Home

A significant dynamic in the story is Maddie’s longing for home, as she remembers it, coupled with the realization that she may not survive or ever see her family again. With so many forces out of her control, Maddie struggles to remain hopeful. She tries to find pieces of her new and unfamiliar life that remind her of her family and take her mind off the fear she is feeling.

Interestingly, despite yearning for home, Maddie’s opinion about her home fluctuates. As her parents divorced and remarried, both having more children within their new nuclear families, Maddie struggles with the idea of belonging to a home when it has transformed from what she knew before. In the moments where doubt she will be found sneaks in, she is pessimistic and asks readers to “define home, anyway/I used to change houses/every Monday/routinely...