Summary

In 23: A True Story, Stella and Papa head home. She is happy, but he is contemplative. At the house, Stella is eager to write. In her notebook, she pens a story called “The Man Who Wanted to Be a Soldier” (147). The novel switches to her writing, which is a tale of Papa as young man. Stella describes how, when war broke out in 1914, Papa was the very first man to line up to register for the army. However, when reporters arrived, they shoved Papa out of the line and took pictures of the second man in line, who was white.

In 24: Empty, Blue-Lined Paper, the next morning Stella returns to school and is excited to tell her friends about the previous day’s events in Spindale. At school, Mrs. Grayson announces that the Carolina Times is sponsoring an...