The Best of Iggy

Iggy can’t help but laugh. He’s held it in since that morning, when Jeremy Greerson stepped through the front door with his mom, wearing a scarf.

Flashing back in time, the narrator recounts Jeremy’s visit to Iggy’s house. When Iggy sees Jeremy, he assumes Jeremy’s mom made him wear the scarf. His own mom, Laurel, often makes him do things he doesn’t want to do, such as being friends with Jeremy because their moms are friends. Iggy’s 11-year-old sister, Maribel, compliments Jeremy on his scarf, while Iggy remains silent. An illustration on Page 17 shows Iggy looking at Jeremy with disdain, with a thought bubble depicting Iggy shaving Jeremy’s head and cutting up his scarf. Jeremy plays the cello, reads, and has “the best manners ever” (18), making everyone think he is a wonderful kid.

Iggy and Jeremy go to Iggy’s room while the parents prepare brunch. Jeremy asks Iggy if they can play video games, but Iggy tells him his parents won’t let him. In that moment, Iggy’s three-year-old sister, Molly, walks in. She points a finger at Jeremy and tells him she likes him. Then she asks him to read her a book. Iggy is shocked when Jeremy sits down next to Molly and starts reading to her. Iggy feels jealous because “those were things [Molly] did with Iggy, not with other people” (20). An illustration shows an unfinished puzzle with Iggy’s face on it.

The narrator explains that extenuating circumstances are “facts that make the things people do more understandable” (22). These are crucial pieces of information that should be considered before judging anyone as good or bad. For instance, if someone steals bread from a store because they haven’t eaten in two days, the fact that they were starving makes the theft more understandable. The narrator advises readers to keep this in mind while reading the next chapter.

Iggy and Jeremy are called to the kitchen for brunch, and Iggy is particularly excited about the giant pancake his mom makes for special occasions. As they eat, Iggy’s mom explains that the pancake is called a Dutch Baby, which makes Iggy laugh. He imagines a baby covered in maple syrup. As he laughs, he spits out pancake everywhere. When he stops laughing, everyone looks at him like he’s a “half-squashed, half-squirming worm” (24). Iggy’s dad tells him to leave the table, but instead of apologizing, Iggy storms off.

In the backyard, Iggy vents his frustration by yelling and kicking the picnic table. He then removes the net from the trampoline and bounces a few times before getting his skateboard and sitting on it on the trampoline. To cheer himself up, he sings a silly song about pee. Jeremy joins him outside and remarks that his parents would be mad if he sang something like that, smiling a “my-life-is-better-than-yours smile” (27). Iggy tells him he’s planning on pushing the trampoline next to the shed so he can skateboard off the roof and land on it. Jeremy thinks it’s a crazy idea, but he wants to see Iggy do it. An illustration on Page 28 shows Iggy pushing the trampoline by the shed as Jeremy watches him.

The narrator explains that the shed isn’t very tall, certainly not as tall as the house. The highest part of the roof is about 11 feet off the ground, which the narrator clarifies is “about the height of two dads, one standing on the other’s shoulders” (29). The roof is not pointed but slopes gently. An illustration depicts the shed and a man standing on another man’s shoulders.

Iggy grabs a ladder and climbs to the roof of the shed. Jeremy hands him his skateboard. Looking down at the trampoline, Iggy mutters to himself that this is really going to hurt. He slides off the roof and lands on the trampoline, to Jeremy’s shock. Iggy lies that he does it “all the time” to seem cool in Jeremy’s eyes (31). This lie causes Jeremy to want to try it too, which wasn’t Iggy’s intention—he only wanted to make Jeremy feel bad for not being as brave as him. He tells Jeremy he shouldn’t do it, but Jeremy insists. Iggy then suggests he should try jumping off the ladder first, hoping it will be safer than skateboarding off the roof.

Jeremy jumps six times from the middle rung of the ladder, then climbs to the top rung. The ladder wobbles, but he lands safely in the middle of the trampoline. Jeremy then insists on climbing to the roof. Iggy tries to stop him, telling him it’s dangerous, and takes the ladder away from him. Jeremy yanks it back and kicks Iggy, who falls over. Jeremy climbs up the ladder and stands on the edge of the roof. He calls Iggy “Iggy the Piggy” (34). Infuriated, Iggy starts climbing up the ladder just as all three parents come outside.

Chapter 7 lists five things the parents saw: Jeremy standing on the roof, Iggy climbing up the ladder, shouting, “You’re dead, Jeremy Greerson!” (36), Jeremy looking at Iggy in terror, Iggy lunging for Jeremy, and Jeremy leaping into the air, screaming for help.

The narrator assures readers that Jeremy didn’t die: “This is a children’s book. Kids never die in children’s books” (37). Jeremy is fine but shaken. The narrator reminds readers about the concept of extenuating circumstances and summarizes what happened in Chapter 3: Iggy was sent outside for accidentally spitting out food and was taunted by Jeremy. However, the parents only saw Iggy climbing the ladder, possibly to hurt Jeremy. The narrator concludes that the problem was timing: The parents came out at the wrong moment, making it look like Iggy had chased Jeremy off the roof. In reality, Iggy was trying to stop Jeremy from jumping off the roof, a decision that had been entirely Jeremy’s idea.

Iggy tries to explain this to the parents, but they don’t believe him. An illustration on Page 39 shows Iggy standing in a courtroom, with his parents and Jeremy’s mom portrayed as judges. Jeremy, who could clarify the situation, remains silent. Iggy’s dad shouts at him while his mom looks sad. They punish him, saying he has to stay in his room until dinnertime, won’t get dessert for a week, loses his allowance for a month, and must write an apology letter. Alone in his room, Iggy feels miserable, convinced his parents wish “they had a son like Jeremy Greerson” (39). Lying on his rug, he reflects that if he could do it again, he wouldn’t have chased Jeremy up the ladder, and he acknowledges that the punishment is working. However, he can’t help but laugh when he remembers Jeremy’s terrified face as he realized Iggy had reached the roof, and the moment Jeremey decided to jump off. Iggy rolls on the rug, laughing.