“His tire just hit a rock. And he skidded into the back of a passing truck. And that was that. There wasn’t a scratch on him. It was a head injury.”

This quote emphasizes the randomness of Mick’s accident. It contextualizes the anguish of the family, who experience Mick’s death as shockingly abrupt and unexpected. The accidental nature of Mick’s death lends support to the importance of bike helmets. Barbara Park suggests that even competent riders can fall for unexpected reasons and that wearing a helmet greatly reduces the rider’s chances of injury or death. In these lines, Park uses short, declarative sentences, rather than melodramatic prose—this serves to highlight the tragedy.

“I can’t think of anything worse than using my brother’s accident as the tear-jerking climax to some tragic story. I don’t want to make you cry. I just want to tell you about Mick. But I thought you should know right up front that he’s not here anymore.”

In a technique known as breaking the fourth wall, Phoebe addresses the audience directly—referring to them as “you”—about the nature of Mick’s death and how she is telling this story. In this way, Park encourages readers to feel more closely connected and sympathetic to Phoebe and to her loss.

“Both my parents are totally different from Mick and me. They’re real methodical and organized, and everything is always technically planned out.”

Park establishes the timetabled and carefully orchestrated nature of the Harte family’s daily life, which she will later contrast with the absence of structure when Mick dies. This juxtaposition speaks to the magnitude of the family’s grief and devastation at Mick’s death.