60 pages • 2 hours read
Chrystal D. GilesNot an Easy Win
Fiction | Novel | Middle Grade | Published in 2023A 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 37-45Chapter Summaries & Analyses
Chapter 37 Summary
The next morning, Lawrence, Deuce, Junior, Mr. Dennis, Twyla, and Twyla’s mom drive to Charlotte. There, Lawrence sees all the large buildings, arenas, and people everywhere in his old city. Lawrence, Deuce, and Twyla wander around their giant hotel, checking out the pools, theater, and free snacks found on every level.
Deuce and Lawrence share a room. When they get back, Deuce asks Lawrence when he’s going to ask Twyla to be his girlfriend. He tries to convince him to do it that night. Lawrence dismisses him, thinking about how nervous he is. He is also afraid that he will lose her as a friend or, if she says yes, that he won’t know how to act as a boyfriend.
Chapter 38 Summary
Deuce asks Twyla to play a game of chess in the lobby as an opportunity to get Lawrence alone with her. When the game is over, he suggests that Lawrence walk her back to her room.
In the elevator, Lawrence decides that he has to ask her, even though he is nervous and can hardly speak right. He tells Twyla that he doesn’t know what a boyfriend does but that he was hoping he could be hers. However, she tells him that she only likes him “as a friend” (211).
Chapter 39 Summary
That night, Lawrence barely sleeps. He thinks about Twyla all night and how he will have to see her the next day. He is also annoyed that he is back in Charlotte and has to share a room with Deuce; all he can think about is wanting to be back home to avoid Twyla.
At breakfast, he loses his appetite when Twyla comes in. He eats quickly and avoids talking to her, rushing outside to wait for everyone else. The group walks to the convention center and gets in line to sign in. Lawrence looks around at all the other kids, who are white, “preppy,” and mostly in matching uniforms. He thinks of his time at Andrew Jackson and how different he was from everyone else. However, Deuce assures him that he belongs there and is as good at chess as they are.
They go into the main room, where there are dozens of boards set up. They are told that they will all play one game, with the losing players eliminated, and that it will continue until only one person is left. That person will win $1,000 for their team.
Just before the tournament starts, Junior calls Deuce into the hallway. A few moments later, Lawrence hears Deuce yelling, saying that he doesn’t want to “see her.” When Lawrence gets into the hall, Deuce is storming out the front doors.
Lawrence follows Deuce outside. He yells to him, but Deuce insists that he doesn’t want to talk. Lawrence assures him that he doesn’t have to and then catches up to him. He tells Deuce that they are there to win and that he has to forget about everything else. As they stand together, Deuce calms down and then agrees to go back to the tournament.
Chapter 40 Summary
Lawrence, Deuce, and Twyla get their pairings for their first matches. As they start toward their boards, Lawrence hears Deuce yelling at a curly-haired boy. The boy intentionally ran into Deuce, and then Deuce asked him what his problem was. Lawrence intervenes, stepping between the two and telling Deuce to calm down. However, the boy then tells Lawrence that he’s not afraid, as Lawrence will just “scream at [him] like [he] did to that guy earlier” (222). Deuce then shoves the kid, knocking him to the ground as a group of people forms around them. Deuce and the boy are separated, and Deuce is taken out of the room as he yells that it wasn’t his fault.
Chapter 41 Summary
Security puts Deuce into a separate room while they try to figure out what happened, and Lawrence joins him. Without even asking for his side of the story, they kick Deuce out of the tournament, and he and Junior are escorted from the building. Lawrence is angry, realizing how the situation is like what Ma said about his father: Sometimes bad things happen even when people are trying to be good.
The organizer of the tournament speaks to Twyla and Lawrence, angrily telling them that they can stay if they “can control themselves” (225). Mr. Dennis tells them that they better be ready to play and show everyone who they are at the boards.
Chapter 42 Summary
As Lawrence and Twyla make their way back into the tournament, nerves and all the “judgy” faces overwhelm Lawrence. However, Twyla hums a tune in his ear—one of his father’s songs—and Lawrence becomes determined to win. He decides that he is going to “fight” through chess, proving how smart he is and that he belongs there.
When he sits at the board, his opponent comments on him getting kicked out; however, Lawrence ignores him, focusing instead on the board. Lawrence immediately realizes that the kid is not as good as he thinks, as Lawrence counters each of his moves and focuses on his own. After 46 minutes, Lawrence wins.
Chapter 43 Summary
Walking back to Mr. Dennis, Lawrence is extremely proud of himself for winning. He thinks of how the rec center is one thing, but winning here—in Charlotte, against people who underestimated him—is even better.
Next, Lawrence plays a girl named Charity, and Twyla plays the boy who Deuce pushed—who was allowed to stay in the tournament. Charity is much better than Lawrence, and even though he plays a good match, he loses. She is nice to him, though, telling him that he played a good game after they finish. Twyla wins, easily beating the curly-haired kid.
