My Life as a Book

At school, Derek’s teacher, Ms. Williams, hands out the summer reading list, “wearing a demented smile and acting as if she’s tossing out free candy” (6). She announces that everyone will read three books and do a report on one of them; additionally, she’ll be their teacher again in the fall. When Derek realizes that he must do reading and writing homework over the summer, he pipes up with a quip about a busy schedule. Derek’s friend Matt laughs, and Derek writes jokingly about how he “wouldn’t complain if [Ms. Williams] was kidnapped by crazed bank robbers in need of a getaway car” (9). Derek accents this comment by drawing a man sneaking away with a bag of loot and the word “kidnapped.”

Derek and Matt are at the mall looking at DVDs and comics; Matt’s mother is nearby, but because they’re 12-year-olds and hoping to feel older, they pretend she’s not there. Jamie, Matt’s older brother, works at the store and has a good sense of humor. He lets Derek and Matt pretend to be James Bond, and they roll under the store gate a couple of times when the boss leaves the store for a coffee. Matt shares Derek’s appreciation for adventure and mystery. A girl named Carly, the “smartest girl in [the] class” (15), swings by with a bag full of books she bought for summer reading, including extra ones.

Derek’s parents are going out for their usual Thursday date night, and Amy, the babysitter, is there to watch Derek. He likes to make the job difficult for her by doing ridiculous things like riding his bike indoors and skidding (a word that Derek draws as a man on the front wheel of a bicycle) but decides to call a truce with her tonight if she helps him research the drowning. He remembers that the newspaper was from the year 2000 and asks Amy to try searching for information on the computer. They learn that the girl’s name was Susan James, and when Amy asks why Derek is researching the matter, he explains that his mother became angry when he asked. He “even heard her talking to Dad about it in the den with the door shut” (17).

Amy seems uninterested, which irritates Derek. He isolates himself in his mother’s car with his dog, Bodi. Bodi comforts Derek as he ponders the idea of someone Amy’s age dying, wondering how her family must have felt. When his parents drive up, it startles him, which Derek indicates in a drawing of a stick figure whose eyes are popping out of his head. Amy explains that Derek locked himself in the car again (implying that he did it before), and after his parents pay her, she heads home. Derek’s mother tries to deter his interest in the article, fibbing that it must have been a couch advertisement she saved, and Derek doesn’t buy the story. He can tell she’s getting annoyed and depicts this with what he finds annoying: a person scratching their nails down a chalkboard. Derek goes to bed and writes SUSAN JAMES on his wall so that he doesn’t forget. He wants to be excited for summer but feels plagued by negative thoughts about what his mother might be hiding.

Derek is looking forward to his last day of school before summer, but the DVD player doesn’t work, and Ms. Williams decides to play a spelling game instead. When she asks the class to spell the principal’s name, Derek instead spells out “The worst principal we have ever had” (21), and Ms. Williams makes him write out the multiplication tables as punishment. To make the day worse, Joe Brennan, a big kid with Cheeto-breath and a mind full of fantasy tales, approaches Derek. Joe is a bully, and he grabs Derek’s shirt to get his attention. Derek burps in Joe’s face and escapes. Ms. Williams gives Derek a book from the summer reading list that she annotated just for him, encouraging him to read and keep creating illustrations for the words he learns. Derek appreciates the gesture but is happier about the fact that Carly seems jealous. Derek bolts from the classroom. At home, he lets Bodi out and thinks, “We’re finally free!” (26).

Derek and Matt demonstrate their innovative fun-making when they create grenades out of avocadoes and dump bags of potting soil to create mounds. They toss the fruit back and forth at each other, imagining what it would be like if they were in school instead. Derek’s mother is unimpressed with him using their dinner for a game of war, and Derek once again tries to pass off his poor choice with a joke. His mother walks away without responding, but his father appears and asks the boys to clean up and replace the avocadoes. He hands them ten dollars, and Derek and Matt imagine all the amazing things they can buy with the money. After purchasing the avocadoes, they have enough left for some ice cream, and they sit with their skateboards discussing their summer plans. Matt mentions that he’s going on vacation to Martha’s Vineyard, the place in the news article about the girl who drowned. Derek desperately wants to go with them, and Matt promises to ask about it. When Derek gets home, he finds out that he bought overripe avocadoes. The family orders Chinese food instead, and Derek’s fortune cookie reads, “A story will unfold before you” (33), foreshadowing the adventure and investigation to follow, as well as the novel itself in the form of self-reference.

Derek goes to his dad’s office for the day. His dad is a storyboard illustrator for movies, which Derek illustrates via a three-cell drawing of a tennis player. His dad is working on a horror film, and Derek finds all the props fascinating—but when he notices that his dad seems depressed, it bothers him. His dad remarks that animators are getting younger, and he obviously isn’t. That night, Derek decides to “make him a little younger looking” (37) and draws a mustache and sideburns on his dad while he sleeps. His mother walks in and waffles between shock, laughter, and back to shock when she realizes that Derek inadvertently used a permanent marker. She sends him to his room, as his dad jokingly remarks that it’s “actually not that bad” (38). The next morning, some marks remain on his face, but he doesn’t mind. Derek tries to encourage his dad by telling him that he’s good at what he does, and it seems to help; however, his dad ironically adds that he and Derek should “dedicate [themselves] to [their] studies this summer” (39) and improve together. In other words, Derek has signed up for even more summer homework.