49 pages • 1 hour read
Abby JimenezYours Truly
Fiction | Novel | Adult | 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 11-20Chapter Summaries & Analyses
Chapter 11 Summary: “Briana”
Jacob writes Briana another letter in which he tells her how his sister Jewel, a tattoo artist, gave him a tattoo of a tiny lawn mower on his chest when he lost a bet. He had the tattoo lasered off but uses the story to show how he will never be able to outsmart the women in his family. Briana writes back, asking if Jacob has a girlfriend, although she is clear that she isn’t interested in a romantic relationship. Jacob writes back that he and his girlfriend broke up and explains that he doesn’t want to become romantically involved with a coworker again. Briana and Jacob exchange multiple letters throughout the day, but then they have several days off. Briana misses the letters, so she decides to look Jacob up on social media. He has very little social media presence, but she does find him on Instagram.
Chapter 12 Summary: “Jacob”
Jacob is staying at his remote cabin during his time off. He is surprised when Briana requests to be friends on Instagram, but he enjoys looking through her pictures. He notices a wedding ring on her finger in some of the pictures and wonders about it. When Briana messages him, he gets anxious and struggles with his responses. Then his internet cuts out. Jacob rushes to the restaurant down the street so he can use their internet. He takes a seat on the porch just as Briana asks for his phone number. She calls, and they talk for hours about family, past dating experiences, and TikTok. Jacob is bitten by mosquitoes and it rains, but he remains on the porch.
When Jacob returns to work a few days later, Briana invites him to have lunch with her in the sob closet. At first, Jacob is anxious about eating in front of Briana, but he finds that he is more comfortable with Briana than he is with other people, in part because Briana goes out of her way to make him more comfortable, such as suggesting they eat in the sob closet instead of the busy cafeteria. Jewel surprises them by barging into the sob closet. Jacob has been ignoring his family’s calls, and Jewel has come to make sure he is okay. When she finds him with Briana, she jumps to the conclusion that Briana is his new girlfriend.
Chapter 13 Summary: “Jacob”
Jacob has drinks with Zander that night, overwhelmed by the discussion of Briana on the family text chain. Zander suggests that Jacob ask Briana to pretend to be his girlfriend for the duration of Jeremiah and Amy’s wedding festivities. Zander is sure that Briana will be willing when she learns that Jacob is a match for Benny. Jacob refuses to ask Briana but is thrilled to learn he is a kidney match. He agrees to donate but asks to postpone the surgery until after the wedding. Zander agrees and says he’ll tell Benny that night. Jacob requests that Zander keep his identity secret from everyone, even his own family.
Chapter 14 Summary: “Briana”
Briana returns home to find Alexis waiting on her porch. She has come because Briana’s divorce will be finalized the following day. They go inside, and Briana is surprised to see that Benny has a guest, Justin, his former roommate. Briana is overwhelmed with emotion, both over Benny and his obvious depression and the fact that her marriage is about to be officially over. She takes a moment to herself and then talks to Alexis about her father abandoning the family and then Nick falling in love with another woman during their marriage. As they talk, they hear Benny begin to cry. They rush to him and are delighted to hear that he’s been matched with a kidney donor.
Chapter 15 Summary: “Jacob”
Jacob arrives at work to find his coworkers celebrating the news of Benny’s kidney donor. Jacob feels good knowing he’s the reason for Briana’s happiness.
Chapter 16 Summary: “Briana”
Briana goes to Gibson’s office to ask for time off during Benny’s surgery. Gibson lets it slip that Jacob is the donor. Briana goes in search of him. When she finally finds him, she drags him into the sob closet and demands to know if what Gibson said is true.
Chapter 17 Summary: “Jacob”
Briana, excited and grateful, tells Jacob that this was supposed to be a bad day because her divorce is final, but the news that he’s a kidney donor for Benny has changed all that. She offers to do anything Jacob wants. Jacob tells Briana he needs a girlfriend to attend family functions with him until Jeremiah and Amy’s wedding. Jacob explains that Amy was his ex-girlfriend, his family is worried about him, and they already think Briana is his girlfriend. When Briana asks if Jacob still loves Amy, he says he does.
Chapter 18 Summary: “Briana”
Jacob picks Briana up for a family dinner and tries to warn her how chaotic his family can be. Briana recognizes that Jacob is afraid his family will figure out his relationship with Briana is a lie. She decides to help him as much as possible, and to this end, she gives him a code phrase that he can work into conversation that will tell her when he needs a few minutes alone.
