Summer Ball

Fiction | Novel | Middle Grade | Published in 2007

A modern alternative to SparkNotes and CliffsNotes, SuperSummary offers high-quality Study Guides with detailed chapter summaries and analysis of major themes, characters, and more.

Download PDF

Chapters 13-14Chapter Summaries & Analyses

Chapter 13 Summary

Danny finally speaks to his mother, but, excited with the prospect of seeing Tess, puts the idea of his fake injury out of his mind. He claims his knee will be fine and declines when his mother offers to put his father on the phone. Instead, Danny, Will, Ty, Tarik, and Zach sneak out and steal a canoe. Together, they paddle across the lake to see Tess. They approach her on the shore: “Usually [Danny] was soooooo cool toward Tess when Will and Ty were around, never acting like he was too happy or excited to see her” (131). This time, however, Danny shows his excitement, standing up in the canoe, waving at her, and falling into the water.

Chapter 14 Summary

Tess sets the other boys up with her uncle, and they watch a baseball game while Tess and Danny speak alone. Danny opens up about his fears and failures at basketball camp. Despite his protests, Tess remarks, “‘I’m still just seeing the captain of the team’” (134). Reassured, Danny tells Tess about what Coach Powers said to him, which Tess rejects, reminding Danny how little Coach Powers knows about him.

Tess convinces Danny to return to Right Way, just as he returned to basketball after he originally got cut from the travel team: “‘I thought you always used to tell me that the championship you guys really won in travel was the championship of any kid that got told by an adult they weren’t good enough’” (137). Despite a brief comic break, where Will puts his face on the glass to make them laugh, the scene is a sober one, with Tess stating, “‘From what you told me about this coach and the other players, it’s going to be even harder than when you got cut that time’” (138).This suggests that Danny will need to put in more effort than ever before. Ultimately, Tess tells Danny that he must win this championship to prove his worth to himself.

Chapters 13-14 Analysis

These chapters show the boys outside of camp, where basketball takes a backseat and the boys appear more their age, joking around, laughing, having fun. The trip also provides an escape for Danny; he can put off telling his father about the fake injury. On the lake, Ty displays a fair amount of knowledge about canoes, and when Will wants to know how, the normally quiet Ty responds, “‘When you’re not one of those people who already know everything, you ask questions sometimes’” (128). He directs this comment at Will, who talks constantly. Danny feels that comforting harmony with Ty: “Danny and Ty were already in perfect sync with their paddling as if they were on some kind of two-man rowing team in the Olympics” (129). When Danny sees Tess, he stands in the canoe, happy to see her. Normally worried about appearing cool in front of Tess, he goofily falls into the lake.

Will refers to Tess as Danny’s “conscience” (141), and Tess does appeal to Danny’s moral compass. Instead of mind games, Tess applies common sense to help Danny through his emotional crisis. When Danny tells her what Coach Powers says, she replies, “But you’re acting like this Coach Ed is suddenly the world’s expert on Danny Walker, that he has all these big insights into you that the rest of us don’t. Get real’” (137). Tess reminds Danny that she knows him better, his friends know him better, and his dad knows him better; this is an important lesson in maturity for Danny. He never should have asked Coach Powers his opinion because Danny does not really respect Coach Powers. Tess reminds him of this.

Tess also makes Danny feel tall. He stands in the canoe because he wants to be the first person she sees, the tallest among the boys. She also refers to him as captain and “big guy” (139). Feeling big in someone like Tess’s estimation is a game-changer for Danny. Even when Danny appears down, Tess refuses to see a loser. Instead, she tells Danny, even at his lowest, “‘I’m still just seeing the captain of the team’” (134). This infuses Danny with enough confidence to return to camp and face his father’s disappointment.