Novel Title: The Seventh Most Important Thing

Author: Shelley Pearsall

Setting(s): (Name of location and a description)

• Arthur’s residence- This is where Arthur, his mom, and his sister live. His mother’s boyfriend, Roger, sometimes joins them for dinner as well. 

• Mr. Hampton’s garage- This is where Arthur, Mr. Hampton, and Arthur’s friend, Squeak, work on Heaven. It’s also where Mr. Hampton resides. It’s in Washington D.C. behind a tattoo shop.

• Groovy Jim’s tattoo shop- This is where Groovy Jim works as a tattoo artist. Arthur visits him sometimes while he’s at work collecting the seven most important items on Mr. Hampton’s list. 

• Arthur’s school- This is where Arthur goes to school. After throwing a brick at Mr. Hampton, his classmates and other students start drifting away from him. They even bully and talk about Arthur behind his back. It’s also where Arthur meets his friend, Squeak, in the cafeteria. 

Characters: (Name and brief description)

• Arthur Owens- Arthur is the main protagonist of the book. He hurled a brick at Mr. Hampton, The Junk Man and had to go to juvie for a bit. However, after Mr. Hampton requested to alter the consequences for Arthur’s actions, Arthur started working for Mr. Hampton and collected the seven most important things every Saturday.

• Arthur’s mother- This character is Arthur’s mom, and she is caring and loving towards him. Her husband, Arthur’s father, died in a motorcycle crash.

• Barbara- Barbara is Arthur’s younger sister. She can be irritating and a bit curious sometimes. 

• Mr. Hampton- Mr. Hampton, The Junk Man, collects items for a secret, special project he’s been working on. He almost got hit in the head by a brick, but was instead smacked by a brick on his arm. He assigns Arthur to be his assistant for the project.

• Groovy Jim- Groovy Jim is a tattoo artist who runs a tattoo shop. It doesn’t really have many visitors or customers, so it’s usually vacant. Groovy Jim has conversations with Arthur as well when Arthur comes near his area. 

• Squeak- Squeak, or Reginald, is a boy that Arthur befriends when they start sitting together at lunch. At first, Squeak’s presence galls Arthur. Soon, they start talking more and become friends. Arthur even tolerates Squeak helping him at Mr. Hampton’s garage.

Plot Summary: (brief description of events)

One day, Arthur, a thirteen year old boy, gets into trouble. He starts seeing red when his mother disposes of all of his deceased father’s objects. Arthur, trying to blow off some steam, gazes at The Junk Man, wearing his father’s hat. At that point, he blew a fuse and flung a brick at Mr. Hampton. Luckily, it missed The Junk Man’s head by an inch and instead found its way toward his arm. Arthur gets sent to juvie for a bit. 

When Arthur is in the courthouse, the judge and him have a conversation about his actions. After their discussion concludes, the Junk Man and the judge talk privately. It turns out, later on, that instead of being sent back to juvie, Arthur has to work for Mr. Hampton for 120 hours every Saturday. Arthur finally gets sent back to his abode and sleeps in his room with his sister. The next morning, a note from the Junk Man appears at Arthur’s doorstep, explaining why he borrowed Arthur’s father’s hat. 

Arthur has a meeting with Officer Billie, who is in charge of his probation hours and keeps track of his work. The first time Arthur arrives in Mr. Hampton’s town, he can’t even find his garage. Arthur asks a man named Groovy Jim for assistance in finding the Junk Man’s garage. Arthur finds the garage and notices a grocery cart containing a note. This grocery cart is what Arthur has to use to find 7 items Mr. Hampton apparently requires: cardboard, foil, lightbulbs, coffee cans, mirrors, pieces of wood, and glass bottles.

Arthur begins his hunt for these materials. His grocery cart is a bit wonky, and one of the wheels keeps malfunctioning. He feels as if a few people are laughing at him, as well- the kid who’s collecting trash in a grocery cart. However, since he’s being lazy with the task provided and doesn’t collect all of the items in the right way, Officer Billie calls Arthur. She explains how Mr. Hampton complained about the items being inaccurate to what was on the list. 

