106 pages • 3 hours read
Gordon KormanSlacker
Fiction | Novel | Middle Grade | 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. For select classroom titles, we also provide Teaching Guides with discussion and quiz questions to prompt student engagement.
Chapters 7-11Chapter Summaries & Analyses
Chapter 7 Summary: “Freeland McBean”
Freeland McBean, also known as String, is a star football player on the middle school’s team. Because String is failing his classes, the coach talks to String about academic probation. String must improve his grades to passing if he wants to play football again. String is distraught and doesn’t understand why he has to pass his classes because he’s a football star.
Mr. Fanshaw chimes in to explain that school comes first but offers String a chance at extra credit. Mr. Fanshaw tells String about the P.A.G. and suggests String speak to Cameron Boxer to learn about joining the club. If String joins the P.A.G., he’ll be able to play football as long as he doesn’t completely flunk his classes. String only cares about football, so he agrees to Mr. Fanshaw’s plan. Mr. Fanshaw expresses that Cameron is difficult to track down, but String is sure he can do it.
Using his football speed, String manages to catch Cam and his buddies trying to leave school in a hurry. String tells Cam that he’s joining the P.A.G. Cam tries to dance around the topic, but String intimidates Chuck into agreeing that String should join the club. With nowhere to turn, Cam fakes out String and takes off running through the school parking lot. String lets him go, believing Cam will come through.
Chapter 8 Summary: “Cameron Boxer”
Cam becomes cornered by his family and the growing number of potential P.A.G. members. His parents ask why he never updates them about the club. At dinner, Cam’s sister Melody grills him about not seeing sign-ups or posters for the club. Cam’s dad thinks it makes sense since everything is online. Cam can detect the disappointment in his father’s voice. The family furniture business hasn’t been doing well with competition from online retail and the mall these days. Cam fantasizes about winning Rule the World so he can give the money to his parents to help out.
Melody and Cam go back and forth until their mom interrupts the conversation to tell Melody to back off and ask why she hasn’t joined the club yet. Melody remarks that she cannot afford $60 for a square foot of rainforest, which is what the online sign-up redirects to. Cam’s mom thinks Melody is being sassy.
After dinner, Cam calls Pavel to suggest they randomize what website the sign-up page sends people to so people think their computers are messing up. Pavel is concerned that Melody will actually join the club and suggests that String’s involvement could jeopardize things since String has a lot of social influence. Cam doesn’t like that Pavel is concerned because Pavel is generally a smart guy.
Chapter 9 Summary: “Jordan Toleffsen”
Jordan Toleffsen is an eighth-grader running for student body president. His campaign manager and close friend Felicia informs him that his poll numbers are dropping against his opponent, Kelly. To make matters worse, a seventh-grader named Jordana is also running. Jordan thinks this is a ploy by Kelly to confuse people at the polls and divide the vote.
Felicia advises Jordan to promote his accomplishments. She shows him a list of all the organizations Kelly participates in. Felicia tells Jordan about the Positive Action Group, which Kelly is not yet a part of. Felicia explains that the group seems very passionate and legitimate, with Mr. Fanshaw as an advisor lending credit to its prestige. She attempted to sign Jordan up for the club already but believes her computer was glitching. She suggests they leave a note for the founder, Cameron Boxer, on his locker.
When they arrive at Cam’s locker, Daphne is already leaving a note there. They ask if she’s seen Cam, but she hasn’t been able to get a hold of him for a while. Jordan explains he’s joining the P.A.G., which amuses Daphne. She explains how no one has been able to join, and even Mr. Fanshaw has been left in the dark about the club. Felicia notes that String is a member, so she must be a member too.
