Seth and Samona

Seth and Samona Summary | Chapters 1 and 2 Summary

Seth and Samona is Joanne Hyppolite's novel about two friends, Seth Michelin and Samona Gemini, fifth graders at a public school in Boston in the mid 1990s. The story includes important lessons for pre-teenage children about racism, loyalty and individuality in an ever-changing world.

As the story begins, Seth Michelin describes the first time he saw his friend, Samona Gemini. Samona was a new student being introduced to Mrs. Gray's third grade class in a Boston grade school. Seth remembers Samona's nasty faces as she stood behind Mrs. Gray, who was trying to let the other children know a little bit about Samona. Seth also remembers thinking that Samona was wild because she was wearing red underpants under her white skirt, and everyone could see them.

From that day, Seth thinks that Samona is wild and crazy, and she lives up to that reputation every day. Seth has entered into some crazy plans with Samona, too, such as the time last summer when they went door-to-door selling a special shampoo Samona had concocted. Unfortunately, Samona never told Seth that the key ingredient in the shampoo was horse manure, which accounted for the horrible smell coming from their handful of customers.

Seth compares his conservative family with Samona's unusual home life. Seth's family, which is quiet and reserved, comes from Haiti, and his grandmother still speaks Kreyol in spite of the fact that she has been living in America for several years. In contrast, Samona lives with her mother, a single parent who writes poetry and goes undercover to write stories for a magazine.

Seth tries to avoid Samona if possible because he knows she will bring some sort of wicked adventure with her, but today Seth cannot escape the loud-mouthed Samona, who yells at Seth from across the street about his going to the bathroom behind a tree. Mortified, Seth joins Samona just to hush her up, and Samona announces her plan of going to the house of Mrs. Fabiyi, the Nigerian woman who all the children consider a witch.

Seth thinks Samona has lost her mind to go to Mrs. Fabiyi's because the old woman threw cold vegetable soup on them last Halloween. There is no telling what she will do if they show up again. Samona wants to go because Mrs. Fabiyi has not yelled out of her window for several days, and Samona thinks she and Seth should visit the old woman and take some food in case she is sick. Samona is also curious to see if her cat, Nightmare, is in Mrs. Fabiyi's house because Nightmare has been missing for a few days.

Samona's mother has spent the grocery money on lottery tickets, so there is no good food at her house. Seth offers up his kitchen for their food hunt. Seth is supposed to go to his piano lesson this afternoon, but he and Samona pack up a little bit of food and slip out of the house before Seth's grandmother can remember about the lesson.

Seth and Samona arrive at Mrs. Fabiyi's dilapidated house and climb the rickety stairs to her third floor apartment. The hallway is very dark, and there are no doorknobs to indicate where Mrs. Fabiyi's apartment is. Suddenly, a door swings open out of the wall, and Mrs. Fabiyi emerges swinging a stick. When she realizes that there is no intruder, simply the inquisitive Seth and Samona, the old woman calms down and invites the pair inside.

Seth is relieved to find that the apartment looks normal, furnished with wicker furniture and decorated with some wooden African carvings hanging on the walls. Mrs. Fabiyi takes Samona to the balcony where Nightmare is playing with Mrs. Fabiyi's cat, Egusi. Samona informs Seth that Mrs. Fabiyi has not been sick but had gone to Nigeria to visit her sister. Seth realizes that Mrs. Fabiyi is not a witch at all, simply a person from a different country with different customs and clothing. Mrs. Fabiyi laughs when she finds out that all the children think she is a witch and invites Seth and Samona to visit again any time.

With their mission accomplished, Seth and Samona leave Mrs. Fabiyi's house with Nightmare in tow. On the walk home, Samona reveals to Seth that she is going to city hall today to register for the Little Miss Dorchester contest. Seth is incredulous that Samona would consider entering a beauty contest, but Samona is confident that she can win.