Pigeon English: July Summary & Analysis

Harri describes what he has learned about the different parts of the body and their functions in science class. Connor Green makes lewd jokes, but Mr. Tomlin’s jokes are funnier. Eventually, Mr. Tomlin sends Connor Green out of the classroom. After school, Harri brings his remote-control car to Jordan’s flat and Jordan begs to have a go. Harri enjoys watching him get increasingly desperate, before abruptly telling him that he has to go inside for dinner and returning to his own flat. Harri concludes: “Now I’m the winner forever.”

Miquita puts on cherry lipstick, preparing to teach Harri how to kiss. Harri reasons that if he is a good kisser, then Poppy will never break up with him. Lydia laughs as Harri makes himself still, preparing to be kissed. Harri is surprised by how soft it is, but then exclaims in horror when Miquita puts her tongue in. Lydia objects that Harri’s only in Year 7 so doesn’t need to know about tongues, but Miquita responds by asking if she wants her brother to become a batty boy. Harri finds Miquita’s tongue “disgusting.” Miquita grabs Harri’s hand and puts it down her pants, forcing his fingers to touch her vagina. Harri feels nauseous, and Lydia shouts for her to stop. Eventually Harri pushes her off. 

Harri calls Miquita a “stupid bitch” and Lydia tells her to leave him alone. When Miquita responds that Lydia is “f—cking lame,” Lydia says, “At least my boyfriend’s not a murderer.” Everyone goes quiet. Eventually Lydia tells Miquita that she shouldn’t let Killa burn her hands with the lighter, calling her “weak.” Miquita boasts that she can’t be weak after how she beat Chanelle. Miquita leaves, and Harri locks the door behind her. He gets a fresh pack of Oreos from Mamma’s secret drawer and lets Lydia have the first one.

The narrative switches back to the perspective of the pigeon, who describes being attacked by magpies and worrying that it is “mortal after all.” It wonders, “If I’m not here who looks after the boy?” Harri then describes chasing the magpies away and asking if the pigeon is alright. The pigeon calls Harri a “good boy,” and thanks him for rescuing it. 

Regretful about what happened with Miquita, Harri gives Poppy a jelly ring. The couple walks past Clipz, who asks if Harri has “shagged” Poppy yet, but Harri ignores him. On Sports Day, Harri wins first place in his race. He is now officially “the fastest in Year 7.” Everyone shakes his hand, and he feels like “the king.” He feels like he has a magical spell that means no one can touch him, he and wishes “every day was just like this.”

Auntie Sonia is going on a boat to hide from Julius. She apologizes to Mamma for telling her about Julius, but Mamma says she has no regrets because otherwise she would have never made it to England. She did it for Harri and Lydia, and as long as she pays off her debt, everything will be fine. Auntie Sonia is letting her fingerprints grow back, and Mamma is happy. Mamma tells her, “You can’t keep running forever.” Auntie Sonia prays that she doesn’t end up in a jail in Libya again. Her leg is in a cast, and Harri assumes that Julius did it with his baseball bat, “the Persuader.” Harri draws a pigeon on the cast for “good luck.” 

Someone has carved the word “DEAD” into the door of Harri’s flat. Harri tells Mamma it was probably a junkie but secretly thinks it was Jordan doing it as a joke. At school, Altaf and Harri discuss superheroes again. Altaf confesses that his father died in a war. Harri likes the idea of being born “normal” and then gaining a superpower, but he swears that if he were a superhero, he wouldn’t wear a costume because they “look gay.”

Harri is extremely excited for the summer holiday. He is going to go to the zoo, and by that time, Papa, Agnes, and Grandma Ama will be in London. In the summer, Harri also wants to go on a long bike ride around the city with Dean. Harri secretly borrows Lydia’s phone to try to catch the dead boy’s spirit, which Harri thinks will still be lingering around the places that the boy loved. Harri holds the picture of the dead boy and says a prayer to try to summon the spirit. Harri remembers how good the dead boy was at basketball, and how he would never let X-Fire and Killa push him around. The dead boy “wasn’t scared of anything.” Harri remembers a fight between the dead boy, X-Fire, and Killa, in which the dead boy spat water all over Killa’s back. After that, Harri knew the boy was going to be killed.

X-Fire and Dizzy approach Dean and Harri and ask what they are doing. Killa and Miquita are there too. Harri drops Lydia’s phone to hide it. Dizzy tells them they are trespassing and makes them pay a “tax.” Dean only has sixty-three pence, so Dizzy takes Dean’s running shoes as well. Dizzy reaches into Harri’s pocket and finds the wallet with the dead boy’s picture in it. Realizing there is no money inside, Dizzy throws the wallet on the floor, and as he does, the picture falls out. As Killa picks up the picture, Miquita tries to tell him that it’s not a big deal, but Killa pushes her against the fence. X-Fire advises Killa to just “get rid of it.” Killa runs away, looking like he is about to cry. X-Fire burns the picture with a lighter. 

