69 pages • 2 hours read
Gordon KormanThe Juvie Three
Fiction | Novel | YA | Published in 2008A 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 32-34Chapter Summaries & Analyses
Chapter 32 Summary
Mike sits in the apartment with Healy, Roxanne, and the boys. The boys confess the entire story, including that they forged Healy’s reports and continued going through their required schedule, doing well at school so as not to arouse suspicion. Healy stands up for them, saying, “everything they did—even when it was wrong—they did it for all the right reasons” (234).
After some deliberation, Mike agrees to let them off the hook on one condition: Gecko and Roxanne can never see each other again. They know it’s the only chance for Gecko and the boys to stay out of prison, so they agree.
Chapter 33 Summary
Ms. Vaughn arrives for her checkup of Healy and the boys. She carefully examines the apartment before announcing, to their horror, that she’s found a weapon. She indignantly points out the broken bowling trophy, a violation of their code because of its sharp edges. However, she goes on to admit that Healy has made remarkable progress with the boys. Before she goes, she makes sure that the bowling trophy has been safely thrown away.
After Ms. Vaughn leaves, the group relaxes and acknowledges their success. They’re approached by Mrs. Liebowitz, who tells them that she received some mail for them: a management contract for Arjay’s band.
Chapter 34 Summary
The boys are in their last session with Dr. Avery, who’s moving on. They’re having a farewell party, but Gecko is withdrawn. Dr. Avery mentions that she heard Gecko’s mother is coming to visit. When Gecko spoke to her on the phone, all she talked about was his brother. Arjay is excited to see his parents again, but Terence’s father won’t be coming. Terence says that “family lets you down” (245), and that it’s better to surround yourself with loyal friends.
As they leave the counseling session, Casey gives Arjay her phone number. Arjay begins to throw it away, then changes his mind and puts it in his pocket.
Healy tells the boys that they’ve been assigned a new community service: repainting an old building. They’ll be working with several hundred other teenagers, others in community service as well as school groups and volunteers. Once inside, they’re surrounded by other kids wearing masks to protect against the plaster dust. Gecko wonders who would volunteer for such a job, and he finds himself face to face with Roxanne.
Chapters 32-34 Analysis
With Healy and his memory safely returned, and DeAndre’s crew taken into custody, the novel reaches its denouement. Mike, the police officer, clears them of all charges, but not before Gecko suffers one last major loss. This represents the last stage of his journey into a kind of adulthood, accepting that things will change and that sacrifices need to be made. Final threads are wrapped up with Mrs. Liebowitz, Dr. Avery, and Ms. Vaughn, and the bowling trophy plays its final part in wrapping up their story and saying its own form of goodbye.
Terence and Arjay have finally come to terms with who they are in different ways: Terence acknowledges that he will never have a family in the way that Arjay does, but he finally has the found family he worked so hard for. Arjay looks forward to being reunited with his own family and reflects on his own journey into a new way forward by holding onto the possibility of a future with Casey. Gecko is also reunited with Roxanne, hinting at the possibility of a future for them, too.
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By Gordon Korman
