Half Bad

This summary section includes Chapter 23: “The Choker,” Chapter 24: “The New Trick,” Chapter 25: “The Routine,” Chapter 26: “Lessons About My Father,” Chapter 27: “Fantasies About My Father”, Chapter 28: “Thoughts About My Mother,” Chapter 29: “Assessments,” Chapter 30: “Punk.”

The narrative returns to the day after Nathan made his escape attempt from the cage. His keeper, Celia, has fitted a band around his throat with a stronger poison. Nathan knows a new escape attempt would cost him his life. The boy’s latest trick to get through his captivity is to find what he can enjoy in individual moments. He learns to focus on his breathing while running or on his fingers while doing push-ups. He says, “Celia. I admit she’s hard to enjoy, but sometimes I manage it. We talk. She’s different from what I expected. I don’t think I’m what she expected either” (157).

Nathan’s daily routine never varies. There are physical exercises and jogging, plus chores around the property like feeding the chickens, chopping wood, cooking, and cleaning. Celia is also giving Nathan self-defense lessons. They start with hand-to-hand combat and then graduate to wooden sticks that substitute for knives. In the afternoons, Celia schools Nathan by reading to him and quizzing him on the contents.