In the next round, Twyla loses. She tells Lawrence and Mr. Dennis that it’s okay because she learned new things and will be even better next year. Mr. Dennis congratulates them both for coming here and winning, assuring them that he is proud of them.
Chapter 44 Summary
On the ride home, the group talks very little. Lawrence thinks about how excited he is about his win but also how worried he is about Deuce.
Back at home, Nikko is excited to show Lawrence that they got a new table for the kitchen—one that will seat four people instead of just two. Ma also gives Lawrence a letter: He has been accepted to Booker T. Washington School to start in the fall. Ma tells him that he needs a “new environment” and that she is proud of all the changes he has made.
Chapter 45 Summary
At the rec center on Monday, Lawrence finds Twyla. He tells her that he’s sorry for asking her to be his girlfriend. In truth, he is happy that they can just be friends. Twyla assures him that they still are.
Deuce comes back to the rec center on Wednesday. Lawrence finds him in the chess room and asks him how things are going. Deuce admits that his mother just got out of prison and has been staying at a home for people just released. However, she wants to talk to him and be in his life, but he is adamant that he is a different person now. Lawrence assures him that he understands. Then, he suggests that he tell his mother the same thing: that he’s different now and needs time to figure things out. Lawrence thinks about his life and how he is much different than he was before. He considers how he is still “writing” his own story.
Deuce then apologizes for fighting the kid at the chess tournament. He assures Lawrence that he has been thinking about what Mr. Dennis says—to always think about your “next move”—and that he will do better with thinking instead of reacting. Lawrence realizes that, for the first time, he is seeing Deuce “without all the hardened skin” (239). Lawrence and Deuce sit together, listening to Lawrence’s iPod.
Chapters 37-45 Analysis
In the text’s resolution, Deuce confirms something that Lawrence had suspected throughout the text: His mother was recently released from prison. This revelation reaffirms the similarities between Deuce and Lawrence, allowing them to bond over their shared experiences. Even though the two have different reactions to their parent being in prison—Lawrence constantly thinks of seeing his father again someday, while Deuce angrily lashes out at his mother—their similarities and support for each other convey the themes of The Importance of Friendship and Empathy and Compassion. While the two started off hating each other, through their love of music, chess, and their similar situations at home, they have become key figures of support in each other’s lives. Lawrence reassures Deuce that he understands his situation and gives him advice on how to speak to his mother when he is struggling; then, the two sit together and listen to music, conveying their transition to true friendship.
Similarly, Lawrence finally finds a sense of belonging and earns the support that he needs from his family. As he leaves for the tournament, he sees how “proud” Granny is of him, and then his family expresses their excitement and pride in his win when he returns home. Giles symbolizes Lawrence’s newfound family dynamic in the surprise that Nikko has for him when he gets home: “a new table” that is “big enough to fit four chairs—perfect for [him], Nik, Ma, and Granny” (233). While Lawrence spends much of the novel eating on the floor in the living room with Nikko and then alone at the table with Granny, they now have a table that seats their entire family. This conveys their improved bond and unity as a family. Additionally, Ma’s decision to allow him to attend Booker T. Washington School solidifies her ability to listen to Lawrence’s desire. After Lawrence works on his own to pass school online, it is clear that he is a capable student. Now, Ma has decided to allow him to attend a school with Black students who are more like himself; in the new environment, Lawrence will be able to continue developing his friendships with his peers and his sense of belonging found at the rec center.
Lawrence’s actions at the chess tournament also convey his character development. When he sees all the white, “preppy,” and “intense-faced” kids at the tournament, he becomes overwhelmed with anxiety, having the “too-familiar feeling of trying to blend into an almost all-white space like at Andrew Jackson” (216). However, instead of giving in to his anxiety, he finds support through Junior, who assures him that he “belongs” at the tournament as much as anyone else. Junior’s mentorship, along with support from Mr. Dennis and Twyla, allows Lawrence to carve out his place of belonging within the chess tournament, which, like Andrew Jackson Middle School, is a predominantly white, affluent space that makes Black students feel others. With this support, Lawrence can focus on his chess game and prove that he belongs there—instead of relying on fighting like he did at his former school. This demonstrates his newfound ability to not lash out against those who discount his ability due to his race, something with which he previously struggled.
While Deuce’s decision to fight in the face of antagonism from his opponent causes him to be ejected from the tournament, it solidifies Lawrence’s understanding of Blame Versus Accountability—bringing his character arc to its conclusion. Lawrence understands that it was unjust for the tournament organizers and security personnel to not ask for Deuce’s side of the story and disqualify only him, a decision he sees as racially motivated. However, instead of getting involved in the fight or defending Deuce, Lawrence tries to get him to calm down and steps between Lawrence and the other boy. Deuce’s actions convey the type of reaction that Lawrence would have had in the past, but now he has grown and learned not to lash out. While this does not mean that he accepts the uneven treatment of the fight, he now understands that he and Deuce are accountable for their reactions to those who antagonize them. This ushers his character growth to its apex, as a penchant for fighting was the initial impetus that forced Lawrence to change his behavior and learn positive lessons from those around him.
