Emako Blue

CHAPTERS 1-4

Reading Check

1. A church for Emako’s funeral (Chapter 1)

2. “Tragedy! Outrage! Atrocity!” and “Sweetness. Innocence. Like a lamb.” (Chapter 1)

3. Emako’s mother named Emako after a nurse at County Hospital. (Chapter 1)

4. That Emako is “nice” (Chapter 3)

Short Answer

1. During the funeral, Monterey has a flashback to her first encounter with Emako at an audition for the school’s chorus. Monterey describes Emako as having confidence, and everyone applauds her when she finishes. The girls both make the chorus and become friends. (Chapter 1)

2. Emako invites Monterey over to her house in South Central, where the girls listen to Mary Blige and talk about their futures. Emako shares with her that she transferred from her former high school because Westside is a “nicer” school, and that she wants to pursue singing professionally. (Chapter 1)

3. Jamal recalls his first meeting with Emako at piano lessons when they were children. He does not see her again until the audition for chorus, where he is instantly taken with her, vocally and physically. Although he is somewhat in a relationship with another girl, he decides to try to pursue a relationship with Emako. (Chapter 2)

4. Eddie is motivated to do well in school since his brother Tomas was incarcerated. Eddie takes many classes in order to graduate early; he also enrolls in extracurriculars to improve his college applications. (Chapter 4)

CHAPTERS 5-12

Reading Check

1. “Been Gone Bobby Blue” (Chapter 5)

2. Burger King (Chapter 5)

3. Eddie is proud that he got Monterey’s phone number. (Chapter 8)

4. Emako and Eddie (Chapter 9)

5. Emako asks Jamal when the last time he spoke to her was. (Chapter 12)

Short Answer

1. Monterey comes from a wealthier family; her parents are overprotective and are concerned for her future. Conversely, Emako does not have a relationship with her father, who has been gone for some time, and her mother works most of the time. As a result, Emako is the adult in the family. (Chapter 5)

2. After Emako’s shift at Burger King, Jamal takes her to Rodeo Drive where they window shop and talk about the future. They share a kiss, and Jamal tells her about another girl in his life, Gina; however, Emako says she already knows and is not bothered. (Chapter 6)

3. At the Christmas concert, Savannah sees Jamal holding Emako’s hand. She calls Gina to tell her the news, and the next day Jamal breaks up with Gina. (Chapter 7)

4. While waiting for the bus, a car slows down and a young man flashes a gang sign to Eddie. He is very nervous that the driver thinks he is his brother Tomas, and he rushes home quickly, where he reprimands his mother for not locking the house. His mother insists that he “worr[ies] too much.” (Chapter 10)

5. Monterey enjoys her birthday; she is surrounded by friends and family, and receives a call from Eddie. Emako gives her a bracelet. Conversely, Savannah spends her birthday alone, eating pizza and drinking beer, while her parents are in Thailand. Gina eventually calls Savannah, but she is more interested in Jamal’s whereabouts than Savannah’s birthday. (Chapter 12)

CHAPTERS 13-20

Reading Check

1. Arizona State University (Chapter 15)

2. “Dante’s Drama” (Chapter 15)

3. Savannah relies on lying to deal with bad situations. (Chapter 16)

4. An ivy vine around her arm (Chapter 17)

Short Answer

1. Jamal takes Emako to Disneyland because she has never been there before. He feels thrilled to spend the day with her and kisses her in the evening. (Chapter 14)

2. Monterey visits Emako’s house and sees that Dante has been recently released from jail; however, Emako is eager to see him leave. When Dante is on the front porch with his friends, Emako goes near him to get the living room telephone so that Monterey can make a call.  A car drives by and shoots at them. A bullet hits Emako, and she dies at the scene. (Chapter 17)

3. Each of the narrators learn of the news in different ways: Monterey is present at the scene and tries without any success to resuscitate Emako; Jamal hears of Emako’s death from her little brother Marcel on the phone; Eddie and Savannah learn about her death at school. All four narrators are greatly affected by Emako’s death; Monterey is in disbelief even after her parents take her home. Jamal is angry and cries. Eddie is shocked and sad; he leaves school immediately for home, where he tries to call Monterey, but her father says she is sleeping. Savannah arrives at school late Monday, so she misses the announcement about Emako and must be told late by a girl in her class. She feels disbelief and thinks how, though she disliked Emako, she did not want her to meet a tragic outcome. (Chapters 18-20)

CHAPTERS 21-27

Reading Check

1. Emako’s funeral (Chapter 21)

2. “Go Tell it on the Mountain” (Chapter 21)

3. Eddie and Jamal feel that the circumstances are like a dream. (Chapter 25)

4. Eddie intends to ask his parents to promise they will forbid Tomas from coming home. (Chapter 26)

Short Answer

1. At the funeral, Emako’s brother Marcel tells Jamal that Emako’s mother plans to sell the house in South Central and move to San Diego. (Chapter 22)

2. Savannah’s mother is late to pick her daughter up from the funeral because she is getting her hair done at the salon. In the car, her mother asks if she would like to go to the mall, before commenting, “Urban blight and South Central. They should be synonyms. What these people need are jobs, jobs and education.” Savannah finds this comment distressing but chooses not to say anything. (Chapter 24)

3. Driving home from the cemetery, Jamal admits to Eddie that he had real feelings for Emako and does not know how to feel now. After dropping Eddie off at his house, he returns to the cemetery, where he sits next to her grave and cries. (Chapter 25)

4. In the final chapter of the novel, Monterey’s parents pick her up from the cemetery. When her mother tries to place a blanket over her since her clothes are wet from rain, Monterey remarks that she is no longer a child. Her father agrees but tells her to put her seat belt on, indicating that he is naturally inclined to protect her and care for her. Monterey then retreats into her own thoughts, thinking of Emako both as her close friend and as someone who had a potential future of success. (Chapter 27)