Reality VS Fantasy

The graphic novel explores the nature of the relationship between reality and fantasy in order to expose the fact that too much emphasis on fantasy can lead to a pessimism and depression in reality. Although Emmie uses art as a tool to cope with the trials and tribulations that come with being an adolescent girl in middle school, she ultimately decides that she has been using the tool as a crutch, and determines that she is better off without it.

Throughout the book, before the reader even realizes that Katie is just a fictional figment of Emmie’s imagination, the two girls’ lives are compared and contrasted with one another so that Katie’s life appears perfect and Emmie’s life appears miserable. Because time moves chronologically during the novel, for the most part, we get to see both girls go about their days...