Felicia wants a photo of Jordan and Daphne for the school paper, but they are interrupted by a large, older student, Xavier Meggett. He’s been held back because he’s spent time in juvenile detention. Jordan doesn’t want to be seen with Xavier because it may tarnish his reputation. Xavier is looking for Cam as well because he has a form from his juvenile probation officer. Xavier is supposed to complete his community service through the P.A.G. and needs a signature from a P.A.G. representative on the form. Felicia suggests Jordan sign it, which would not only make Jordan an official member but a representative of the group. She takes a photo of Jordan signing the form. The photo appears on the front page of the school newspaper the next day, and Jordan is satisfied that he looks presidential in the photo.
Chapter 10 Summary: “Mr. Fanshaw”
Mr. Fanshaw begins to suspect that Cameron is intentionally sabotaging the club. Mr. Fanshaw complains to the other teachers in the lounge about not being able to pin down Cameron, so Cameron’s math teacher tells him to come by during seventh period. They have a test and Cameron would fail if he skipped class.
Mr. Fanshaw waits and catches Cameron once he finishes the test. Mr. Fanshaw explains that the first P.A.G. meeting will take place on Thursday, and he will be putting up posters and sign-up sheets around the school. Cameron seems agreeable. However, the next day, all the posters and sign-up sheets have disappeared. Mr. Fanshaw realizes that Cameron may be struggling with second thoughts, so he summons Cameron to his office again and offers his support. When Cameron leaves, Mr. Fanshaw is still unsure whether Cameron will show up for the meeting.
Chapter 11 Summary: “Cameron Boxer”
Cam realizes he can't dodge the P.A.G. forever. With the publicity and members attached to the organization, it’s only becoming harder for him to avoid. On the day of the meeting, Cam, Chuck, and Pavel go together. Cam and Pavel are unenthused, but Chuck seems excited about being involved in a club.
The sign on the meeting room door announces the P.A.G. meeting along with text that says “ALL WELCOME” (79). Cam hates this. Inside the room, Daphne, Xavier, String, Jordan, and Felicia are seated, waiting for Cam. Melody and her friend Katrina sit in the back. Cam knows Melody knows this was all supposed to be fake.
Mr. Fanshaw pulls Cam to the front and announces that the president is there to lead the meeting. Cam struggles to find anything to say and talks in circles about the club’s purpose. Melody watches with delight. Pavel is sympathetic, and Chuck looks interested. Everyone else begins to get impatient with Cam. Cam sees Daphne and announces the plan to save Elvis. Daphne takes over, discussing her plans for a beaver lodge.
Some of the kids are on board while others are skeptical about saving a beaver. The group debates for a bit before Mr. Fanshaw steps in to announce that he’s already signed the club up to weed the senior citizens’ public garden this weekend. The group murmurs in disappointment, with Daphne looking defeated. Mr. Fanshaw reassures everyone that this is just the beginning.
Cam is upset he must be there at 10am on Saturday. He would’ve spent that time practicing for Rule the World. As they leave, Chuck comments that the meeting went well.
Chapters 7-11 Analysis
Chapters 7 through 11 introduce several more key members of the P.A.G. and use perspective shift to explain their motivations. These chapters continue to develop the theme of Cooperation Versus Competition and introduce the theme of Contributing to Something Greater. These chapters primarily focus on the pursuit of Cam as president of the P.A.G. and the efforts that go into pinning him down and forcing the first P.A.G. meeting to take place.
Chapter 7 introduces Freeland “String” McBean. String parallels Cam in many ways. While Cam is obsessed with video games, String is obsessed with football. Cam is forced to create the P.A.G. because he risks losing his video games while String is forced to join the P.A.G. because he risks losing football. Cam and String are also both very competitive people within their respective activities. Similar to Cam’s dedication to video games, “First-String McBean didn’t miss football for anything” (51). With his football career at stake, String makes it his mission to find Cam and force him into action as P.A.G. president.
