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58 pages 1 hour read

Erin Entrada Kelly

Hello, Universe

Fiction | Novel | Middle Grade | Published in 2017

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Chapters 26-32Chapter Summaries & Analyses

Chapter 26 Summary: “Interpretation of a Dream”

Valencia relates her solar eclipse dream to Kaori. The psychic says the dream means that Valencia is afraid to be alone. Valencia hotly denies that she fears loneliness, but Kaori explains, “Because it’s like you live in a bubble. Everyone looks at you like you’re invisible. And then one day . . . you are invisible. That would be scary to anyone” (187-88). Valencia still isn’t convinced, and Kaori says her powers may be off because she’s worried about Virgil. Valencia relents in her criticism and offers to help look for him.

Chapter 27 Summary: “Valencia”

Kaori, Gen, and Valencia decide to eat before going to search for Virgil, so they make sandwiches in the kitchen. As they talk and snack, Valencia learns that she goes to the same school as Virgil. Gen tries to describe Virgil for Valencia’s benefit. She says he’s brown, skinny, and sad. Valencia thinks, “I wonder how Gen would describe my face to someone else. I wouldn’t want to be described as sad. But maybe I am” (193).  

Chapter 28 Summary: “Bali”

Still stuck in the well, Virgil continues his imaginary conversation with Ruby. He says his brothers could figure a way out of the well because they’re strong. Ruby points out that strength has nothing to do with physical size. To pass the time, Virgil relates some of Lola’s stories to Ruby. One is about the magical isle of Bali, and another is about a tiny hero who saved his village. Once again, Virgil protests that he’s no warrior, but Ruby contradicts him and keeps calling him Bayani, which means “hero” in the Filipino language.

Virgil’s mind drifts to other topics. He recollects the day his teacher sent him to the resource room because he was having trouble learning multiplication tables. It turned out to be the best day of his life because he saw Valencia there for the first time. He remembers that she carried a journal with her, and now Virgil wishes he had a journal so that he could write a goodbye letter to his family.

Ruby says that he doesn’t need paper or pen to write a letter. “‘You close your eyes and mouth and send your thoughts through the universe.’ ‘But how can my family get a thought?’ ‘They’ll feel it, even if they don’t know it’” (205). Ruby says the universe sends invisible letters all the time, but some people are better at opening them than others.

Chapter 29 Summary: “Valencia”

As Kaori, Gen, and Valencia walk over to Virgil’s house, Gen tells Valencia that Virgil has a pet guinea pig. Valencia reveals that she had one too. Its name was Lilliput, but it died years earlier. Kaori informs Valencia that she must be the one to knock on the Salinas’s door because Virgil isn’t supposed to get psychic readings from Kaori.

When Lola answers the knock, she says Virgil isn’t there but invites Valencia inside to take down her contact information. Valencia chances to see a picture of Virgil in the living room and realizes that she knows him from the resource room. Lola isn’t put off by Valencia’s deafness. Instead, she remarks that there was a girl in her village who was deaf but that she could hear with her eyes. Valencia says, “‘I hear with my eyes, too’ […] ‘I know,’ Lola says. ‘I can tell.’ And she winks” (217). 

Chapter 30 Summary: “Smaug”

Chet is still out in the woods looking for snakes. Once he catches one, he plans to keep it as a pet. He’s going to give it a tough name like Smaug, the dragon. Even though Chet likes to act brave, there are a few things that he fears: dogs, the deaf girl, and disappointing his father if he doesn’t get picked for a sports team next year.

As Chet pokes the underbrush with a stick, something begins to move, and a small snake rears up. Chet grabs it by the tail, but it whips its head around and bites him on the arm. Chet recoils and releases the snake, terrified that its venom may be lethal: “The snake had vanished. Chet walked about twenty feet from the scene of the attack, searching for it. Then he sat at the base of a sturdy pine tree and waited to die” (226).

Chapter 31 Summary: “Unpredictable Happenings”

Kaori, Gen, and Valencia regroup at the Tanaka house. Kaori decides that they need to perform a ritual to find lost things if they hope to recover Virgil. The ceremony must be done somewhere in nature. After collecting a candle and some matches, the three girls head for the woods. On impulse, Gen brings along her pink jump rope. Although Kaori is out of her element once they enter the woods, Valencia moves confidently through the trees. Kaori feels a little threatened by the take-charge attitude of the girl who still refers to herself as Just Renee.

After they’ve walked for a while, Kaori stops abruptly and announces that they need to find a particular type of stone called a snakeskin agate to conduct the ritual. Valencia says they’ll never find that kind of rock in these woods because it’s found near dry riverbeds. They then agree to search for a stone with scales, which ought to be close enough. Gen mentions the five stones that Virgil was supposed to collect, but Valencia doesn’t make the connection with the rocks she saw at the well. At that moment, the girls hear shrieking coming from somewhere nearby.

Chapter 32 Summary: “The Worst Things to Say”

Virgil is reaching a point of despair. He expects Pah to come and devour him at any moment. The boy breaks down and cries, remembering all the opportunities he’s lost, like speaking to Valencia or telling Lola that he loves her. Ruby encourages him to let all his misery out. Then she suggests that he try to yell for help again.

Virgil fears that if he makes any noise, the sound will attract Pah. “‘I told you, he only grows if you’re afraid of him,’ said Ruby. ‘Ignore Pah. Just yell. Do it for me’” (248). Virgil protests that there’s no hope, that nobody will ever hear him, and that it’s too late. Ruby says these are all terrible ideas. Even though Virgil wants to give up, Ruby convinces him to try calling for help one more time, and he yells until he’s hoarse.

Chapters 26-32 Analysis

This section shows synchronicity at play as seeming coincidences begin to link together. When Ruby tells Virgil that the universe is communicating with people all the time, she is articulating the book’s core theme and highlighting its use in this segment. Once Valencia connects with Kaori, she agrees to help find Virgil. After Kaori and Gen describe him, Valencia realizes that she and Virgil attend the same school. She learns that he has a pet guinea pig as she once did. She gets a further nudge from the universe when Lola invites Valencia inside, and the girl sees a photo of Virgil. She now recognizes him as one of her classmates in the resource room for special needs students.

Lola proves that she’s an adept at understanding the universe when she gravitates toward Valencia and instantly recognizes that the girl can hear with her eyes. In contrast, Chet is completely out of tune with nature, as evidenced by his inept handling of a snake and the bite he sustains as a result. However, Chet’s presence in the woods at precisely the right moment offers yet another clue from the universe to help Valencia find Virgil.

This segment also focuses on Virgil’s transformation from coward to hero. He has reached bottom both physically and metaphorically since he has completely given in to fear. He expects Pah, as the embodiment of that fear, to consume him at any moment. Ruby, as the voice of hope, encourages Virgil to think of Lola’s stories about heroes. Although the boy protests that he is neither strong nor brave, Ruby has begun to call him Bayani, which is the Filipino word for hero. The more he listens to Ruby and focuses on the stories, the less attention he gives to Pah. As Ruby says, Pah can only grow bigger through fear. Virgil shifts away from contemplating his demise to thinking what he would have done differently if he hadn’t let fear stop him. The hero within Virgil is beginning to awaken.

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