62 pages • 2 hours read
Gordon KormanLinked
Fiction | Novel | Middle Grade | Published in 2021A 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 29-33Chapter Summaries & Analyses
Chapter 29 Summary: “Lincoln Rowley”
Link has been suspended indefinitely, has been charged with vandalism, and is reviled around the world, thanks to Adam’s videos. He does not know why he painted the first swastika. His father had just had Link taken off the soccer team, and he wanted to do something “that would freak people out” and that could not be laughed off the way the fertilizer prank could (169). He had not been thinking; he had just felt angry. He had not understood what the symbol represented; he thought swastikas were “anti-everything” (170).
Though he misses being popular, he does not blame the world for hating him. When he learned about his grandmother’s family, he could not face himself. Dana’s suggestion of a bar mitzvah, though intended jokingly, represented “a lifeline” for Link, “a way to make up for” what he had done (171). The person whose enmity he most regrets is Dana’s. He has not been able to speak to her. Pamela phones him, believing she and Link were “on the same team” (172). She claims Link is the “perfect messenger” because of his Jewish background, and Link realizes that he cannot change her: “I did something stupid […] You did something hateful” (173). Link hangs up, knowing that he will never speak to her again.
Pouncey and Jordie visit him at home, though Jordie’s parents have forbidden him from associating with Link. Jordie reports that people are angry but also confused. When Jordie asks what Link is going to do, he does not have an answer. His bar mitzvah is scheduled for Saturday, but he cannot imagine that he will be welcome at Temple Judaea or that his parents will allow him to go forward with it. If he does, he cannot imagine that anyone will come. He apologized to his grandmother, and she forgave him, but he feels terrible for making “something really strange and emotional from her life […] even weirder” (176).
Link’s parents have done a lot of yelling, but they tell him that they support him and will get through this together. His father says that nothing is more important than his son, which simultaneously makes Link feel worse and better since he feels “bad for the right reasons” (177). Rabbi Gold has not cancelled the bar mitzvah, though Link is certain he must have heard. Reflecting that his bar mitzvah is a ceremony to mark his transition into manhood, Link resolves that he must “man up” and decides to phone the rabbi (177).
Rabbi Gold anticipates that Link is going to confess and asks why he did it. Link admits that he has no excuse. He “was trying to be a jerk” but not a racist, and “the worst part is” that he “inspired a real racist to paint even more swastikas” (178). Its presence also brought out the region’s racist history and set people fighting about it, but, as Rabbi Gold points out, it also inspired the paper chain project that brought people together. “God forgives us,” he tells Link, and those who have been forgiven “spend the rest of [their] lives trying to be worthy of that forgiveness” (179). Link does not believe he deserves a bar mitzvah, but he wants to go through with it.
Chapter 30 Summary: “Dana Levinson”
When her family first moved to Chokecherry, Dana was miserable, but that unhappiness was nothing compared to how she feels now. She hates being at school and feels deeply betrayed and played by Link, who she had helped and who she considered a friend. Arguments over whether the Night of a Thousand Flames ever happened have renewed. The paper chain that everyone was so proud of has now become an embarrassment and a waste of time. Michael is heartbroken since he had nurtured the project from the beginning. With students fleeing any kind of involvement in school activities, Caroline seems “on the verge of a breakdown” (182).
Dana’s parents mandate a mental health day off from school and bring her to one of their digs. At one point, the paleontologists think they have made a great find, but it turns out to be a series of burnt two-by-fours. Dana realizes they have found the remains of the burnt crosses from the Night of a Thousand Flames. Her father suggests contacting Adam, but Dana objects furiously, calling Adam a “creep” who used the town to promote his YouTube channel (187). Her father decides to call Sheriff Ocasek.
When they return home, Link is on the front porch with Ryan. Instructing Dana to “be nice,” her father takes Ryan inside, leaving Link and Dana alone (189). When she asks why he did it, Link replies that it was “the worst thing [he] could think of” doing (190), but even so, he did not understand how bad it was. By the time he did, “it was too late” (190). Dana accuses him of lying, and he admits that she is right. He was scared, and he feared discrediting the paper chain project that had become associated with him. He wants Dana to know that the bar mitzvah is still on; she is shocked. She had assumed that he was lying about his grandmother’s family and that the bar mitzvah was a prank. Noting that he seems to be blinking back tears, she realizes that he is sincere. When he understands that she thought everything was a prank, he notes that he does not “deserve any better” and leaves (192). Dana whispers, “Mazel tov, Link, […] I hope you find a way to earn it” (192).
