The Summary
Talented and
dedicated, Phillip Malloy lives to run. Having turned heads in junior high, he
is ready to tryout for the high school track team and ultimately has his sights
set on the Olympics. Nothing stands in Phillip’s way—nothing but his English
grade—and the truth.
On a parallel story
line, Mrs. Narwin is a veteran teacher—also dedicated—who really wants to reach
Phillip. She feels she needs new skills and applies to the principal for
funding to attend a development conference. The principal denies her request
due to budget constraints. The well-meaning Mrs. Narwin continues her attempts
to reach Phillip with little success.
To complicate
matters, Phillip gets moved into her homeroom class. Mrs. Narwin’s classroom is
much more structured than Phillip’s former homeroom. Phillip hums along with
the national anthem and gets in trouble for not remaining “silent and
respectful.” As he continues to hum, despite repeated warnings, he is sent to
the principal. Rather than apologize to Mrs. Narwin, Phillip is suspended from
school. Phillip’s parents encourage him to stand up for what he believes, not
knowing that Phillip’s motivation is to get out of Mrs. Narwin’s class. As
Phillip chooses to omit certain parts of the truth, the results affect more lives
than just his own.
The episode soon
escalates into a first-amendment battle. Complicated by a school
board election and a much-needed bond measure on the ballot, the issue between
Mrs. Narwin and Phillip spirals out of control. The intensity of the situation
increases as more people become involved, each spinning the facts to suit their
own aims. The principal and superintendent become involved along with the
press, a school-board candidate, and special interest groups.
The novel is written
from multiple points of view and presented like an epistletory novel: the
entire text is made up of letters, e-mails, memos, news clips, and short
conversations. This approach to telling the story allows the reader to follow
the simultaneous and interwoven events that carry the story along and lead it
to its ultimate climax. The story addresses the culpability of all of those who
manipulate truth—not just students.
School administrators, politicians, news
outlets, and special interest groups who serve their own interests,
all share culpability.