Leigh Marcus Botts Timeline and Summary

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• Leigh writes to his favorite author, Mr. Henshaw, for a school assignment.
• When Mr. Henshaw writes back with a load of questions, Leigh gets stuck writing many more letters.
• He starts keeping a diary to track his thoughts (like about the divorce and his dad not calling) and what's going on at school (like being lonely and someone stealing the good stuff from his lunch).
• He gets a great Christmas present from his dad.
• He makes friends with Mr. Fridley, the custodian.
• The school is collecting stories and Leigh tries writing one, but it's harder than it looks.
• Dad still hasn't called, and it's nearly all Leigh can think about.
• So Leigh calls his dad to find out why he didn't call like he promised and finds out his dad lost Bandit and is taking another kid out for pizza.
• Leigh cries and tells his mom everything, and they eat fried chicken by the ocean and feel better.
• Mad about life in general and stolen lunch items in particular, Leigh almost turns to the dark side before Mr. Fridley intervenes, gives him a talking-to, and gets him thinking.
• Dad mails a note with $20 to Leigh. He spends the money on parts for a burglar alarm for his lunch.
• The lunchbox alarm is a hit at school. Suddenly, everyone's noticing Leigh.
• Leigh gets invited to Barry's house after school.
• One day before the Young Writers deadline, Leigh writes a description of hauling grapes with dad.
• Leigh invites Barry over for dinner and they have a great time.
• He doesn't win the Young Writers contest, but he does get an honorable mention.
• The winner was a phony so Leigh becomes the winner and gets to have lunch with the mystery author.
• The author says she likes Leigh's story and encourages him in his writing.
• Dad comes to visit and brings Bandit, but Leigh says Bandit should stay with his dad.
• Dad leaves, and Leigh feels a mixture of happy and sad.