The Jacket

The Jacket by Andrew Clements was first published as a serial story in the Boston Globe (2001) and was later published in novella format by Atheneum Books for Young Readers (2003). The novella follows a 12-year-old boy as he comes to terms with the realization that he’s racially prejudiced and that the world doesn’t work how he thought it did. The book was a nominee for the Louisiana Young Readers’ Choice Award and received positive acclaim from Publishers Weekly, among other sources. Andrew Clements (1949-2019) was the American author of several books for young readers, known for Frindle (1996) and the Benjamin Pratt & the Keepers of the School series. While attending Northwestern University, Clemments taught writing workshops for high school students, and he went on to earn a master’s degree in teaching at National Louis University before transitioning to teaching English literature for several years. After that, he got involved in the administrative side of publishing, which eventually led to the publication of Frindle and his transition to writing full time. Other works by this author include A Week in the Woods, Lunch Money, and The Friendship War.

This guide follows the 2003 Atheneum Books edition of The Jacket.

Plot Summary

The Jacket follows 12-year-old Phil over the course of three days as he comes to terms with prejudices he didn’t know he had. While bringing lunch money to his brother, Phil notices Daniel, a Black boy, wearing his brother’s jacket, and Phil confronts Daniel for stealing it. In truth, Phil’s mom gave the jacket to Daniel’s grandmother, her cleaning lady, who then gave it to Daniel. Angry that Phil accused him of theft and that Phil’s mom might have given away the jacket out of pity, Daniel rips off the jacket and storms away, leaving Phil to wonder if he would have accused a white kid the same way.

For the rest of the day, Phil considers how race divides the kids at school and thinks about what deep-seated biases made him accuse Daniel of stealing the jacket. The resulting discovery that he’s prejudiced shakes him, even more so when he notices there isn’t a single Black family in his neighborhood. When he tries to talk to his parents about his concerns, his mother brushes him away, and his father reveals his own barely disguised prejudices. Phil realizes that Daniel might have thought the jacket was a pity gift because of racial dynamics baked into society, and Phil resolves to deal with his own prejudices and return the jacket to Daniel.

On his way to Daniel’s house, Phil is amazed to learn that the only real difference between his and Daniel’s neighborhoods is the skin color of the residents. At Daniel’s house, Phil awkwardly tries to explain he wants Daniel to have the jacket while Daniel accuses Phil of thinking Daniel is just a poor Black kid. Finally, Phil gets angry that Daniel isn’t listening, and Daniel apologizes for giving Phil a hard time. In turn, Phil apologizes for accusing Daniel of theft and for making Daniel feel uncomfortable, and the boys end the book in a tentative friendship as Phil realizes he still has work to do for himself.