Ms. LaVrar

aimeelavrar — 2024-02-29 02:39:59 UTC

Jack is August’s best friend for much of the novel. He is one of the three kids that Mr. Tushman asks to lead August on a tour of Beecher Prep before the school year starts. Jack initially refuses, though he changes his mind when he observes his younger brother, Jamie, speaking cruelly about August. At the meeting, Jack stands up to Julian when Julian tries to intimidate August, and he also offers August some advice as to how to survive at school. Though Jack initially is only friends with August because Mr. Tushman asked him to be, he soon discovers that August is smart, funny, and very nice. Jack is caught between being popular and being unpopular solely because he's friends with August, which poses a number of problems for him. He participates in a cruel conversation with Julian about August with the hope of impressing Julian, unaware that August is listening in. When August is understandably cold and distant to him after this (though Jack is unaware of why), Jack marvels that he suddenly has what he always wanted—popularity—but he finds that he values his friendship with August far more than he actually wants to be popular. August forgives Jack after Jack punches Julian and gets suspended, which teaches Jack that though kindness and standing up for friends are always the right choices, they're not always easy. Jack is a good and admirable friend to August for the remainder of the novel and stands up for him against both bullies at Beecher Prep and the seventh-grade bullies at the class nature retreat.

Bulletin board by Ms. LaVrar

Ms. LaVrar