53 pages • 1 hour read
This Is Our Story
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Chapters 7-9
Chapter 7 Summary
Kate meets Reagan at a coffee shop, along with two others friends, Mignon and Alexis. Kate sees two girls in the coffee shop from St. Bart’s and recognizes one of them as the girl who Grant had his arm around after the Battle of the Paddle. Mignon knows the girls and brings them over—Rebecca Meyers and Lindsey Wells. Lindsey is the girl connected to Grant. She gets visibly upset and has to leave when his name comes up. Rebecca reveals that Lindsey was close with Grant.
Kate joins Mr. Stone at the crime scene, where she takes photos. The River Point boys are there, as are many of their parents. The entire experience is jarring for Kate, especially when Mr. Stone asks her to look at a photo from the crime scene showing Grant’s body. Based on evidence at the scene and the coroner’s report, it’s clear that whoever shot Grant would have been at close range. There is no way that the shooter could have mistaken Grant for a deer. As she is leaving, Kate is surprised when Shep approaches her. He wants to talk to her. She refuses, confused.
John Michael’s narration concludes the chapter. The parents of the surviving River Point Boys are freaking out and becoming divided, each one scared that their own son will get blamed. For now, the boys are remaining silent: “We made a pact in those woods,” John Michael says (96).
Chapter 8 Summary
Reagan, Mignon, Alexis, and Kate are attending a pep rally. Kate is taking photos, as usual. Shep notices her zooming in on him with her camera and motions to a door at one side of the room, signaling with his hands that she should meet him there at 10.
The chapter concludes with an excerpt of Henry’s interview with a detective, conducted directly after Grant’s death. Kate is watching and making comments for Mr. Stone. The detective tells Henry that a girl who attended the party the night before Grant’s death had to be taken to the ER, unconscious presumably from kind of drug. The interview is cut short when Henry’s parents show up, insisting he get a lawyer.
Chapter 9 Summary
Kate meets Shep at the spot he’d indicated at school. She is shocked when he reveals that he is the person she had been texting with, not Grant. He proves it by texting her from his phone. While Shep seems hopeful that they can continue chatting as they once did, Kate is horrified. She leaves school and goes to her favorite park to clear her mind.
A brief bit of narrative from John Michael concludes the chapter. The stress of the investigation is getting to him. Everywhere the River Point Boys go, they’re asked questions. The silence that is protecting the boys is also ripping them apart. John Michael just wants the grand jury hearing to be over.
Chapters 7-9 Analysis
These chapters encompass a significant plot twist with the revelation that the person Kate was texting wasn’t Grant but Shep. This is a surprise for both the reader and Kate. Such unexpected revelations are a trademark of the thriller genre and typically “up the stakes,” which is exactly what is accomplished in this instance. For one thing, neither Kate nor the reader can rule out at this point that Shep is the killer, because John Michael’s narration has thus far failed to reveal his identity. Next, Kate isn’t supposed to have any contact with any of the River Point Boys. The revelation heightens Kate’s emotions and solidifies her personal connection to the case.
Another major development in the case parallels Shep’s revelation and heightens the stakes even further—namely, the fact that it’s becoming increasingly evident that Grant’s death wasn’t an accident. The evidence at the crime scene shows that the person who shot Grant was standing close enough to see him. A conversation between Mr. Stone and Kate in Chapter 7 explains the significance of this detail: Mr. Stone explains that if they can identify the trigger-puller, they will have a case of negligent homicide on their hands. If they can take it a step further and find evidence of intent, the case would be a murder. The intensity of the narrative escalates as it’s made clear that this was no hunting accident.
Alongside this escalating intensity, the story simultaneously gains complexity with the introduction of Lindsey, who adds yet another mysterious subplot. Her reaction to the mention of Grant’s death seems extreme, suggesting she may have been more personally connected to him than it would first appear. Later, the reader will learn that Lindsey has valuable evidence that would confirm Grant’s death was a murder.
The narrative also gains complexity as transcripts of additional video interviews are included. In Logan’s interview, it’s revealed that the detectives found evidence of a fight at the River Point house (75). In Henry’s interview, the detective reveals that a girl who had attended the party the night before Grant’s death ended up in the ER from taking drugs. These details make it clearer why the boys are so adamant about maintaining their silence: When Grant died, there were other problematic and illegal activities taking place.
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