A large factor that leads Cat to take on this mission is the guilt she feels for shutting out Patrick, and the rest of the people in her life, after she is sexually abused by her brother's friend. This "blindness" to the world that Cat adopts in the wake of her abuse brings pain to Patrick and others in a way that she had not intended; therefore, she vows to "open her eyes" and become a real friend again, primarily by searching for Patrick's attacker.
The theme of "blindness"/choosing not to see "the ugly things" in life is one that is very prominent throughout the book. The people of Black Creek such as Gwennie, Ridings, Bailee-Ann, Christian, and in particular, Aunt Tildy often opt for avoidance when it comes to difficult subjects, rather than addressing them and dealing with them in a proactive way. While many of the problems that the residents of Black Creek struggle with stem from living in poverty and losing loved ones, other problems are related to individuals' struggles with accepting their sexual identities or living up to the gender expectations that the community emphasizes. One way that the characters in this small Southern town cope with their problems is through the use of drugs, particularly alcohol and meth. As their drug use increases though, so do their problems, leaving them in a tragic cycle of unhappiness and darkness that even results in death.
I found this book to be extremely engaging. In comparison to some of the other books on our list, it was a little longer in terms of page numbers, but it was so interesting that I went through it pretty quickly (and I generally read slowly). I think Cat is a very relatable character and narrator, especially in her drive for justice and her former failures to take action. I think a lot of students, and just people in general, can relate to feeling afraid of the "ugly things" and just shutting down when asked to face them. For me, this was the biggest takeaway from the book. Of course, Myracle wants to teach readers lessons of tolerance and acceptance as well as lessons about recognizing that people are not all they may appear to be on the surface; however, I believe that Myracle's ultimate message is that we can only truly be happy in our lives when we connect with other humans and understand the aspects that link us together. Cat's journey from isolation to unification with individuals like Patrick, her brother, and Bailee-Ann demonstrates the importance of living in a community of people, even though those people certainly have their imperfections.
This novel can be really heavy in parts, and definitely touches on "taboo topics" such as sexual abuse, religion, violence, homosexuality and sexuality, and drugs. I think adolescent readers would enjoy it, but I think it would be better suited for older grade levels simply because it requires a lot of maturity to discuss these topics in an honest and unoffensive way. In teaching this novel, there are a lot of great opportunities to bring in nonfiction articles, perhaps those that report real-life instances of hate crimes and present statistics for our students to be made aware of the occurrence of such violent acts. I also think that, despite its over-usage and the general groans that it creates, the traditional analytical essay would work well with this novel. Having students write in this format may seem like a safe or boring choice, but because the book uses such particular language and rich symbolism, I think students would be able to make a lot of different arguments about it in a paper that would be challenging for them and interesting to read.
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