58 pages • 1 hour read
Gordon KormanLevel 13
Fiction | Novel | Middle Grade | Published in 2018A 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 8-14Chapter Summaries & Analyses
Chapter 8 Summary: “Daphne Leibowitz”
Daphne wonders if she might be better than Cam as P.A.G. president. The library fundraiser, led by Daphne, raises $11,000. So many people attend that the library stays open an extra hour to maximize donations. The only problems at the event are running out of mustard and Elvis destroying the tables. Fortunately, the fundraiser is nearly over when Elvis begins his destruction.
The local veterinarian attends the fundraiser and helps the P.A.G. members corral the beaver, pointing out that their carrier is not suited for a beaver's bite strength. The vet dismisses Daphne's concerns that Elvis is not gaining any weight but wonders why Elvis wandered into the library. The vet suspects the beaver may be searching for a mate. Daphne assumes that Elvis's carrier arrives because Chuck ran home to get it and refuses to believe anyone would bring a beaver to a fundraiser.
Chapter 9 Summary: “Kelly Hannity”
Kelly Hannity, co-president of the student council with Jordan Toleffson, worries about her social studies class with Mr. Proothi, the most challenging teacher at Sycamore Middle School. Mr. Proothi assigns a “Who's Who in the American Revolution” project worth 70% of their grade. He warns the students that anyone who fails the assignment will fail the class and must attend summer school. Though Kelly is not worried about herself, she is concerned about Cam, who leaves for the bathroom while Mr. Proothi explains the assignment’s instructions.
Kelly feels guilty because the P.A.G. has helped everyone except Cam. After Mr. Proothi explains the assignment, Kelly waits for Cam outside the boys' bathroom. Pavel and Chuck exit, and Kelly knocks on the bathroom door. She offers to email Cam the assignment details and her notes to help him with the project.
Kelly feels good about her decision as she starts the assignment, which requires listing the contributions of over 100 people from the American Revolution. When Kelly later asks Cam if her notes helped him, he appears confused. Kelly assumes Cam is too proud to admit he needs help and vows to ensure he passes.
Chapter 10 Summary: “Cameron Boxer”
Cameron starts playing Guardians of Geldorf and enjoys it just as much as he used to, despite the game’s age. Elvis also seems to enjoy the game, constantly moving around Cam to get a better view, squeaking happily, and thumping his tail. However, Cam notices some differences in the game compared to Melody’s version, and his followers ask for the game’s serial number.
When Cam’s dad comes home early, Cam asks Melody for help hiding Elvis, but she refuses. Cam texts the Awesome Threesome, but Chuck is busy with Daphne. Pavel takes Elvis through the basement window.
Cam’s dad tells him to shower, concerned that he smells terrible. Cam promises he will, then runs outside to help Pavel. Pavel expresses his frustration with Chuck’s focus on his new relationship and Cam’s focus on streaming.
Cam considers going to Sweetness and Light with Pavel but remembers his social studies project is due tomorrow. He thinks about taking a zero for it but remembers Kelly’s emails. One email contains her notes, and another contains her completed project. Cam struggles with the ethical dilemma of using Kelly’s work. Realizing he cannot complete the project in one night, he rationalizes that streaming is another kind of work. He copies Kelly’s project and makes a few changes before turning it in online.
Chapter 11 Summary: “Mr. Fanshaw”
Mr. Fanshaw struggles to understand Cam. On one hand, he thinks Cam is “the greatest student leader [he] had ever worked with” (88). On the other hand, Cam acts like he has nothing to do with his club. Instead of sneaking around the school to catch Cam, Mr. Fanshaw must sneak around to avoid Daphne.
Daphne constantly bothers Mr. Fanshaw with fundraiser ideas, most of which he thinks are terrible. Mr. Fanshaw hides from Daphne all over the school, but she always finds him. One day, she catches him en route to the teachers' lounge, causing him to spill soup all over his brownie. Mr. Fanshaw snaps at her but quickly apologizes. Daphne is upset because she has no good fundraising ideas, and none of the P.A.G. members will ask Cam for help because of his grades.
