Piecing Me Together: Chapter 44 Summary & Analysis

Jade lies to both Mom and Maxine so she can skip the next two outings. She misses going places and the free food, but she doesn’t miss the lectures about how to be someone she isn’t. Jade lies on her bed thinking and listening to a storm outside. She hears Lee Lee coming and she lets Lee Lee into her room. Lee Lee asks why Mom wants them to talk. Jade tries to evade this but she admits she’s thinking about quitting Woman to Woman. When Lee Lee insists that Jade is too smart to give up on herself, Jade tells her that Woman to Woman makes her feel bad and it doesn’t teach her anything useful. Lee Lee’s expression, however, makes Jade think that Lee Lee believes all of the indignity is worth it, so Jade mentions that Maxine always tries to make Jade feel superior to her friends from her neighborhood.

Instead of taking Jade’s side, Lee Lee says that Jade needs to talk to someone in charge. She says that they can’t read Jade’s mind—though she agrees that some of this is offensive, she points out that if Jade doesn’t say anything, the organization will never be able to do better. Jade insists that they might not take her seriously and that she shouldn’t have to tell adults how to run their program. Lee Lee notes that regardless, the program is for Jade, so she has nothing to lose by speaking up. Jade promises to think about it and she muses that she’s been so focused on learning Spanish that she’s forgotten to use words she already knows.