Chapter 31 Summary: “Lincoln Rowley”
The night before his bar mitzvah, Link cannot sleep. He is not worried about messing up since he has already done that, and no one will be there to see him. Even if he had not been responsible for the swastika, the town is embarrassed by the discovery of the burnt crosses and are ignoring the paper chain, “treating it like a dirty little secret” (193). His father’s dreams of a Dino-land to be “the next Orlando” are “circling the drain” (194). Adam, who still has not left town, is documenting everything. Rabbi Gold has barred him from live-streaming Link’s bar mitzvah, but Adam still plans to attend. Link is kept awake by his regrets—painting the swastika that emboldened Pamela and brought Adam to their town, sending the town into despair, destroying his father’s Dino-land dream, and most of all, “letting down Dana” who did so much to help him (194). Watching a snowflake drift past his window, Link feels like “a stranger in a strange land” and wonders “if [he’ll] ever truly be home again” (195).
The following morning, he wakes up to find Chokecherry buried in two feet of snow. The bar mitzvah cannot be rescheduled because his Torah portion is only good for today. He phones Rabbi Gold, who suggests having the bar mitzvah by Zoom. His father enthusiastically helps him prepare the living room for the livestream, annoying Link by pointing out the life skills this experience can teach him. His mother is moved by the sight of him in his suit. The doorbell rings: Dana has arrived with her parents in one of the university’s snowplows. She has spoken to Rabbi Gold, and the bar mitzvah will be live-streamed from school since Link is supposed to be “surrounded by the people who care about [him]” (200). Link is confused, thinking no one cares about him besides his immediate family, but he follows Dana.
The school is packed with hundreds of people who have come to support Link. Caroline and Michael have spent the last few hours transporting the six million links into the school and draping them across all the walls. To spread the word quickly, Dana gave Adam the scoop, but when he arrives to livestream the bar mitzvah, the sheriff bars him. Adam tries to appeal to Link, who turns away from him. Mr. Brademas welcomes Link warmly, knowing from his own conversation with Rabbi Gold that Link wants “to make amends” (204). Close to tears, Link wonders if he will be able to get through his bar mitzvah.
When the livestream begins, he sees his grandparents seated inside the temple. The man from Toronto, Mr. Friedrich, carries the rescued Torah scroll, which he plans to bring to Chokecherry for display with a memorial of the paper chain. His mother wipes away tears. Link swivels his webcam to show Rabbi Gold the miles of paper chain along the school’s walls. Before he begins his recitation, Link gives a short speech of apology, thanking all who have come to support him and affirming the human ability “to take some of the bad and turn it into good” by working together (207). After he recites his Torah portion, the students swoop him into their arms and carry him into the school atrium, where Link had painted the first swastika. In a quiet moment with Dana, Link thanks her profusely, and she tells him that everyone does “jerky things”; what matters is “what [he does] next” (211). Looking at the blank atrium wall, Link finally feels that the swastika he painted is truly gone.
Chapter 32 Summary: “Michael Amorosa”
Caroline wants Michael to be her running mate in her bid for eighth-grade president. He believes she wants to capitalize on his reputation “as the main guy behind the paper chain project” (213). The Guinness Book of World Records will be including the paper chain in their next edition. He tells Caroline he is too busy with art club, but privately, he admits that their “student government really did change the world” (213). Not only did they receive donations from around the world, but the town also voted “unanimously to build a museum and tolerance center in Chokecherry” (213). Exhibits will include the paper chain, the Torah brought from Canada, and the remains of the burnt crosses.
Link’s bar mitzvah has galvanized and changed people in town. A large crowd is on hand to welcome Mr. Friedrich and his wife when they arrive with the Torah. Adam interviews him, crowing about his role in raising awareness. No one in town likes him: He used and caused trouble for them. Michael grudgingly admits that he does deserve some credit for the tolerance museum. He is amazed that the burnt crosses will be included in the exhibit given that, a few weeks ago, half the town denied that the Night of a Thousand Flames ever happened. Michael reflects “that tolerance is more about the journey than the destination” and that it is “a project you always have to keep working at” (216).
Chapter 33 Summary: “ReelTok”
The transcript of Adam’s final interview in Chokecherry is with Link. His father tries to send him away, but Link agrees to speak to him. Adam asks Link if he feels like a man now, and Link replies only that he feels lucky to have been forgiven for doing something awful. Adam asks if Link believes he deserves forgiveness and Pamela does not. Link replies that they both did the same thing; he has tried to “make things right” and hopes she does too (217). To Adam’s question whether Link is a new person, Link says that he is the same person trying “to do better” (218). Finally, Adam asks if Link is Jewish now. Link’s answer is that he has always been Jewish, and he will continue to explore who he is.
Adam takes credit for making the town famous, and Link responds that fame “has its downside” (218). When Adam gloats that Link’s father’s plans to make Chokecherry the next Disney are down the drain, Link says that through their tolerance museum they will be something better: “the next Whitwell, Tennessee” (219).