Mr. Fanshaw does not understand the concern about Cam's grades because they have improved. Daphne also worries about Elvis, saying he struggles with “unrequited love.” She notes that Elvis is rarely in his habitat and has not gained any weight. Mr. Fanshaw ends the conversation feeling unsure about the future of the P.A.G. without Cam's help.
Chapter 12 Summary: “Cameron Boxer”
Cam overworks himself, trying to manage his stream, bring Elvis back and forth, and keep up with his schoolwork. He gets an email from Jordan and realizes it contains all the answers to his math review sheet. Cam feels guilty and starts to complete the review independently. Eventually, he gives in and copies all of Jordan's answers. He promises to talk to Jordan and Kelly the next day.
Instead, Cam finds one of his three lockers broken into. Taped to the back wall is his art project, which was initially a blobby mess but is now completely fixed and beautiful. Xavier fixed it for him. Cam wants to tell Xavier it is too good for him to turn in, but he is too scared of Xavier to explain.
Cam tries to tell Kelly to stop doing his work for him, but she misunderstands and offers to make him a study guide for an upcoming test.
Cam receives more emails with completed assignments, many from people he barely knows. Feeling overwhelmed and guilty, Cam eventually gives in and uses the assignments.
Chapter 13 Summary: “Chuck Kinsey”
Chuck feels guilty about keeping secrets from Daphne, especially since Elvis's behavior is causing her so much stress. He tries to convince Pavel and Cam that they should tell Daphne the truth, but they strongly disagree. This leads to an argument between the friends. Cam loses his taste for gummy worms because he eats so many while streaming.
Chuck argues that Cam is making him sacrifice his love life for Cam's stream. Pavel argues that Chuck changed everything and has become self-absorbed since dating Daphne. Pavel storms out of Sweetness and Light, leaving their friendship strained.
Although both Chuck and Pavel remain friends with Cam, they stop being friends with each other. Pavel becomes extraordinarily friendly and polite around Daphne, which makes Chuck sad because he knows it is an act. Pavel and Chuck help Cam with his stream, which now has over 2,000 followers. They sort through followers' questions and write the best ones on whiteboards for Cam to answer. While Cam's talent and Elvis's presence attract viewers, most come to see the game Guardians, of which Cam has an older version.
Chapter 14 Summary: “Cameron Boxer”
Cameron discovers that Guardians of Geldorf originally had 13 levels. However, after its release, the game was banned in several states for “inappropriate content.” Eventually, the game producers pulled every copy off the market and re-released it with only 12 levels. Cam realizes his followers primarily want to see the banned Level 13.
Chuck, Cam, and Pavel speculate about the inappropriate content. Cam is relaxed about reaching Level 13, claiming he has beaten the game hundreds of times. However, Pavel points out that the developers made level 12 easier for the re-release. Even their idol, professional gamer Draja Dubrovnik, never reached Level 13.
Worried about this new information, Cam plays Guardians alone to see if he can beat level 12. He discovers that levels 10 and 11 are more challenging than the re-released version, and level 12 seems impossible. Melody interrupts, noticing that the game looks different, but Cam snaps at her.
Melody then tells Cam she got an email from Joseph Ryerson that she thinks is for him. It contains notes on a science experiment. Cam claims they are friends, but Melody catches him lying, as Cam does not know Joseph goes by J.J.
Chapters 8-14 Analysis
The themes of Expectations, Perceptions, and Reality and Evolving Identities, Relationships, and Responsibilities come to the forefront as Cam, Chuck, and Pavel's friendship becomes strained and everyone starts to worry about Cam's school performance. As the story progresses, the contrast between how peers and teachers perceive Cam and his actual behavior becomes more apparent.