Meanwhile, Arthur has to set up the Christmas tree, which is a job his dad would usually do. Now, though, he has to do it. However, it just doesn’t sit right with him-his dad being gone and Arthur having to set the tree up instead. Arthur also starts his first week back at school. Obviously, most of the students there have their prejudices about him since he threw a brick at a man. The vice principal is also distrustful of him. Arthur was even given a locker far from the other students. 

The next Saturday Arthur works for his probation, he makes sure to prepare better by wearing warmer clothing than he did last time. He also makes sure to do a better job of collecting items for the Junk Man. As Officer Billie had said, Mr. Hampton definitely disliked some of the items Arthur brought last time. Arthur even glances at a quote Mr. Hampton left in the cart: “Where there is no vision, the people perish.” 

Arthur asks Groovy Jim what the message means, but even he’s unsure of its definition. Groovy Jim can only guess about what it means. While collecting items, Arthur’s luck is on his side. He ends up encountering the objects that were supposed to be compiled. When Arthur comes back home, he assists his mom with setting up the artificial tree. They also decorate it, and even though Arthur was feeling grumpy before, he feels a bit better after laughing together. The lights cause Arthur to feel hopeful in the dark. Though he doesn’t realize it, Arthur discovers the first important thing: lightbulbs on the tree. 

Arthur has a few weeks off from his probation because of Christmas, and Officer Billie drops by, giving caramel corn and instructions on when his next working day would be. Arthur receives fewer presents than Barbara for Christmas since she’s younger and money is tight. He realizes that something that’s useless to one person can be like discovering gold for another person.

Arthur strolls near Mr. Hampton’s garage and the tattoo shop Groovy Jim owns, but he finds the area nearly deserted. Arthur’s sister, Barbara, tells Arthur about her encounter with Mr. Hampton when he comes back from his walk. The Junk Man gave Barbara the silver temperature knob from the toaster Arthur collected. 

One day at school, Arthur sees a few kids making fun of another student in a trash can filled with basketballs. When Arthur approaches the area, he tries to get the kid out of there. A few moments later, he gets sent to the office for doing nothing. The bullies from before place the blame on Arthur. Only the victim with glasses called Squeak says Arthur helped. The second most important thing, foil, is what Squeak’s lunch is wrapped in. Arthur, sitting alone, is joined by Squeak. They talk a bit, and when lunch ends, Squeak offers some of his foil to Arthur. 

Every day, Squeak, or Reginald, and Arthur sit together for lunch. Once, Arthur asks about the list Mr. Hampton gave him and if there’s a hidden message. Squeak, even though an extremely sagacious student, can’t seem to find a message or any solution to the list. In February, on a Saturday, the list is altered and requests for Arthur to find a throne. To his surprise, Arthur manages to encounter a golden, elegant throne for Mr. Hampton in the trash. 

On February 8th, when the shopping cart or list aren’t there, Arthur tries the door for Mr. Hampton’s garage. He comes across the Junk Man’s project, which is a sparkling, dazzling thing. Arthur also gazes at Mr. Hampton sprawled across the floor. He alerts Groovy Jim immediately, and they call for help. At the hospital, when Arthur sees Mr. Hampton, they discuss the project in Mr. Hampton’s garage and what it is. Officer Billie picks Arthur up, talks with him, takes him out for eating some food, and drops him off at his house. 

On a Monday, Arthur is sitting with Squeak, and some kids are hurling hot dogs at them. Squeak writes a sign on paper and stands on a table, which causes him to be noticed by the vice principal. Squeak gets away with this action. Finally, Arthur decides to tell Squeak about Mr. Hampton’s project. Squeak requests to see it with Arthur, and so they do so. 

On the next Saturday, Squeak and Arthur go to the Junk Man’s garage and work on the project after Squeak is introduced. Mr. Hampton discusses the purpose of his project with the boys, and Arthur and Squeak keep working. Arthur even gets to smash mirrors, which are the third most important items. It’s like the bad luck was trapped in the mirror, and he smashes the mirror to release the anxiety and perturbation.

