Small Steps (novel)
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 US first edition cover |
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| Author | Louis Sachar |
|---|---|
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
| Genre(s) | Young adult novel |
| Publisher | Delacorte Press (US), Bloomsbury (UK) |
| Released | 2006 |
| Media type | Print (Hardback) |
| Pages | 257 pp |
| ISBN | ISBN 0-7475-8030-8 (UK hardback edition) |
| Preceded by | Holes, but not a strict prequel |
Small Steps is a young adult novel by Louis Sachar written in 2006. It is a follow-up to Holes.
[edit] Plot summary
Two years after Camp Green Lake, Theodore "Armpit" Johnson is working very hard digging holes to put in sprinkler systems and taking summer school to try to get his life back on track. He is encouraged by a counselor who tells him that life after being in prison is like trying to walk upstream in a river and if you take too big of a step you will get swept away. He is also encouraged by his next door neighbor, Ginny, a 10 year old girl with cerebral palsy that makes it difficult for her to move and talk, and causes her to have seizures. One day, X-Ray, a fellow detainee in Camp Green Lake, comes up with a get-rich-quick scheme. His plan is to buy tickets to the next concert starring Kaira DeLeon, (an African-American pop singer) and sell them to the highest bidders. The trouble starts when Armpit promises that he will bring Ginny to Kaira’s concert. X-Ray and Armpit have only two] tickets. The concert is about to begin, Theodore and Ginny sits in their seats, Suddenly some guards come and tell them that their tickets are counterfeit, and accuse Theodore for making copies of tickets, they bend him down on the floor and puts handcuffs on him. Suddenly Ginny gets a seizure.
Theodore starts to beg to let him help Ginny, or else she can die. After a while the Mayor comes and makes the guards let Armpit go so he can save Ginny. After seeing the distraction Kaira DeLeon enters the room, and asks them to come and watch from the stage. Later that week Theodore is invited to stay at the same hotel as Kaira DeLeon, so they can spend the weekend together. During Theodore's stay, he and Kaira have sex and Theodore, tells Kaira that someone wants to buy a letter from Kaira for $150 because it would keep his friend X-Ray out of jail. It made Kaira leave him with the words: “Sell the letter, everyone else here makes money off me too” and she makes it clear that she never wants to see him again. Later, Theodore goes to her room and finds a shocking scene, because he wants to return a letter that Kaira sent him. He sees that Kaira’s manager is trying to kill her. Theodore and Kaira’s bodyguard (Fred) each go to her rescue and save her life, but the manager seriously wounds the bodyguard (of which he later recovers). After this mess, Theodore is sent back to Austin, and the book ends with Theodore hearing Kaira’s new song on the radio, providing a feeling that they will soon see each other again.
