Lindy, Grayson’s mother, made a Phoenix painting which provides significant symbolism throughout the novel:

The one painting that she left behind especially for me is of the earth surrounded by a wave of trees and sprinkled with smiling animals. Behind the earth is the sky, brightening from darkness into light, and at the top of the sky, one bird that’s red, yellow, and blue is soaring, all alone. The painting hangs on the wall next to my bed, so I fall asleep each night looking at it, especially at the bird. And I wake up to it every morning (9-10).

According to Lindy’s letter, she was inspired to create the painting because, as a young child, Grayson Sender loved the myth of the Phoenix, a magical bird who is reborn from its ashes. First and foremost, the painting symbolizes Lindy’s unconditional love for her child. Additionally, it also represents the idea of a symbolic rebirth. Grayson falls ill after she reads her mother’s letters, then wakes up to see the Phoenix above her. This moment marks a shift in Grayson’s understanding of her own identity and relationships, and is a symbolic rebirth into the girl she now knows she has always been.