“Dad only captured the good times, only the good times. The parts he left out are what changed my life.”

Dad’s movies symbolize the untroubled surface of happy events. Hattie’s unscripted experiences, good and bad—befriending Adam, empathizing with him, and losing him—go deeper than appearances, and change Hattie’s outlook on life.

“Our house looks like one thing, but it is something else altogether.”

With insight into the adult relationships around her, Hattie calls her house an “enigma.” It is both a home and a business. It houses both family, and boarders who are as close as family. It represents Hattie’s parents’ independence from Nana and Papa.

“For now, I just want things all safe and familiar.”

Hattie fears change. Thanks to Adam, Hattie’s self-confidence and her willingness to explore life increase over the course of the novel.