Opening
In a stretch of chapters that tighten both the family and the stakes, Josh 'Filthy McNasty' Bell wins MVP while his bond with his twin, Jordan 'JB' Bell, fractures in public. As Josh reaches for forgiveness, small cracks of warmth appear—just as their father’s health spirals toward crisis.
What Happens
Chapter 91: Mostly everyone
In class, Josh learns the Daily News names him Junior High MVP. Applause breaks out—until Alexis, “Miss Sweet Tea,” stands and calls him mean and a jerk for what he did to his brother. The honor curdles.
Josh turns to Jordan, silently pleading for backup. Jordan stares through him, eyes “empty as fired cannons.” Josh absorbs the silence like a wound, thinking, “Sometimes it’s the things that aren’t said / that kill you.” The room cheers a trophy while the twins’ rift gapes open.
Chapter 92: Final Jeopardy
Dinner is TV noise and forks. Josh presents his case to play in the playoffs—good grades, good behavior—only to have his mother, Dr. Crystal Bell, say what matters is what he does next. His father, Chuck "Da Man" Bell, lobs a terrible turkey joke that lands late and makes them all laugh.
Riding that laugh, Crystal and Chuck suggest Jordan invite his new girlfriend, Alexis, over. Chuck calls her “the girl who stole JB,” and Crystal flicks his arm. Jordan answers in game-show style—“What is ‘I’ll think about it’?”—then kisses his parents and walks past Josh as if he isn’t there.
Chapter 93: Dear Jordan
Josh writes his brother a poem-letter that doubles as a confession. He says he feels like a “goal with no net,” his life “shattered, / like puzzle pieces / on the court.” He begs to be “brothers / burning up. / together” again, then signs off with a simple PS: I’m sorry.
Chapter 94: I don’t know
On the bus, Josh cracks on his friend’s forehead. From behind, he hears it: Jordan’s quiet laugh. No words. No eye contact. But the wall between them shifts, just a little.
Chapter 95: No Pizza and Fries
Josh stares down a spinach-and-tofu salad and calls it cruel. Across the cafeteria, Alexis sends him an “evil look” crueler still. Her loyalty is with Jordan, and Josh knows it.
Chapter 96: Even Vondie
Josh notices his best friend now has a girlfriend: ambitious, talkative, purple-haired, pre-pre-med—described in one breathless run-on. He ends with a hollow joke: better than having no girlfriend at all. Everyone seems paired off. He feels left behind.
Chapter 97: Uh-oh
On the phone with Vondie, Josh hears a strange panting from his parents’ room. He thinks dog—except they don’t own one. The sound hangs there, wrong, and fear takes shape.
Chapter 98: I run into Dad’s room
Josh finds Chuck on his knees, scrubbing vomit from the rug. Chuck blames food poisoning, but his hand clamps his chest like he’s pledging allegiance. He pivots fast, announcing he’s been offered a college coaching job. Josh’s questions pile up: Are they moving? Is his dad okay?
Josh tells him Mom wants him to slow down and asks for something big: stop calling me “Filthy.” Call me Josh. They make a deal—Josh will talk to Mom about the job if Chuck talks to her about the playoffs. Chuck agrees but reminds him he didn’t just let the team down; he let the family down. Crystal appears in the doorway, eyes bright with panic.
Chapter 99: Behind Closed Doors
Josh listens as his parents argue. Crystal says the stress is too much for his heart. Chuck insists he’s fine, pointing to his “doctor”: Dr. WebMD. Crystal snaps, “Going online is not going to save your life,” and schedules a real appointment. Anger softens into quiet; Josh recognizes the hush of reconciliation even as the danger lingers.
Chapter 100: The girl who stole my brother
Alexis comes to dinner—“Miss Bitter (Sweet) Tea” in Josh’s head—and wins Crystal over by asking for seconds of vegetable lasagna. Jordan turns into a motormouth, telling the story of how they met. He tosses in their favorite vocabulary word—“pulchritudinous”—and, mid-syllable, flicks a glance at Josh. For a heartbeat, there’s a hint of a smile. Language, not hoops, becomes the bridge back.
Character Development
Fractures begin to mend, but the cost of pride and silence grows. The brothers inch toward each other while their father’s refusal to face reality threatens to undo them all.
- Josh Bell: Moves from shame to action, writing a vulnerable apology and asking to be called “Josh,” not “Filthy.” He wants ownership of his choices and identity.
- Jordan Bell: Keeps his distance, but tiny tells—a suppressed laugh, a quick smile—signal thawing anger.
- Chuck Bell: Jokes and deflects while clutching his chest. He chases the coaching job like a lifeline to who he was, even as his body says stop.
- Dr. Crystal Bell: Becomes the family’s anchor and enforcer, pushing past fear to demand real medical care for Chuck.
Themes & Symbols
The push and pull between brothers centers on Conflict and Forgiveness. Public humiliation in class, a private apology letter, and a microscopic laugh on a bus show how forgiveness starts—not with grand speeches, but with quiet gestures. Around the dinner table, the family tries to stage normalcy, revealing the delicate circuitry of Family and Brotherhood—how loyalty, resentment, and love pass hand to hand like plates.
Meanwhile, Chuck’s symptoms and excuses embody Health and Denial. “Dr. WebMD” becomes a symbol of dangerous avoidance, a screen standing in for a doctor, pride standing in for care. Josh’s request to drop “Filthy” in favor of his given name advances Identity and Self-Discovery: he refuses to be just his father’s nickname or his highlight reel and claims the power to redefine himself.
Key Quotes
“Sometimes it’s the things that aren’t said / that kill you.”
Silence becomes a weapon—Jordan’s refusal to speak is louder than any insult. The line captures how absence (of words, of support) can wound more deeply than confrontation.
“shattered, / like puzzle pieces / on the court.”
Josh’s apology letter breaks his world into fragments, the court turning from sanctuary to site of loss. The image implies repair is possible—but only if the twin pieces fit together again.
“What is ‘I’ll think about it’?”
Jordan’s Jeopardy!-style quip injects humor while doubling as emotional hedging. He’s not ready to forgive Josh, but he’s also not closed off—a teasing maybe that keeps hope alive.
“Going online is not going to save your life.”
Crystal slams the door on Chuck’s denial. The bluntness strips away his jokes and insists on reality, reframing the family conflict as literally life-and-death.
“pulchritudinous.”
A single, shared word becomes a secret handshake. Jordan’s glance at Josh as he says it suggests their bond runs deeper than their feud; intellect and history knit them back together.
Why This Matters and Section Significance
These chapters turn two dials at once: the brothers inch toward reconciliation just as Chuck’s health crisis accelerates. The coaching offer tempts Chuck to resurrect an old identity while endangering the present one—husband, father, survivor. Josh’s insistence on his name marks a coming-of-age pivot from inherited labels to self-chosen meaning. Together, these moments set up the novel’s emotional reckoning, where forgiveness, family, and mortality collide.