48 pages 1 hour read

Neal Shusterman

Downsiders

Fiction | Novel | YA | Published in 1999

A 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 11-15Chapter Summaries & Analyses

Chapter 11 Summary: “Surface Tension”

The narrator says that tourists are typically easy to identify, but Talon navigates Coney Island with such extreme bliss that people assume he’s “mad” rather than a tourist. He notices people leaving their coats on the hooks at restaurants and assumes the coats are up for grabs. He takes a puffy jacket, finding “wads” of cash in it. He admires the Wonder Wheel and goes on the Cyclone. The wonder, fear, and joy intoxicate him.

Ever since Becky told classmates that Lindsay crawled into a storm drain and disappeared, Lindsay has become the center of Icarus Academy gossip. As she lets her hair grow “wild” and wears the earrings from Talon, people think she’s an “Albanian princess.” Girls with manifold piercings try to befriend her, as do boys who dress in all black and read The Catcher in the Rye (1951). Lindsay only wants to be with Talon. Holding hands with him in a dark sewer felt much more “natural” to her than a traditional date.

When Todd and Lindsay come home from school, they find a “bum” sleeping on their stoop. The “bum” is Talon. To fool Todd, Lindsay pretends he’s Charlie from math class.

Related Titles

By Neal Shusterman

SuperSummary Logo
Study Guide
Neal Shusterman
Guide cover image
SuperSummary Logo
STUDY + TEACHING GUIDE
Neal Shusterman
Guide cover image
SuperSummary Logo
STUDY + TEACHING GUIDE
Neal Shusterman, Jarrod Shusterman
Guide cover image
SuperSummary Logo
Study Guide
Neal Shusterman
Guide cover image
SuperSummary Logo
STUDY + TEACHING GUIDE
Neal Shusterman
Guide cover image
SuperSummary Logo
Study Guide
Neal Shusterman
Guide cover image
SuperSummary Logo
STUDY + TEACHING GUIDE
Neal Shusterman
Guide cover image
SuperSummary Logo
Study Guide
Neal Shusterman, Eric Elfman
Guide cover image
SuperSummary Logo
Plot Summary
Neal Shusterman
Guide cover placeholder
SuperSummary Logo
Study Guide
Neal Shusterman
Guide cover image
SuperSummary Logo
Study Guide
Neal Shusterman
Guide cover image
SuperSummary Logo
Study Guide
Neal Shusterman
Guide cover image
SuperSummary Logo
Study Guide
Neal Shusterman
Guide cover image
SuperSummary Logo
STUDY + TEACHING GUIDE
Neal Shusterman
Guide cover image