52 pages • 1 hour read
Julie BuxbaumTell Me Three Things
Fiction | Novel | YA | Published in 2016A modern alternative to SparkNotes and CliffsNotes, SuperSummary offers high-quality Study Guides with detailed chapter summaries and analysis of major themes, characters, and more.
Chapters 24-26
Chapter 24 Summary
On Wood Valley Giving Day, the school closes, and the students meet at a Habitat for Humanity site to help construct a house. When Theo and Jessie arrive, Gem purposely and forcefully walks into Jessie, but Theo uncharacteristically defends her and threatens Gem. Liam arrives, oblivious to the incident, and Theo tells him to “keep [his] girl on her leash” (215), prompting the couple to argue. Jessie finds Caleb, who she still thinks is SN, and is about to cancel their coffee date, but he insists they have it on Thursday. A moment later, she receives a message from SN. Jessie has lunch with Ethan, who apologizes for not defending her against Gem.
Jessie expresses her gratitude to Theo on the way home, and he shares that Gem once called him a faggot when they were younger. He describes how supportive his father always was, and the memories make him emotional. He asks Jessie if she ever wishes that “it was the other way around,” that her dad died instead of her mother. They both admit that they consider the alternatives often, and Jessie wonders for the first time if “[her dad] wouldn't switch [them] too—[Jessie] for [her] mother” (222). Theo changes the topic to Jessie's friendship with Ethan, warning her to be careful, because “his family is just so screwed up” and he might be using drugs like his brother (223). Jessie considers some of the telling signs Ethan might be struggling, but nonetheless wants all “his damaged parts” (223).
Chapter 25 Summary
When Jessie and Theo return home, Jessie finds Rachel is in her room, which reminds Jessie that she is “merely an interloper” (225). Rachel explains that she is there to speak on Bill's behalf, since Jessie is still avoiding him, which makes Jessie uncomfortable. She gifts Jessie a roundtrip flight to Chicago, to help with her homesickness, on the condition that she returns to LA.
Rachel shares that Bill “saved [her] life” and insists that they are “stronger together,” despite their differences (229). She assures Jessie that she understands how much of an adjustment this has been for everyone and expresses her concern for Jessie's well-being. Jessie is overwhelmed by such a generous gift, assuming it was Rachel's idea.
She texts Scar and SN, excitedly sharing the news. Again, SN wants Jessie to assure him that she will return, because he “likes seeing her every day” (231). She reschedules her weekly meeting with Ethan and thinks to herself that she and Ethan are both “damaged”.
Chapter 26 Summary
On Thursday afternoon, Jessie is nervous to have her coffee date with Caleb. Agnes doubts he is SN because she is sure his sister is still alive, despite her mental health struggles. Jessie is sure he would not lie about his sister's death because no one in who isn’t in “the dead family club” would count the days that have passed (236).
Jessie often finds herself dreaming about Ethan, even though she spends most of her time talking to who she thinks is Caleb. Daydreaming in class, Jessie is unable to answer Mrs. Pollack's question, so Ethan answers it for her. Jessie thanks him after class, and he wishes her a good trip to Chicago, reminding her: “'Don't forget about us” (238).
After school, Caleb cancels their coffee date, explaining that Liam broke up with Gem because of Jessie, and he does not want to hurt his friend or get involved. She has difficulty believing Liam could like her, and she momentarily considers that Liam might be SN, but Liam’s an only child. Despite the rejection, Jessie continues to message SN, still convinced he is Caleb, but she cannot bring herself to address their failed date. Jessie feels discouraged, as the “self-pity creeps in, slow, stealthy, hungry” (243), and worries what ramifications Liam's crush might have in her social life.
Chapters 24-26 Analysis
Jessie’s friendships continue to develop into deeply meaningful relationships, as seen by her friends’ reactions to Gem’s continued bullying. Theo has gone from blatantly ignoring Jessie’s existence to gallantly defending her against Gem, an action that suggests he really does value Jessie as family now. While Jessie wishes she “didn’t need defending,” she finds it reassuring that there are people “who have [her] back” (217). Just weeks ago, Jessie wasn’t convinced that she could manage two years at Wood Valley completely on her own, but she has begun to create a genuine support system for herself and is able to work through the burden of her grief with people who understand it, like Theo and Ethan.
She is still drawn to Ethan, despite Theo’s stern warnings, because the sadness “damage” she sees in him she recognizes in herself. They have started to deeply connect during their “Waste Land” sessions, and the text continues to be a proxy for them to share some of their most profound feelings with each other, like feeling “neither living nor dead” (232). In person, before she leaves for Chicago, he tells her: “Don’t forget about us,” which is the most forthright Ethan has been about his feelings toward Jessie, but he avoids giving her any explanation of what that might mean, still too nervous to admit his feelings for her as himself. She has started to intimately dream about Ethan, but her attitude towards sex in her dreams is a stark contrast to how she feels about sex in reality. This conflict of desire and doubt marks one of the novel’s main themes: the way teenagers reconcile the many feelings of first-time romantic and physical intimacy.
Even though her relationships at school are going well, Jessie has not been able to bring herself to attempt a relationship with Rachel. She actively refuses to acknowledge Rachel’s house as her new home and resentfully feels like an “interloper.” The scene in Jessie’s bedroom is viscerally uncomfortable: Rachel touching the photo of Jessie and her mom feels invasive, and Jessie’s impulse to wash her physical fingerprints away and “reclaim” the photo mirrors the way Jessie feels about Rachel’s presence in her life. The gift of the ticket to Chicago is a shock to Jessie, and seeing that Rachel is clearly making an effort in helping Jessie adjust, Jessie is overwhelmed with emotion. Yet still, she is not ready to be vulnerable around Rachel, and she refuses to let Rachel see her cry.
Jessie reacts similarly when Caleb cancels their coffee date, pretending to be nonchalant even though she feels devastated. The confidence with which she speaks to SN online evaporates, as she takes inventory of her every flaw and continues to pity herself later that evening. Even the idea that Liam might like her, which, she admits, would have been “the stuff of her dork-girl fantasies” two months ago, is not enough to console her because of how that might affect the three most important parts of her life in LA: her friendship with Dri, her relationship with SN, and her job at the bookstore. Just when Jessie thinks she has started making sense of things, the inescapable uncertainty leaves her craving Chicago even more. She thinks her trip will cure her “violent, unforgiving” homesickness, and that she will finally gain a sense of equilibrium after “[living] on unstable ground” for two months (244).
