Chapters 17-22Chapter Summaries & Analyses
Chapter 17 Summary: “Adam, Wednesday, March 13, Oddity: Secrets”
Adam lies on his bedroom floor, crying. He can’t move and doesn’t want his dad and Hanna to come home and find him. He calls Zahid and asks for a ride to the hospital. He tries to get up when Zahid arrives but falls again. Zahid calls a security guard from the complex to help them to the hospital. Once there, Adam tells the nurses that he has MS and admits that he hasn’t told his family yet. He realizes that he can ask Ms. Raymond for help because she was his mom’s best friend and helped her through her illness. Zahid helps him text Zayneb for Ms. Raymond’s number. Meanwhile, Zahid poses as his uncle. Finally, Ms. Raymond arrives and pretends to be Adam’s aunt. She offers to bring him to her house and let him do his treatments there with a home nurse.
Ms. Raymond drives Adam to Connor’s house. On the way, he thinks about his dad, Hanna, and his mom. Before dropping Adam off, Ms. Raymond talks to him about his condition. Adam shares two memories of making French fries with his mom before and after she got sick. In one memory, Adam’s mom encouraged him to cry. She said it was okay for him to be upset about her MS. They held each other and cried together. Adam then explains to Ms. Raymond that he’s not ready to tell his dad, and she promises to keep his secret.
Chapter 18 Summary: “Zayneb, Wednesday, March 13, Marvel: Victories”
Zayneb and Auntie Nandy visit the pool. Zayneb wears the burkini, feeling proud. However, the same woman confronts her and Auntie Nandy while they’re in the water. Auntie Nandy stands up to the woman. Zayneb is impressed and exclaims at how much she loves Auntie.
Zayneb organizes her things while Auntie Nandy is out. The Emmas message her asking her to visit the dunes on Sunday, but Zayneb’s mom is coming to Doha that weekend. They invite her to the shops instead.
Zayneb and Kavi message about school, Ayaan, and friendship. Zayneb feels jealous when Kavi mentions Noemi again. Afterward, she thinks about the racism she has faced at school over the years. She and Kavi became friends when Zayneb defended her during gym class when a classmate called her a racial slur. The friends keep messaging, and Kavi reveals that Noemi found Fencer’s new online alias: @StoneWraith14. The friends guess that he’s using the handle to spread Islamophobia.
Auntie Nandy hugs Zayneb when she gets home. Auntie Nandy has been trying to focus on her health but is upset and digs out her junk food stash. She and Zayneb spend the evening snacking and chatting.
That night, Zayneb lies in bed thinking about Kavi and Noemi. She feels left out. She thinks about Adam and Emma P., too. Then, she decides that she must be her old self again because she can’t win Kavi’s or Adam’s attention. She liked the feeling of speaking up with Auntie Nandy at the pool. She goes online and starts researching Fencer.
Chapter 19 Summary: “Adam, Thursday, March 14, Oddity: Justified Ends”
Hanna calls Adam while he’s at Connor’s house. She’s upset that Adam has canceled their plans. Adam doesn’t know how to explain himself because he still hasn’t told her about his diagnosis. Connor jumps in and helps. Adam promises to visit the rare jewels exhibit with Hanna soon.
Adam goes to Ms. Raymond’s house to meet the nurse, Annabelle, for his treatments. Meanwhile, he thinks about his mom’s illness and treatments. Then, Zayneb gets home early, shocked to see Adam hooked up to an IV in the living room. Adam explains that he has multiple sclerosis and hasn’t told his family. Zayneb sits with him, Ms. Raymond, and the nurse. Zayneb and Adam text while Adam finishes his treatment. Adam asks her to come to the jewels exhibit with him and his family, but Zayneb hesitates. Realizing that the Emmas must have told her about Emma P.’s crush, he assures Zayneb that he isn’t interested in Emma P.
Chapter 20 Summary: “Zayneb, Friday, March 15, Marvel: Turns”
Zayneb wakes up feeling happy. Auntie Nandy is singing, and she and Adam are going to see each other again. She feels upset about his diagnosis but has decided that the best thing to do is to support him however she can. Over breakfast, she and Auntie Nandy talk about Adam and Adam’s mom. Adam comes over afterward for his treatment, and Zayneb stays by his side.
Later, Zayneb FaceTimes with Kavi and tells her about Adam. They discuss how the relationship will work given their Muslim traditions. Kavi is excited to hear that he’s Muslim, too. Zayneb tells Kavi more about him and explains the situation. Then, Kavi tells Zayneb more about school, Noemi, Ayaan, and Fencer. Fencer told Kavi that he wants Zayneb to continue submitting her work for his class.