Chapter 8 returns to Cam’s perspective. His evasion of the P.A.G. becomes more difficult with pressure from his parents and sister, Melody. Though the chapter isn’t told through her perspective, Melody’s motivations become clearer in Chapter 8. Melody works to point out the holes in Cam’s new organization in front of their parents at the dinner table. Cam knows Melody is on to him and evades her pointed observations about the P.A.G.’s dysfunctional webpage. Melody’s motivation is to watch Cam squirm while attempting to expose his fake club.
Chapter 9 introduces Jordan Toleffsen and tells, through his perspective, about the tumultuous and heated race for student body president. Jordan is determined to come out victorious over his opponent Kelly. Jordan’s campaign manager and friend Felicia advises him about his next moves, which leads them to discover the P.A.G. Felicia assures Jordan that “if [Kelly] tries to join later, we can spread it around that she’s copying you” (67). Jordan is sure that joining the P.A.G. will help him “scratch and claw back to the top” of the polls (67). Jordan, Kelly, and Felicia help develop the theme of Cooperation Versus Competition by showing the campaign tactics employed by both candidates. While Kelly is working to undermine her opponent, Jordan works together with Felicia to help him overcome Kelly’s competitive tactics with competitive tactics of his own.
Though none of these chapters are told from their perspectives, Chuck Kinsey and Xavier Meggett are also developed as key players in the P.A.G. Xavier is described as having “broad, leather-jacketed shoulders” (70). He’s older than the other eighth-graders because he was held back for being away at juvie. The other eighth-graders fear Xavier. Xavier’s introduction in Chapter 9 reveals that he’s been assigned to the P.A.G. to fulfill his court-ordered community service. Xavier’s addition to the growing web of students who want to be involved in the P.A.G. plays a key role in getting the P.A.G. off the ground. Though no one can find Cam or get through the website to sign up for the club, Xavier needs an official P.A.G. representative to sign off on his paperwork. Seeing this as an opportunity to advance his campaign, Jordan agrees to sign Xavier’s forms, and the story of Jordan as a P.A.G. representative runs through the school papers quickly, boosting the P.A.G.’s profile as well as Jordan’s. With word out about the P.A.G., the pressure on Cam to take action builds.
Chuck Kinsey is Cam’s other best friend. Chuck, Pavel, and Cam make up the “Awesome Threesome” and have been gaming together for years. This is why Chuck’s interest in the P.A.G. comes as a surprise to Cam. After Cam is forced to finally hold a P.A.G. meeting in Chapter 11, Chuck expresses that he’s “kind of excited to see what it’s all about” (79), despite knowing that Cam established the organization as a sham. Though Cam stumbles through his introduction speech to the club, “Chuck seemed honestly interested in what [Cam] was going to say” (81). Chuck’s eagerness for the P.A.G. to be about something foreshadows his greater involvement in the organization and characterizes Chuck as someone looking for more to life than video games.
Throughout these chapters, Mr. Fanshaw takes on the role of a foil to Cam. At every turn, Cam attempts to avoid responsibility for the P.A.G., hoping it will go away, but Mr. Fanshaw thwarts these attempts by recruiting students like String to the P.A.G. and tracking down Cam to force him to face his own club. Mr. Fanshaw tells Cam “that the first meeting of the P.A.G. would be on Thursday in the music room, no ifs, ands, or buts” (75). In addition to recruiting students, setting up the meeting, and cornering Cam, Mr. Fanshaw sees to it that the P.A.G. has a first assignment. He announces that they’ll be cleaning up the senior gardening project in town and encourages the members to see this as a steppingstone to greater deeds. He explains, “When you hear ‘positive action’ you picture yourselves saving the world, so gardening is kind of a letdown. But remember—every journey begins with the first step” (83). Mr. Fanshaw’s encouragement to the P.A.G. regarding their first project introduces the theme of Contributing to Something Greater, which is central to the Positive Action Group’s purpose.
In addition to building themes, these chapters overall loosen Cam’s control over his scheme and develop the P.A.G. from a fake club into a real one through the involvement of Cam’s peers, Mr. Fanshaw, and Melody.
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