Throughout this novel Gretchen is abused by her father. The only person she decides to confide in is Cal. Just like any other person would, Cal becomes sickened by hearing about the constant abuse is Gretchen's life. He wants to help so badly but he does not know how. When he finally does help he does it in the wrong way. Most of the book is based around this idea. What I believe this novel is trying to make readers understand is to always stand up for yourself and the people around you. Just like in entry four when I talked about love. Sometimes people are too afraid to stand up for themselves because they fear that more pain will result, when in reality if they asked for help the suffering would end. Since there are people that are too scared to stand up for themselves, others need to help them out as best (and legally) as they can.
Theme two: Growing up through adolescence. (Collaborated with Ross)
Every single person has to go through the stage of adolescence, so why not talk about it? Both of the main characters, Gretchen and Cal, are going through a very important time in their life. Without the proper structure in their life they could easily be lead down the wrong path. Cal and Gretchen are both faced with one common problem, the abuse that Gretchen is dealing with. Calvin struggles with this abuse because he wants so badly to help her he just does not know how. Of course since Cal is only an adolescent he makes an immature decision when he tries to help Gretchen.