Chapter 16 Summary

It's the night of the school board meeting. Eddie isn't there because they checked him into the state mental health hospital for think he is Jesus. Eddie calls Mr. Bartholomew to tell him about the surprise he has planned for the meeting. Each side of the debate speaks. Eddie is crouched in a janitor closet in the hospital and then breaks free and runs to the meeting when the coast is clear. Chris Nash even speaks, admitting he's gay and how the book helped him. The author of the book, Chris Crutcher, arrives and Mr. Bartholomew greets him, Eddie bursts into the meeting, greets Crutcher, and walks to the podium to introduce Crutcher.

Chapter 16 Analysis

Essentially, the reverend and Eddie's mom are trying to keep the evil away from Eddie. They believe that in Eddie's case, the evil is a mental health issue...