Grown

Fiction | Novel | YA | Published in 2020

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.

Download PDF

Part 1, Chapters 20-24Chapter Summaries & Analyses

Part 1, Chapter 20 Summary: “Your Eyes”

Korey brings Enchanted back to the Beacon Theatre where they first met. He has her practice a song, but he senses that “this song means something to [her]” (87), and Enchanted remembers the thrill of singing this song to her grandmother when she was a little girl. She feels invigorated as she sings, as if “this is the first time [she has] felt fully alive” (90).

Part 1, Chapter 21 Summary: “432,000”

Enchanted starts to grow impatient and wants to spend more time in person with Korey. She dodges her mother’s questions and counts down the seconds before she can see him again. He asks her to send pictures, and wants to know if she’s ever thought about growing out her hair. He tries to video call her, and Enchanted scrambles to hit the “decline” button so her mother doesn’t catch her.

Part 1, Chapter 22 Summary: “Feels Like Home”

Enchanted’s father drops her off at Korey’s studio with a promise to return in a few hours. Korey tells Enchanted that if she wants to be a serious songwriter, “[they] gotta talk about making love” (96). Enchanted admits that she is a virgin. Suddenly, Enchanted’s dad returns unexpectedly early, and Korey flies into a panic, saying that Enchanted lied to him. When her father enters the recording studio, Korey resumes his usual charming demeanor and welcomes him in.

Part 1, Chapter 23 Summary: “History”

Enchanted lists every relationship she can think of that has an age gap. She knows that because Korey is 11 years older than her, people will talk about them. She feels guilty, like she “shouldn’t want Korey as much as [she does]” (100). Enchanted asks Gab to lie for her so she can go to an audition behind her mother’s back, but doesn’t tell Gab that she is actually going to see Korey.

Part 1, Chapter 24 Summary: “Swim Lessons”

Enchanted meets Korey for a swimming lesson in his building, and they share their first kiss in the swimming pool. Enchanted is overwhelmed, feeling like “a girl wrapped in a blanket of flames” (105). They return to Korey’s recording studio, and Korey wants to record them singing the Disney song “Tale as Old as Time” from Beauty and the Beast (1991) together. Enchanted hesitates, but agrees.

Part 1, Chapters 20-24 Analysis

The air of secrecy surrounding Korey and Enchanted’s relationship intensifies in these chapters, heightening the dramatic stakes of the novel as Jackson portrays the increasing danger that Enchanted is in. Korey starts to take Enchanted places without her parents’ permission, like the Beacon Theatre and his building’s swimming pool, where they start to behave more like a couple. Enchanted finds herself hiding her communication with Korey from her mother, and lies to Gab to get her to cover for her. Korey’s insistence on secrecy makes clear that he knows his actions are abusive.

Enchanted tries to justify her relationship with Korey to herself and downplay the age difference, but she knows that if her parents found out, she would never be allowed to see Korey again. She feels that this would not only mean the end of her singing career, but that she might lose her chance of being with the person she loves. Enchanted is fearful that Korey won’t wait for her to turn 18, so she compromises her other relationships to make sure she can hold on to him. Unreceptive to her friend’s warnings, cut off from her support systems, and afraid to talk to her parents, Enchanted has no opportunity to gain the nuanced or more mature perspective that might help her recognize Korey’s true intentions.

Korey’s behavior when Enchanted’s father shows up early shows his dark side once again. He becomes angry with Enchanted, and was ready to attack her right before her father walked in. Korey’s bizarre reaction hints that this has happened before: He has been caught in inappropriate situations with underage girls. If Enchanted’s father hadn’t shown up early, Jackson implies that Korey would have tried to push Enchanted to have sex. This is the moment when Korey realizes that Enchanted’s parents are an obstacle, and he starts to think about ways to lure her away from their protective reach.