award, Steven wins the “Outstanding Musical Achievement Award,” and Annette wins the “first-ever Human Service Award” (270). Annette is called last and receives a standing ovation. As Steven throws his graduation cap in the air, he sees Jeffrey throwing his baseball cap in the air, too; he is in remission, and his hair has started to grow back. As the 8th-graders are walking out, Jeffrey runs up to Steven and shouts, “I love you, Steven!” (272). Steven feels grateful that he now has the time to tell Jeffrey that he loves him, too.
Chapters 19-21 Analysis
Steven’s decision to leave the concert reveals how much he has learned about responsibility and the importance of sibling bonds over the course of the last few months. Even though his biggest solo comes at the end of the concert, he chooses his brother over his big night. When he discovers that Jeffrey will be fine and that he missed the concert for an ear infection, Steven is not upset, simply relieved that Jeffrey is okay. The adults in Steven’s life are also proud of the maturity that he shows by leaving the concert. When Steven apologizes for failing him as the band’s “big star,” Mr. Watras says that Steven has never “been more of a star…than [he is] at this moment” (262). In her message on the Alpers’ answering machine, Mrs. Galley tells Steven how proud she is of him: “When I first started working with you this year, you were so angry that I worried about you a lot, and you felt that you couldn’t control your own life. Now you have accepted control of your own path and are doing a wonderful job of helping those around you, too” (264).
The news that Samantha has died without her older sister by her side makes the fact that Steven decided to leave the concert for his little brother all the more important. Although Jeffrey ultimately survives his battle with cancer, the tragedy of Sam’s death provides a reminder of what could have happened if Jeffrey had been less fortunate. Unlike Sam’s sister, Steven still has the chance to show his brother that he cares by staying with him.
When the novel returns to where it began–Steven’s eighth-grade graduation–the reader has a clear sense of how far Steven has come since the journal entry in which he described his little brother as “the most annoying thing in the world.” He still loves the drums just as much as ever and even wins the musical achievement award at his graduation ceremony. However, now he knows that no matter how important music is to him, his little brother will always come first. His feelings toward the girls in his life have also changed. He no longer sees Renee as the intimidatingly hot girl that he wishes would deign to notice him; now she is just a friend. He has learned to value Annette and discovered that they have more in common than he and Renee ever did. Above all, Steven has learned that he would do anything–whether it means eating “dangerous pie” or missing out on his big break–to protect his baby brother and show him how much he loves him.
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