The Jem Star - Plot Summary

Plot Summary

The Jem Star begins in Westford in late November. Tansy is riding the Gravity Grinder; a new and thrilling fairground ride that Mal has just introduced her to. Soon after, she becomes locked in a bitter row with her mother, Pauline. Trying to make her feel better, Mal offers Tansy a trip into Westford the following evening which Tansy accepts instantly as she knows her mother would disapprove, but before the night is over, Tansy finds herself having another confrontation, this time with her brother's drunk and violent friend. Later, she rows with her brother himself. Joe insults Mal and, anger surging, the television screen explodes. Thinking that Tansy has thrown the remote control at the television in a fit of rage, Joe runs off to grass to their mother. But his assumption is wrong as Tansy finds that she is still holding the controls in her hand. At this point the reader discovers that this is not the first time Tansy has experienced such a problem. It seems that her temper and electrical equipment do not mix!

Tansy feels alone in her problem and does not even confide in Mal. He is suffering with a gluten allergy and is bed-ridden. Bored and alone, Tansy seeks excitement and finds it when she meets Jem, a seventeen-year-old Irish boy. Tansy quickly develops a fascination with Jem: his good looks and cheeky persona. Also, it quickly becomes clear that he knows about her 'problem'. He explains that she is a developing Medlar. Medlars are gifted individuals with many strange abilities and problems; heightened temper response being one of them. He explains that he is a Medlar scout and will therefore help her come to terms with her newfound quirks.

Tansy starts to neglect her normal life in favour of spending time with Jem. However, as he is a stranger, her family are deeply suspicious of him and warn her to keep away. But Tansy does not listen. She meets Jem secretly and gets drawn more deeply into the Medlar world. Just when Tansy is starting to feel completely at ease with her new friend though, Jem drops a bombshell and explains her family's mistrust of him. He is on the run from the police.

Jem explains that he was arrested after abducting Jessica Wallis, an eleven-year-old girl. However, he insists that it was all a misunderstanding and begs Tansy for her help in clearing his name. He tells her that he escaped from police custody by using his Medlar skills to melt the metal handcuffs that were fastened to one of his wrists. Feeling sorry for Jem, Tansy agrees to help. Soon after, she meets Aidan, Jem's younger brother who she learns she will have to work with in order to help Jem.

After making a dodgy deal with Jem, Tansy invites him to tea. But things go from bad to worse when, for the first time ever, she sees a ghost at the dinner table and seizes up with the shock. Later, Jem explains that she has progressed to the next Medlar hook (or level) and will soon be ready to help clear his name. Tansy is hysterical about this new and unsettling ability, so she is pleased when Jem lends her his mobile phone. It has been specially adapted to block out the paranormal - but only when it is switched on. She must also stay within three metres of it for it to have any effect.

In order to help Tansy and Aidan overcome their fear of the supernatural, Jem subjects them to a PEPA Flood. This stands for Prolonged Exposure to Paranormal Activity. It's a proven method of tackling Medlar phobias and could help them advance to the next Medlar hook more quickly. But it is not without risks. Although Aidan's flood is a success, Tansy's is anything but. Not only does she witness a disturbing paranormal assault on a young boy but she also encounters Jem's fiery girlfriend, Finola, who inadvertently lets a flood devil into Tansy's flood and it has to be stopped. Tansy later discovers that the young, tortured boy in her flood was Jem at seven years old. He tells her about his aunt, Faith, explaining that ten years ago she stole a precious brooch - the Jem Star - from his mother. In doing so she activated a PEPA Flood which led to the seven-year-old Jem being savaged by a pack of flood devils. Jem shows Tansy a tattoo-like mark of the Jem Star on his upper arm.

The next day Tansy has a Near Death Experience. During her conversion from Earth to Heaven she encounters Faith. This pushes her courage to the limit and gets rid of her fears. She therefore advances to the next Medlar hook. But while Tansy's life is spared and she is sent back to Earth, Mal is not so lucky. Tansy finds him covered in blood and dying. He has been stabbed several times and dies in her arms. In his dying seconds he reveals to Tansy that he killed Jem and Aidan's mother ten years before. Tansy keeps Mal's confession to herself for the time being and mourns his death by trying to keep busy. She insists that Jem work her hard as he trains her to use her developing skills. He introduced Tansy and Aidan to the Memo Re-writer; a form of hypnotism which they pick up quickly despite Tansy struggling to cope with her grief. She is also becoming suspicious of her family and of Mal's parents who have refused to inform the police of his death. When Tansy's parents attempt to stop her from seeing Jem and Aidan, she runs away and lives with the boys in their van.

Tansy soon gets to see Jessica Wallis for the first time. Using the Memo Re-writer she has to convince the girl that Jem did not abduct her. She is successful, but as she celebrates with Jem and Aidan, Jem is spotted by the police. This gives way to a car chase. Tansy, Jem and Aidan escape and hide in a deserted farmhouse. While they are they, Tansy questions Jem about Mal's confession that he killed his and Aidan's mother. But Jem insists that his mother is still alive. Mal did not kill her; he killed her sister - Jem and Aidan's wicked Aunt Faith - unintentionally. Later, Tansy sees a different side to Jem when he has an anger attack and vandalises the house by psychic power alone. As Tansy and Aidan hide, Aidan explains that Jem has been suffering from these attacks for the last ten years. They are a consequence of his assault at the hands of the flood devils. When he has recovered, Jem tells Tansy how he usually stops the anger attacks occurring. His girlfriend, Finola is a temper-taker and absorbs his anger when they kiss. As they have not been together for a while his anger has surged, resulting in the attack.

The police find Jem and he is arrested but Tansy and Aidan manage to escape. They return to the fairground to look for the Jem Star brooch which Jem believes Mal stole from Faith's dead body ten years before. He also believes that it may help them to free him from prison.

Thanks to another development in her Medlar powers, Tansy witnesses and listens in on the police interview with Jem. They are getting nowhere until the arrival of an imposing man who insists on questioning Jem alone. He turns out to be John Kerrigan, Jem and Aidan's father, who works for the British Government. Tansy listens to their conversation and is shocked to discover that she is not who she thought she was. Apparently, she is not Tansy Strange at all but Shannon Kerrigan; Jem and Aidan's sister. Ten years ago on the night of Jem's flood devil attack and Faith's death, a fifteen-year-old Mal abducted her whilst trying to save her life. In a panic, he smuggled her back to the fairground where she was brought up by the Stranges.

After a final confrontation with Faith, involving not only the Jem Star, but Jem, Aidan, the flood devils and the spirit of Mal, Tansy confronts the Stranges about her true origins. She finally understand their reasons for not reporting Mal's death to the police and also discovers who murdered Mal. It is agreed that she goes to live with her rightful family in Ireland.

The final scenes see Tansy saying goodbye to the Stranges and blackmailing Mal's murderer. Also, Jem is reunited with Finola. In the last paragraph of the book, Tansy leaves the fairground to start her new life accompanied by John Kerrigan, Finola, Aidan and Jem. She is looking forward to meeting her real mother and to getting acquainted with her new spirit guide, Mal.