Auntie Nandy takes Zayneb to a restaurant, where she talks to Adam’s dad while Zayneb tries to do her homework. Zayneb realizes that Auntie Nandy is telling Adam’s dad about Adam’s condition when she starts crying. Later that night, Ayaan texts Zayneb and agrees to be friends again. She then tells Zayneb that she wants to get her student council position back and get Fencer fired. She thinks that Fencer is using his @StoneWraith14 handle to spread negative ideas about Muslims on secret platforms.
Chapter 21 Summary: “Adam, Saturday, March 16, Marvel: Energy”
Adam lies in bed, feeling energized. He’s glad to be home and excited to see Zayneb again.
Chapter 22 Summary: “Zayneb, Saturday, March 16, Marvel: Collective Power”
Zayneb wakes up to Auntie Nandy singing at the breakfast table. Afterward, they get ready to take a walk on the promenade near the water. Before leaving, Zayneb overhears Auntie Nandy talking on the phone with her mom about her dad going to Pakistan to find information about Daadi’s death.
Confused, Zayneb calls Sadia to see if she knows what’s going on with their parents. Sadia normally knows everything but admits that their parents have kept her in the dark, too. Then, Zayneb tells Sadia about Adam. Sadia is excited and offers to tell their parents about him. She encourages Zayneb to go about the relationship in a pure way so it will last, comparing Zayneb’s situation to Sadia’s relationship with her husband.
Chapters 17-22 Analysis
The personal and societal challenges that Zayneb and Adam face throughout Chapters 17-22 further complicate their understanding of themselves and one another. Adam’s chapters focus on his struggle to own his diagnosis and to share his experience with his loved ones, highlighting the theme of the Impact of Chronic Illness on Young Adults. Zayneb’s chapters focus on her attempts to balance her past and present versions of self and to engage with others in an authentic way. These personal difficulties influence how both Adam and Zayneb see themselves in relation to others. In the context of Adam’s storyline, Adam remains terrified of hurting his dad and Hanna with the truth of his illness. The image of him lying “on the floor of [his] room” crying in Chapter 17 illustrates his emotional fragility (135). He is experiencing physical pain but is crying because what’s happening to him “[doesn’t] make sense” (135). Having lost his mom just seven years prior, Adam isn’t ready to face the pain of losing his family or watching them grieve. However, the more physically weak he becomes over the course of these chapters, the more compelled he is to ask for and accept others’ help. This is why he turns to Connor, Auntie Nandy, and Zayneb when his episodes worsen. The same is true for Zayneb, who has historically learned to rely on herself for strength rather than turn to others for help. In Chapter 18, for example, Zayneb lies in bed thinking about Kavi and Noemi, Adam and Emma P., unable to sleep or to move. She soon realizes that “‘[w]inning’ Adam, or even Kavi, isn’t going to make the world a better place,” combat injustice, or validate her identity (164). She decides that she’s “going to be [herself]” from now on instead of trying to bend herself to others’ expectations. Therefore, both she and Adam are learning what it means to be honest with themselves. They’re discovering that if they own who they are and what they’re experiencing, they can engage in more genuine relationships with others.
Zayneb and Adam’s interactions throughout Chapters 17-22 intensify their connection and propel the narrative forward. The scene from Chapter 19 in which Adam tells Zayneb the truth about his condition marks a turning point in the characters’ relationship. Adam doesn’t plan on revealing the truth to Zayneb, but once he does, he and Zayneb feel closer to one another. When they first meet, Adam keeps his illness a secret from Zayneb, but in Auntie Nandy’s living room in Chapter 19, Adam is glad that “here it [is], out in full view of the girl in the brilliant blue hijab” (177). Zayneb is also glad that Adam has opened up to her, even if it means she has to face the repercussions of his chronic illness with him. She is immediately moved by Adam’s “sense of calm and quietness” and wonders if he ever needs someone to “reach out and hold the weight with him” (180). Therefore, Adam’s confession activates Zayneb’s empathy. She doesn’t push Adam away when she learns that she’s sick, because she also knows what it feels like to be lonely and in pain. Adam’s character starts to bring out Zayneb’s softer qualities and helps her relate to others with care. Furthermore, the time that Zayneb spends sitting with Adam while he gets his treatments illustrates her desire to support him in the best way she knows how. Confronting the challenges of Adam’s chronic illness together in turn teaches Adam and Zayneb how important they are to one another. Soon after, they start to tell their loved ones about their romantic feelings, revelations that advance their relationship and maintain the narrative pacing.
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