Chapters 29-33 Analysis
In the book’s resolution, the final perspectives offered are those of Link, Dana, and Michael. A transcript of Adam’s last interview in Chokecherry, with Link, ends the novel. This section is primarily concerned with examining Link’s motives, charting his growth across the book, and showing the power of positive action on individual and communal levels.
When Chapter 39 opens, Link has been suspended from school and isolated from his friends. He has become an object of revulsion in Chokecherry and beyond. In the culmination of the theme Complexity of Motives, Link examines his own behavior. In his case, it was not bigotry or racism but hatred of his circumstances and the way he interpreted events happening around him. However, Link recognizes that intent does not equal impact. Though he did not understand the severity of his actions, Link acknowledges that there are no excuses for what he did. Among his most potent regrets are that he hurt people close to him, especially his grandmother and Dana, and that he stoked Pamela’s bigotry. These regrets show Link processing on a personal and communal level: He is able to see the impact in his personal life as well as how his actions affected his community.
The revelation of his guilt reveals that, across the novel, Link has been trying to make amends for his bad act by embracing and exploring his Jewish identity, connecting with Dana, and engaging in the paper chain project. His atonement, then, happened in his personal and communal life, and although the catalyst was an act of anger and hate, it resulted in good things. Link’s thoughtless behavior allowed him and his family to explore their Jewish past, helped Dana feel more integrated in school, and inspired the world to come together to combat hatred and bigotry. Together, these effects demonstrate The Power of Individual and Community Action. This parallels the early chapters; Link’s father’s well-meaning attempt at burying the past inadvertently led to Link’s harmful actions, which subsequently sparked a movement of anti-bigotry and remembrance.
However, Link’s atonement process was internal. He carried his guilt as a secret instead of acknowledging what fueled his actions. When asked why he insisted on having a bar mitzvah, Link repeatedly insisted that he did not know, but this was not true. In Chapter 30, Link tells Dana why he kept the secret: He was afraid of tarnishing the good that came from the paper chain project. In the end, however, the secret did come out, and its revelation had exactly the effects that Link was trying to avoid. His personal failing provides a companion to the town’s communal failing regarding the Night of a Thousand Flames: Personally and communally, there was a desire to forget the past. The novel suggests that there cannot be healing and positive forward motion without acknowledgement and memory of the past, emulating The Importance of Collective Memory. Even so, Link is not portrayed as irredeemable: Both Rabbi Gold and Dana point out that anyone can commit a bad act and that what matters is how one moves past it. Unlike Pamela, who truly believes in her hateful ideology, Link’s genuine remorse and commitment to making amends open the door for forgiveness and connection. Link also makes a big step in decisively shutting Pamela out: He proves that he, and the community of Chokecherry, will not tolerate a resurgence of hatred.
At the beginning of her chapter, Dana assumes that Link was elaborately pranking her. This shows just how deeply hurt she is by Link’s actions. As someone who had felt othered by the community for so long, Dana had finally begun to feel a connection to her community, and Link was a large part of that; his betrayal is thus incredibly personal. Their interaction proves the importance of demonstrable amends: Only when he seeks her out to apologize can she see the depths of his sincerity. This sets the stage for the final resolution of the novel when Link has his bar mitzvah in front of his community. It is his acknowledgment of his guilt and his embracing of the opportunity to make amends that enable Link and his community to heal and come together.
Michael’s chapter shows the weight of activism, particularly as the leader of a movement. Although Link is the public face of the paper chain project, he is still just one participant; Michael, however, has been managing the whole thing. With the project complete, Michael wants to return to his life as art club president: “The paper chain may have changed us, but I don’t think I’m ever going to make it into that popular crowd. I’m okay with that. It feels pretty awesome to be me these days” (215). Though he is glad for the positive impact of the project, he is ready to pass on the mantle of leadership. This shows the importance of collective activism: remembering history and pushing for acceptance are group efforts.
Michael also addresses Adam’s continued presence, which highlights The Complexity of Motives. Adam has simultaneously been a boon and detriment to Chokecherry. He brought attention to the project, revealed the culprits behind the swastikas, and even pressured the community to take firm stances against bigotry. However, he also invaded privacy, manipulated his interviewees, stole credit for all the positive aspects of the project, and acted on purely selfish intentions. The final chapter shows that Adam has not changed: He asks purposely inflammatory questions and fixates on the town’s newfound fame. This juxtaposes him against Michael, who acknowledges the duality of Adam’s presence, and Link, who has grown since the first chapters. Korman shows that although there will always be people like Adam around, the Links, Michaels, and other members of a community can turn his negative intentions into positive outcomes.
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