44 pages • 1 hour read
Mary Downing HahnTime for Andrew: A Ghost Story
Fiction | Novel | Middle Grade | Published in 1994A 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 19-24Chapter Summaries & Analyses
Chapter 19 Summary
Drew swims after Edward and drags him to the rocks, saving his life. Edward is immediately hostile and ungrateful, claiming that Drew must’ve fallen in too. Drew lunges at Edward, fists raised. Edward starts making ungentlemanly threats, saying he’ll tell his father Drew pushed him. Edward throws sand in Drew’s eyes, and Drew leaps onto him. Edward bites Drew’s shoulder, and Drew punches him in the nose, giving him a nosebleed. Edward runs away, howling that he’ll tell on Drew. Drew wonders how much he has merged with Andrew. Theo is proud of Drew and imagines Edward won’t bother them anymore. When they get home, Papa is in a temper. They know they are about to get whipped.
Edward told Papa that Drew dared him to jump off the trestle and then attacked him. Drew stands up for himself, telling the truth about what happened. Papa lashes him, but Drew does not cry this time. Even though Papa beat him, Drew can tell that Papa is a little bit proud that he stood up to Edward. During dinner, Drew has a vision of his time period and sees Great-Grandfather in his wheelchair, scowling. Drew realizes that Great-Grandfather is Edward, grown up. Drew passes out.
Chapter 20 Summary
Drew confronts Andrew in the attic. If Edward had drowned in the river, then Drew would never have been born. They discuss how the timeline switch is dangerous, as they can easily alter major events. Andrew cries as he arranges the marbles, but he refuses to give up the game. For the first time, Drew wins the lag and gets to go first in the game. Drew is finally winning when Hannah comes upstairs, telling him to go to bed. Andrew reaches out to her but she can’t see him or hear him cry. Drew insists on finishing the game. Worried that Drew is ill again, Hannah runs down to fetch Mama and Papa. Drew only has a few moments to win the game. He aims his marble and wins. They hear Papa coming upstairs and wonder what will happen next.
Chapter 21 Summary
Drew tells Mama and Papa that he doesn’t want to leave them. They still can’t see Andrew. Andrew tries to get their attention, shaking the chair and singing at the top of his lungs, to no avail. Hannah tucks Drew into bed and leaves. Andrew and Drew try to figure out how to switch places. They’ll have to explain how Drew mysteriously got a black eye overnight while Andrew’s black eye mysteriously disappeared. They switch nightclothes. Andrew goes from feeling invincible to feeling nervous as the dog howls outside. Drew holds back tears as he thinks about how much he’ll miss Hannah and Theo and his new family. Drew wonders how he will find out what becomes of Andrew. Andrew recommends he look in the family graveyard to see if he has survived. Mama comes in and sees Andrew. He wraps his arms around her, relieved. Drew is now invisible. He tries to catch her attention but realizes it is hopeless. He goes back up to the attic knowing it is time to go home.
Chapter 22 Summary
Drew places the marbles under the floorboards. The air thickens and he hits the floor. When he wakes up, he has returned to his own time, surrounded by the dusty and abandoned possessions of the family he got to know in Andrew’s time. Aunt Blythe finds him and puts him to bed. When Drew sees Father in the morning, he finally understands that he’s looking at Edward. Drew asks Aunt Blythe what became of Andrew, but she doesn’t know. Drew goes out to the graveyard but can’t find Andrew’s grave. He is so excited he shouts a little bit of a song he remembers from his time as Andrew. He hears laughter and sees a glimpse of Hannah up in the tree. Binky runs into the leaves and finds the croquet ball Drew hit while playing with John and Hannah.
Drew and Aunt Blythe receive an unexpected letter from Hannah. She is planning to visit the house. Drew tries to imagine Hannah as an old woman.
Chapter 23 Summary
Drew and Aunt Blythe wait for Hannah to arrive. Aunt Blythe recalls how Hannah and Father used to argue over everything, including politics. Hannah arrives with an old man Drew doesn’t recognize. When Hannah smiles, Drew finally can see the young girl in her face, the girl he got to know that summer. Hannah introduces the old man as Andrew, her brother. He wanted to surprise them. Hannah and Andrew recognize Drew.