Arthur’s mother has a boyfriend, Roger the Carpenter, who’s coming over for supper. He and his furniture pieces are the fourth most important things. Arthur starts to accept Roger a bit at the end of the dinner. He has less doubts about him now, but that doesn’t mean they’ve vanished completely. 

At Mr. Hampton’s garage, Arthur and he discuss Arthur’s dad and angel wings. Arthur also has to design some angel crowns for Mr. Hampton. Another Saturday, Squeak and Arthur arrive and collect items on the list. They even bring items for Roger the Carpenter to fix, like a skateboard and a telescope. 

When Arthur and Mr. Hampton are relaxing one day, they drink some orange soda. When it’s finished, Mr. Hampton suggests for them to place the empty bottles on a tree nearby. The guilt that Arthur has carried inside is apparently supposed to empty out of him, and it even feels like it’s working. The glass bottles are the fifth most important thing. That day, Mr. Hampton assigns Arthur to be Director of Special Projects for the State of Eternity and continue the project if anything happens to him. To Arthur’s surprise, Mr. Hampton passes away the next day. Barbara gives Arthur the silver knob from the toaster he collected for Mr. Hampton as a memento.

Arthur explains the news to Groovy Jim about Mr. Hampton’s passing, and he requests for Groovy Jim to call him if anything happens to Mr. Hampton’s project. A few days later, the garage’s owner moves the artwork out of the garage, and Arthur arrives immediately. Arthur and Groovy Jim manage to rent out the garage for the rest of May, and they start building Heaven again, placing everything in its right place. 

Asking Officer Billie for help is a failure, so Arthur instead tries raising money for paying for the rent for a few more months to finish Mr. Hampton’s masterpiece. When he inquires with his family about wanting to help and raising money, he and his mother get into a quarrel. However, they make up after. Arthur tries finding ways to pay for keeping the garage in June as well. When getting sent to the vice principal’s office, he glimpses at a coffee can like the ones he collected for Mr. Hampton. Suddenly, he gets an idea to spread coffee cans around town, raise money from donations people make, and obtain the cans again with Squeak. These cans are item number 6 on the Seven Most Important Things list. Not much was raised from the cans. However, a business card from a reporter is found, and Squeak and Arthur decide to call the number. 

The reporter and a photographer come to the garage, where the interview is held about Heaven. However, the article doesn’t do much of a favor for collecting more money. The donations add up to less than thirty dollars only. Five people from an art museum come by Mr. Hampton’s garage to look at the project. They discuss the project and let Arthur know that they’ll talk about their decision later. 

Officer Billie notifies Arthur about how Mr. Hampton’s piece will be put in storage in the museum since there are too many attractions already. When it empties out a bit more, Heaven will be placed in the museum for public display. Arthur lets Squeak know about this information. Arthur decides to visit Mr. Hampton’s garage once more and collects the seven most important items. He finds a piece of cardboard in the garage that says, “Fear Not”. This is the seventh most important thing on the list. 

Seven years later, Arthur and Squeak are at the reception for the opening of the new attraction: Mr. Hampton’s masterpiece, Heaven. The cardboard sign Arthur found is now on display for everyone to see and look at. 

Point of View

3rd person

Reader’s Response

• The character I most admire is Arthur because of how he has grown from being a bit of an immature, irresponsible kid to a hard-working, kind person. He has learned from his mistakes, like throwing a brick at Mr. Hampton, and grown into a better person. Unlike what some people have said, Arthur didn’t grow up as similarly as his dead father did. 

• The theme of this story is that you never know why someone is doing something until you learn more about them because Arthur’s journey started when he threw a brick at Mr. Hampton. He was angry, not thinking straight, and a bit triggered when seeing Mr. Hampton with his father’s hat. Later on in the book, though, Arthur ends up working on a mysterious project Mr. Hampton was creating with the items he found. Mr. Hampton was more than a junk man- he was an artist who made a masterpiece out of trash. Arthur didn’t even have a clue about this, so he had prejudices about Mr. Hampton. Now, Arthur knows the truth about Mr. Hampton: he’s a thoughtful, creative, and philosophical person who was creating a shimmering project that no one once knew about. 

 

Written by Kruti Patel