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Allie and Bea by Catherine Ryan Hyde Summary Study Guide

Detailed plot synopsis reviews of Allie and Bea


Plot Summary Part 2

Allie tries to leave but she is too late, she is caught by the new pimp who Victor sells her to.


The new pimp is meaner than Victor. Allie escapes from him on foot at a gas station. She climbs into Bea's van and pleads with Bea to help her escape. Bea reluctantly agrees and takes her to the next town. She boots Allie from her van at the next town but then has a change of heart and buys her breakfast.


Allie leaves Bea after she finds out that Bea is a thief, but she quickly returns.  After that they are inseparable.


Bea justifies her thievery by saying she had no money and had no choice but to steal (except the many options I listed above).


After they drive for a while they stop and meet a sensitive sculptor named Jackson. Jackson's wife just died so he is making a metal sculpture of her though he probably won't be able to have sex with it as he might have if he had made it of plastic. Jackson, talking about his dead wife, somehow makes Bea more sensitive. She acquires a new approach to life and decides to focus on the future.

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They decide to drive to the most northwest corner of the United States, Cape Flattery, which sounds suspiciously like Cape Flatulence.


Allie and Bea go to the Monterey Aquarium. This is a life changing experience for Bea. She sees fish. In a tank. A lot of them! Totally amazing! No, seriously, this is what is written in the book. Bea is acting like a Muslim nomad from the desert of Somalia who has never seen fish before.


Here's Bea's great epiphany: "Now I'll look over the water and understand there's a whole world underneath it. It makes the whole world seem bigger all of a sudden." Yes, Bea, there is fish in the ocean! Glad to bring you up to date on this! This must really change your life worldview!


Learning that the ocean contains fish really affects Bea. She becomes more sensitive and apologizes for being mean to Allie, apologizes for trying to get rid of her, and expresses appreciation that Allie is using her gold bar to pay for this road trip.


Did I mention that Allie has a gold bar? Before they started the road trip they went back to Allie's house and got not only her consumer electronics but her gold bar. Every child has a gold bar lying around, don't they? So they sell the gold bar (and her coin collection) towards the end of the story and get $1600.


But my big problem with this scene is how seeing fish in a tank changes Bea. It's not well explained how or why this happens,  but it just happens.


Then Bea demonstrates another life change. She goes to a bar and tells people she's in debt!!!!


Allie is amazed when she hears this.

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