Andrew takes Drew for a walk. He thanks Drew for giving him the life he wouldn’t have had if he had died that summer. Andrew thanks Drew for sweetening him up and making him a more thoughtful person. Drew notes that he got some moxie from Andrew and will stand up to the bully, Martin, next time he faces him. Edward wheels out to tell Andrew and Hannah that the house is his and they aren’t welcome in it. Drew learns that Andrew was an archeologist and he may have gotten the idea from Drew’s tales of his father’s archeological digs. They look through old photographs together.
Chapter 24 Summary
When it’s time to leave, Andrew gives Drew his bag of marbles “for keeps.” Drew tells Andrew he’ll always carry him in his heart. Drew hears glimpses of laughter and croquet on the front lawn. Edward grumbles and complains, and Drew wonders if Edward also sees visions of the family. Drew thinks back to the beginning of the summer when he first glimpsed Andrew in the window. He touches the marbles in his pocket, relieved that they are safe and so is Andrew.
Chapters 19-24 Analysis
This final section of the book continues the climactic confrontation with Edward at the trestle. Despite Edward’s hostility and ungratefulness after Drew saves his life, Drew’s decision to physically stand up to Edward marks a significant moment of growth. Drew’s physical fight with Edward, culminating in a nosebleed, symbolizes his newfound confidence and assertiveness. This act of bravery signifies Drew’s merging identities with Andrew and underscores his transformation from a fearful boy to a courageous young man, highlighting his Personal Growth and Confidence.
Upon returning home, Drew faces severe punishment from Papa, who is disappointed that Drew and Theo disobeyed his order to stay off the trestle and make peace with Edward. Despite the unfair whipping, Drew stands firm and tells the truth, earning a little bit of respect from Papa and further showing his newfound confidence and self-assuredness. Drew also begins to understand the gravity of the timeline swap when he recognizes that Edward is his great-grandfather. His ability to consider the greater consequences and recognize the complex interconnectedness of the past and present show another step toward maturity.
In this section, Drew confronts Andrew in the attic for the final time. The boys have both absorbed significant elements from each other. Drew is stronger and more assertive, capable of standing up for himself and bolstered by close relationships with his siblings. Andrew is softer and more thoughtful, homesick for his own family and emotional when they can’t see him. Drew’s victory in the marble match shows how he is learning to be in control of himself and his fate. As Drew wins the game and Papa approaches, the tension builds, foreshadowing the imminent resolution.
As Drew says goodbye to his new family, he realizes how important they have become to him. Despite all his difficulty adjusting, he has grown close to them and they have deeply impacted his sense of identity. Upon his return, Drew finds himself back in his own time, marked by the marbles under the floorboards. He realizes that his actions had a significant on impact on history when he discovers Andrew’s grave absent from the graveyard.
The long-anticipated reunion with Hannah and an elderly Andrew provides emotional closure in the narrative. Hannah’s introduction of Andrew, her brother, and their recognition of Drew as the time-travelling visitor who saved Andrew’s life validates Drew’s growth and sense of pride. Andrew’s gratitude for the life Drew enabled him to live and Drew’s newfound confidence, inspired by Andrew, highlights the mutual impact of their experiences. Edward’s hostile reaction serves as a reminder of the unchanged elements of the past, while the shared reminiscences through old photographs affirm the enduring bonds between the characters.
In the final moments, Andrew gives Drew the bag of marbles “for keeps.” The marbles came to symbolize the boys’ sense of control over their own lives. Now Andrew has lived a long, meaningful life and he’s ready to relinquish some of his control. Drew has grown to be the kind of poised young man ready to claim his own fate and take the marbles for himself. Drew promises to carry Andrew in his heart, invoking a sentiment he learned from Hannah and revealing the emotional impact she had on him as well. The touch of the marbles in Drew’s pocket serves as a tangible reminder of the adventure and the bond formed across time.
Overall, the concluding section of the book provides a resolution to Drew’s and Andrew’s intertwined journeys. Bravery, identity, and the connections between past and present are poignantly explored through their actions and relationships. Drew’s growth in confidence and assertiveness, his emotional attachment to his adopted family, and the enduring bond with Andrew highlight the transformative power of the experience of living another person’s life and rising to their challenges. The narrative leaves readers with a sense of hope and continuity, affirming the lasting impact of the characters’ shared journey across time.
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By Mary Downing Hahn