Briana and Jacob arrive at his family home and are immediately hit with the chaos of nieces, nephews, and outgoing personalities. Briana is chased around the house by Jacob’s grandfather, who wants a cigarette despite being on oxygen. Jacob gives Briana a tour of the house, including his father’s taxidermy room. When Briana sees a relationship book on a shelf, she comments that she read it during her marriage. Jacob tells her that the book was written by his mother, a couples and sex therapist. Briana panics at this information, afraid that Joy will know that she and Jacob are lying. Briana insists that they spend more time together, see each other’s homes, and start touching, though she draws the line at kissing.
Chapter 19 Summary: “Jacob”
Briana fits easily into Jacob’s family dynamic, and this relaxes him. Jewel asks how they met, so Briana tells the story of how she slammed into Jacob and broke his phone when Benny was admitted to the emergency room. Then, she says she failed to give him her number, so he wrote her a letter. Everyone finds this romantic. Briana is open and shares her family history, and she learns about Jacob’s childhood.
Chapter 20 Summary: “Briana”
Jacob takes Briana home, but she refuses to let him inside because she is embarrassed by the state of the old house. At work the next day, they go to human resources to disclose their “relationship.” They make plans to have dinner at her house the following day, and Briana attempts to clean up her bedroom. They discuss what they’ll have for dinner, and Jacob explains that he needs to have details ahead of time to feel comfortable.
Chapters 11-20 Analysis
The novel continues to develop the relationship between Briana and Jacob through the exchange of letters, allowing the characters to reveal the depths of their personalities and certain pieces of their personal histories to one another. This creates a connection that both characters clearly want to strengthen, and Briana seeks Jacob out on social media. Here, the novel explores how social media impacts modern dating. This medium allows Briana to investigate Jacob without his input. Jacob is given the same tools, allowing him to stumble upon the fact of Briana’s former marriage, hinting at a potential conflict. Later, Jacob also shows a desire for an immediate connection with Briana when he rushes to a place with better internet connectivity and sits out in the rain just to talk to Briana. The scene causes Jacob a high level of physical discomfort that is symbolic of his struggle with social anxiety, but the fact that he ignores his physical discomfort to speak to Briana shows that Jacob is willing to overcome any obstacle to be close to her. It is also symbolic of the way in which Jacob’s anxiety is lessened when he is with Briana.
When Jacob matches to become Benny’s kidney donor, he is once more revealed to be selfless and kind. Jacob’s selfless motivation shows a connection between Jacob and his mother that might not have been obvious because of the intense personality differences between Jacob and the other members of his family. Jacob deals with anxiety, while his mother and most of his sisters are outgoing and outspoken. This could cause tension in a relationship, but Jacob clearly cares deeply for each member of his family, especially his mother, and was deeply touched by the selfless act of his mother’s kidney donor.
The narrative decision not to allow Jacob to keep his desire to donate a kidney to Benny from Briana removes the common romance trope of the protagonists keeping secrets from one another. By doing this, the novel keeps the plot focused on their fake relationship, a common trope in romance novels. However, Jacob’s desire that no one else learn the truth adds tension to the plot with the potential for conflict should the truth come out. At the same time, Briana and Jacob have a shared secret, creating another level of connection that strengthens the bond they’ve already begun to develop.
Briana’s emotional reaction to Jacob’s donation of his kidney allows for Jacob and Briana to share a pivotal moment as they share more intimate information with one another. Jacob’s confession that he still loves Amy is a powerful one that will remain with Briana throughout the novel, leading to both conflict and misunderstandings. Briana’s confession that she would do anything for Jacob causes him some doubts that lead to later conflict as well.
Briana’s initial introduction to Jacob’s family injects some humor into the novel as Briana navigates the intricacies of this unique family. However, Joy’s profession as a couples and sex therapist causes tension, as Briana fears that they could be found out. This creates a situation that forces more intimacy between Briana and Jacob, pushing them to spend more time one-on-one with each other and opening the door for blossoming romance.
Finally, Briana and Jacob make their relationship public at work, putting pressure on them to act as a couple both in their professional and private lives. While this is a necessary step to make the relationship appear genuine, it will create conflict as the plot develops, and it foreshadows a moment when Jacob is disarmed by Briana’s choice to introduce him as her friend rather than her boyfriend in the professional setting.
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By Abby Jimenez