Cam convinces everyone that he is a hard-working, compassionate student leader. This makes people attribute P.A.G.’s positive qualities to Cam. For example, Kelly believes that “[Cam] put his whole heart into the organization. He gave and gave, never thinking of himself” (74). In actuality, the opposite is true: Cam is a hands-off leader who overlooks his responsibilities as president. Additionally, Kelly believes Cam leaves class when Mr. Proothi explains a major assignment because he is stressed about his schoolwork. In reality, Cam ducks out to play video games in the bathroom. When Kelly asks Cam about her email, she notes that his reaction made it seem as if he hadn’t cared to open the email. She rationalizes his behavior, believing he is “too embarrassed and too proud to admit he was in over his head” (76). In reality, Cam is more obsessed with video games than his friends and blows off his peers, including Kelly. Kelly's positive perception of the P.A.G. clouds her perception of Cam. She believes he is a dedicated leader—even when there is growing evidence to the contrary. Through this interaction, Korman highlights the theme of Expectations, Perceptions, and Reality.
Even Mr. Fanshaw, the guidance counselor, struggles with his perception of Cam. He recalls feeling like something was off about Cam’s involvement in P.A.G. Although there was no doubt in his mind that Cam was responsible for the club’s beginning, he thinks Cam “always seemed removed from it all, like it had nothing to do with him” and wonders why he “knew absolutely nothing about the club he'd founded” (88). However, P.A.G.’s success and fundraising efforts provide evidence against these growing doubts. Korman here expresses how many characters have reservations about Cam’s true character and motivations.
Despite Mr. Fanshaw's frustrations with Cam, he prefers dealing with the uninvolved Cam over the overly involved Daphne. While Daphne is “motivated, outspoken, high-energy, ambitious, and bold” (89), her single-minded focus causes problems. Cam's hands-off approach allowed the P.A.G. to become a collaborative effort, where members pitched ideas together and made team decisions. Though Daphne has qualities one would attribute to good leadership, her unilateral approach to making decisions strips the P.A.G. of its collaborative nature. Through Korman’s characterization of Daphne and the inner workings of P.A.G., he stresses the theme of The Importance of Community, Collaboration, and Friendship.
Cam also grapples with Expectations, Perceptions, and Reality in this section. He creates a new streaming persona, only to have Elvis upstage him immediately. Cam adapts and uses Elvis to promote his stream. However, streaming becomes much more effort than he anticipated. Cam is sleep-deprived, his parents are worried about him, and he slacks off in school. Cam finds he has very little free time—new challenges he didn’t expect to encounter as a streamer. Notably, he must shuttle Elvis back and forth for his streams and research and practice the games before streaming. He must also accept the harsh reality that the original version of Guardians is too difficult for him, as he struggles to beat level 12. This causes him extreme stress and makes playing his favorite game far less enjoyable. While Cam thought streaming would be fun and lead to increased fame and earning potential, his challenges while attempting to grow his follower base demonstrate the differences between expectations and reality.
The Awesome Threesome also faces challenges with Expectations, Perceptions, and Reality and Evolving Identities, Relationships, and Responsibilities as Chuck's relationship causes tension between the trio. These difficulties with perception become clear when Pavel and Chuck fight, both believing the other is behaving selfishly. Chuck thinks Cam is selfish to keep the cause behind Elvis's strange behavior a secret, and Pavel argues that Chuck continually places his relationship above his friendships. Chuck feels that his friends' reactions are steeped in jealousy. While jealousy may be a factor in his behavior, Pavel is more upset that Chunk’s relationship with Daphne changes how he acts. Chuck struggles to maintain an identity separate from Daphne and evolves to challenges between maintaining a romantic relationship and friendship.
Cam, Chuck, and Pavel's evolving relationships highlight the unique challenges of adolescence, illustrating how personal growth and friendship can be at odds. Through the character’s struggles, Korman explores valuable lessons the characters must learn about honesty, teamwork, and balancing personal interests with broader responsibilities and commitments to each other.
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