Freckle Juice

Fiction | Novel | Middle Grade | Published in 1978

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

Summary

Chapter Summaries & Analyses

Chapters 1-2

Chapters 3-4

Chapter 5

Character Analysis

Themes

Symbols & Motifs

Important Quotes

Essay Topics

Tools

Beta

Discussion Questions

Chapters 1-2Chapter Summaries & Analyses

Chapter 1 Summary

Andrew Marcus wants freckles. He wants to look just like his classmate Nicky Lane, who is covered in freckles, and “[has] about a million of them” (7). Andrew thinks that if he had freckles like Nicky, “his mother would never know if his neck was dirty. So he wouldn’t have to wash” (7), and then he wouldn’t be late to school in the morning. Andrew becomes so distracted counting Nicky’s freckles that he doesn’t hear his teacher, Miss Kelly, telling the students to get into their reading groups. As Andrew hurries to join his giggling group and find the correct page number, he thinks about how if he had freckles of his own, “he’d hear Miss Kelly when she called reading groups” (7-8), and no one would laugh at him for being distracted or falling behind. Andrew asks Nicky how he got his freckles, and Nicky replies that he was just born with them.

Sharon, another of Andrew’s classmates, overhears their conversation about freckles and tells Andrew that “[she] know[s] how to get them” (10). Sharon tells Andrew that her family has a secret recipe for freckle juice, and she is willing to share it with Andrew, but it will cost him 50 cents. Andrew argues with Sharon, pointing out that she doesn’t even have freckles of her own, but Sharon says that she has six small freckles on her nose. She says that Andrew “can get as many as [he] want[s]” (11). Still, Andrew tells himself that Sharon is lying because he “had never heard of [freckle juice] before!” (11).

Chapter 2 Summary

That night, Andrew can’t stop thinking about the idea of freckle juice. He thinks about how “no one in his family had freckles” (12), and he wonders if it’s because no one knew about the secret recipe. He is concerned about the cost because “fifty cents was a lot of money. It was five whole weeks of allowance!” (12). Andrew decides to give it a try, and he simply won’t pay Sharon if the recipe doesn’t work. The next morning, Andrew takes the money out of his bank and wraps it in tissue. As he starts to leave for school, his mother does her usual morning inspection of his ears and neck to make sure he washed. His mother tells him that she will be playing cards at the neighbor’s house after school, so Andrew should meet her there to get the house key. He rushes to school, and although he is skeptical, “He [can] hardly wait to see the secret recipe” (15). Sharon tells Andrew that he can’t see the recipe until he pays. He says he won’t pay until she lets him look at it first. Sharon refuses, saying, “Sorry, Andrew. A deal’s a deal!” (15).

As class begins, Andrew decides to give Sharon the money. Instead of waiting until the end of class, he “[takes] the tissue with the five dimes out of his pocket. He [holds] it near the floor and aim[s] it toward Sharon” (16). Sharon takes the money, counts it out, then throws the recipe into the aisle. As Andrew struggles to lean over and pick up the recipe without Miss Kelly noticing, “he los[es] his balance and [falls] off his chair” (17). As the class erupts in laughter, Miss Kelly confiscates the note but promises to return it to Andrew at the end of the day. Miss Kelly tells Andrew that he must pay attention from now on, and as Andrew takes the recipe and leaves, he assures her that “after tomorrow [he] won’t have any trouble paying attention” (18).

Chapters 1-2 Analysis

Blume uses the opening chapters to set the scene and introduce the main character and his motivations. Andrew’s fascination with freckles might be strange to some people, but it resonates with anyone who has ever been unhappy with how they look. In the first paragraph of chapter 1, Blume establishes the central conflict: Andrew wants something he cannot have, and he doesn’t see any tangible way to get it. Sharon observes Andrew’s unhappiness and quickly steps into her role as the story’s antagonist. Sharon is a second-grade snake oil saleswoman, ready to step up with a fraudulent solution to an imaginary problem. Although Andrew is described as “sensible” by his mother and tries to reason himself out of it, he eventually falls victim to Sharon’s grandiose claims about the power of freckle juice. He is so eager to have freckles that he is willing to suspend his disbelief and ignore the warning signs of Sharon’s fraud.

Andrew’s relationships with the adults in his life—Miss Kelly and his mother— are established in these early chapters. The reader learns that Andrew’s mother is strict and has high expectations for Andrew, but she is still reasonable and wants the best for him. She worries about him being clean, safe, and prepared for his day, and she takes a no-nonsense approach to parenting him. Miss Kelly also has clear, strict expectations for her students, but she is also patient with Andrew when he becomes distracted or misbehaves. Children are heavily influenced by two different groups of people—their peers and adults. Andrew’s decision to pursue freckles results from his mother’s expectations about cleanliness, his desire to stay out of trouble with Miss Kelly and follow her directions, and his need to avoid being laughed at by his classmates. For Andrew, freckles aren’t just a fashion statement or a whimsical want: he truly believes that freckles will solve all of his problems, and he is willing to do anything to get them. His fixation is familiar: many people buy into the idea that there’s “just one more thing” they need before they can be truly happy. It might be a different eye color, more money, or a better sense of humor. These thoughts and feelings are especially intense at a young age, and Andrew is about to learn his first big lesson about self-confidence over the course of the story.