Blackout

Fiction | Novel | YA | Published in 2021

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Summary

Background

Chapter Summaries & Analyses

“The Long Walk: Act 1”

“Mask Off”

“The Long Walk: Act 2”

“Made to Fit”

“The Long Walk: Act 3”

“All the Great Love Stories…and Dust”

“The Long Walk: Act 4”

“No Sleep Till Brooklyn”

“The Long Walk: Act 5”

“Seymour and Grace”

Character Analysis

Themes

Symbols & Motifs

Important Quotes

Essay Topics

“No Sleep Till Brooklyn”Chapter Summaries & Analyses

“No Sleep Till Brooklyn” Summary

Kayla, the narrator of the story, is sitting on a double-decker bus driving through Manhattan when the power goes out around the city. Mrs. Tucker, the teacher, frantically takes a head count of her students. Beside Kayla is her longtime boyfriend, Tre’Shawn. Kayla is caught up thinking about a text she received from another classmate, Micah, a few hours ago, in which he asked her if he had a shot at being with her. This is concerning given that the last time they were together, Micah and Kayla nearly kissed.

Kayla and Tre’Shawn discuss a recent incident in which Tre’Shawn lied about his plans to hang out with his friends. Tre’Shawn apologizes for lying to Kayla, while she continues to feel quietly guilty about the situation with Micah. She forgives Tre’Shawn and they kiss, forcing Mrs. Tucker to rearrange the seating chart. Kayla ends up next to her best friend, Jazmyn, and Tre’Shawn ends up next to Micah.

Jazzy talks down on Tre’Shawn as usual, and Kayla does her best to defend her boyfriend. She watches Tre’Shawn and Micah talking a few seats ahead, feeling paranoid. When she cannot hold it in any longer, Kayla shows Jazzy the text she got from Micah and explains their now confusing relationship. Jazzy tells Kayla to drop Tre’Shawn and get with Micah instead. When she lists all the things she finds annoying about Tre’Shawn, Kayla cannot help but feel that despite her trash talking, her best friend might actually be interested in Tre’Shawn. When Kayla asks about it point blank, the conversation is interrupted by Micah and Tre’Shawn, who are now in an argument. Mrs. Tucker makes them all switch spots, Kayla ending up next to Micah. Micah tells her he told Tre’Shawn to cut back on his lying or someone may take his girlfriend away from him. Though she is annoyed with him, Kayla still feels tingly and excited to be next to Micah. They have a pleasant conversation until Kayla feels guilty and gets up to move, prompting Tre’Shawn to assume that Micah is bothering her. Mrs. Tucker breaks up yet another almost-fight and Kayla decides to sit on the lower level away from everyone else.

Downstairs, Kayla chats to the bus driver, Mr. Wright. Noticing something seems off about Kayla, he asks her what is bothering her and she explains her situation with Tre’Shawn and Micah. He simply tells her to listen to her heart. Soon after, Tre’Shawn comes downstairs and apologizes to Kayla. In turn, she tells him she would like some space and that they should probably take a break from dating. They talk about how they always dreamed of visiting New York and seeing the Brooklyn Bridge. Mr. Wright offers to drive them across the bridge and take them to a block party in Bed-Stuy.

“No Sleep Till Brooklyn” Analysis

This story introduces a new set of characters to the novel’s roster. Notably, these characters are connected to those that exist in previous stories, as Kayla mentions her cousin Lana. In addition, the introduction of the bus driver, Mr. Wright, connects the stories further, given that Mr. Wright is Tremaine and Tammi’s father. The introduction of Mr. Wright as a supporting character in this story allows important connections to be drawn across stories, as the bus Mr. Wright is driving was the very same that Tammi and Kareem failed to catch in the previous story. That Mr. Wright promises to take Kayla to the block party he knows his children will be attending in Brooklyn works to build narrative suspense, effectively preparing for the possibility that all the characters may eventually cross paths at the block party.

Kayla’s first-person narration dives straight into her world and outlines who she is and what issues she is facing at the present time. Through her point of view, Kayla’s internal conflict takes center stage as she feels torn regarding her relationship with her boyfriend, Tre’Shawn, and her blossoming crush on fellow classmate, Micah. That Kayla explicitly labels herself as someone who is known to meet expectations to please others further suggests that between Tre’Shawn (who she has always loved) and Micah (who makes her feel excited and hopeful), she feels stuck. With this scenario, the story makes use of a romantic trope in the form of the love triangle. Establishing a love triangle works to build tension and creates intrigue; even more, seeing the situation play out from Kayla’s perspective builds the narrative’s suspense. To make matters between the threesome even more complicated is the addition of Kayla’s best friend, Jazmyn, to the mix. Kayla’s intuition that Jazmyn may be in love with Tre’Shawn increases the already growing tension between Kayla and her two love interests, complicating matters further and effectively drawing readers deeper into the interior lives of these characters. Though these developments build suspense and intrigue, Kayla’s ultimate decision to take a break from dating and focus on herself effectively leads the story to an anti-climax while simultaneously illustrating the novel’s theme of Letting Go of What is Familiar and Diving into the Unknown. Kayla’s positive narrative tone and language at the end of the story indicates that she has made the best decision possible for herself.