A.J. reviews Aimee Bender’s Ironhead, a book about two parents who have a baby with features different from theirs. A.J. tells Maya that for “obvious reasons,” this story is on his mind (253). He also warns against falling for the logical fallacy called “appeal to tradition,” which claims that something is better just because it is older.

At Christmas, A.J.’s mother visits. She is as different from A.J. as could be—much more open and socially involved. She gets everyone e-readers—an item A.J. has long despised. He likes the physical feel of art objects and doesn’t like that digitalization is reining supreme. He tries to remain calm but asks his mother if she understands that e-readers have the potential to put him out of business. Both A.J. and his mother become upset over the gift, so Amelia steps in and chastises A.J. for being “rude” (258).

Right then, the smoke alarm goes off and alerts them to the burning Christmas brisket. Amelia is confused since she had set the alarm on her phone to avoid this scenario. A.J. says he put her phone on silent because he thought it might otherwise “ruin” the holiday, which leads Amelia to become even angrier and bring up other complaints she has (259).