The Library

The library is a significant setting in this book because it is where Lily runs to when she needs to escape Halmoni's house and the oppressive atmosphere of arguing or of illness that pervades there. The library, contrary to her expectations, is not a small and stuffy space but rather a space where Joe is quiet but kind and welcoming, where Jensen is exuberant and caring, and where Ricky and his friends are able to be wholly themselves and open the door to a world of learning and friendship. For Lily, who struggles with feeling 'invisible' in social settings, the library is the perfect mix of a social space and a contemplative one, and thus she returns to it time and again in times of panic or sorrow to seek advice from those within or simply to find a quiet corner in which to address her own...