Dizzy and X-Fire corner Harri and Dean. X-Fire reaches into his pants, and Harri knows he is retrieving his “war knife.” Harri looks up and sees the pigeon and begs it to save them. Suddenly, Harri hears Lydia shout, “Get away from him! I called the police!” Lydia has been filming the whole interaction on her phone, which she must have picked up when Harri dropped it. Dizzy starts to chase Lydia, but she, Harri, and Dean manage to escape into the library. Lydia shows Harri and Dean the video, which shows Killa looking sad and X-Fire burning the picture of the dead boy. Lydia emails the video to Abena to keep it safe.

The pigeon says that it wanted to do more to save Harri, but it was “not my place.” The pigeon quotes “the Boss,” who says that humans are just meat wrapped around a star. When the meat dies, you must celebrate “the freeing of the star,” which returns to its “rightful place.”

Connor Green boasts that he knows who killed the dead boy. He claims that he was driving past when he saw the boy being stabbed. He then saw Jermaine Bent running away with a knife. Someone asks why Connor didn’t tell the police, and Connor replies that he didn’t want to get stabbed. Everyone teases Connor for claiming that the car he was driving in was his brother’s BMW, because they know his brother can’t afford one. However, Harri is in shock. Jermaine Bent is Killa’s real name.

In PE, Harri plays a game called rounders, which he hates. Inspired by Altaf’s suggestion, Harri sneaks away through a hole in the fence into a forest behind school. He bites an apple from the apple tree, believing that this will give him superpowers. Even though they are disgusting, Harri eats two of them. Feeling awful, he forces himself to return to the game of rounders and tells his PE teacher that he is feeling ill. He is allowed to sit out the rest of the game.

Someone has set the playground by Harri’s tower block on fire. As the assembled adults grumble about the kids who must have done it, Harri is comforted by the feeling that everyone standing with him is on the “same side.” The firemen arrive, and some of the smaller kids try to help them lift the hose. Once the playground has been hosed down, it looks “dirty and dead.” Harri sees Killa standing by himself. Killa picks up one of the hot woodchips and squeezes it in his hand so that it burns him. Harri observes that Killa “was even loving it.” Killa looks as sad as Harri.

On the last day of school, Lydia, Dean, and Harri walk to school together to stay safe. It’s hot, and everyone is happy. All the Year 11 kids write on each other’s shirts for good luck. For them, school is “finished forever.” Harri can’t wait to participate in the tradition of writing on shirts. Some people write “Good Luck” or “One Love,” some people just write their names, and some write jokes like “See you at the job centre,” or “Don’t pay tax, sell drugs instead.” At the end of the day, everyone runs out of the school, ignoring the rule about running on the stairs. It feels like a “race for the future.” 

Poppy and Harri hold hands at the school gate. Harri feels frightened by how beautiful she is. Poppy says she’s going to Spain for two weeks  but reassures him that she is coming back to school. Harri wants to tell her he loves her, but “it felt too big.” Poppy asks him to text her and gives him her number, then kisses him. It feels “lovely,” nothing like it did with Miquita. Poppy’s mom is waiting, and Poppy gets into the car. She waves through the window, and Harri waves back. The taste of Poppy’s lips on his feels like “a superpower.”

Harri and Dean have been preparing to tell the police that Killa is the murderer. They plan to tell their mothers first so that the police are more likely to believe them. The two boys speculate over whether the police will torture Killa during his interrogation. Harri runs down the hill, telling himself that if he gets home in seven minutes, Poppy will stay with him, and he will “solve the case.” As he runs, he shouts out “Poppy I love you!” He feels like he is running the fastest he’s ever ran and shouts out, “Tree I love you!” He runs through the tunnel and yells, creating the “best echo ever.” He thinks about the big glass of water he’s going to drink when he gets home.

When Harri is almost home, he describes an unnamed boy coming “out of nowhere.” The boy had been waiting for Harri, and Harri can tell from the boy’s eyes what he is about to do. The boy bumps into Harri and then runs away. Harri can smell his own urine and thinks that he doesn’t want to die. He whispers, “Mamma.” He can taste metal. The pigeon arrives and assures him that Harri will be “going home soon.” Harri asks if the pigeon works for God, but the pigeon doesn’t reply. Harri tells the pigeon to tell Agnes the story about the fake leg, and the pigeon promises that it will. Harri can see the blood and can’t keep his eyes open. He wants to remember Agnes’ face, but eventually it fades, because “all babies look the same.”