James Tillerman Timeline and Summary

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• James is only ten-years-old when his mother abandons him and his three siblings on a car ride to Bridgeport.
• Though James questions the plan, he goes along with his sister, Dicey, when she decides that the children should walk to Bridgeport.
• James worries about what will happen to the children on their trip and if there's a chance that one of them could go crazy like Momma. All legit concerns.
• In Rockland State Park, James falls and injures his head; he tells Dicey that he has a concussion and that it's not safe to move him for a few days.
• In the park, he also meets Louis, who tells him that stealing from the rich is no biggie.
• Dicey finally catches onto the fact that James is lying about his injuries and forces him to leave the beach the next morning.
• In New Haven, James swipes twenty bucks from Stewart's wallet and learns that his actions do matter after all.
• When the kids get to Bridgeport, James realizes that Aunt Cilla's house is too small to be the kind of place where a rich person lives.
• Despite not really liking Bridgeport, James does well in the church summer school and Eunice thinks he's a lovely and intelligent young man.
• James begins to suspect that Dicey is planning a trip to Crisfield without him. One day, he skips school and finds her doing just that.
• In Annapolis, James manipulates Jerry into giving the Tillermans a ride across the Chesapeake Bay.
• When they finally get to Crisfield, James doesn't much like their grandmother, but he agrees to go along with Dicey's plan of doing work around the house.
• Later, Abigail enrolls James in the fifth grade and decides that the kids can stay after all. Yay.