Abuse/Trauma

Several characters are victims of abuse in this novel, and a major theme is how each character deals with the trauma from that abuse.

Kate Reese was raped by her uncle as a child, and has fled from her most recent abusive ex-boyfriend, Jerry. Kate responds to this by fiercely protecting her son from ever meeting a similar fate. She more readily heals from her trauma than other characters because instead of turning around and giving that violence back to the world, she responds by deciding that no one, especially her son, should ever have to go through the suffering she experienced.

Mrs. Collins and Brady are an example of how generational abuse perpetrates itself. Mrs. Collins abuses her son just as her father abused her, which leads Brady to take out his hurt and anger on vulnerable peers like Christopher. Unlike Kate, Mrs. Collins...