When

Theme

The theme for this story is: do not judge people based off of other people's perception of them. For example, the principal told the teachers at Maddie's school about the FBI agents and the murder case. All of Maddie's teachers judge her during the murder case. After the case, everyone treated her and Stubby differently. They also got a reward at school for actually helping the FBI, which really proved to the teachers that they were actually innocent. This is the theme because the textual evidence shows that just because others judge someone, that does not mean that is the the reality.

Quotes

"He'd been our center, the glue that held us together and gave us purpose."

Quotes

"Hey," Faraday said after a few seconds. "Did you know your clock's still ten minutes fast?"

Quotes

"I was like a whirlpool of tragedy, and anybody who dared to get too close to me could get sucked in and drown. Like I was drowning right now."

Quotes

"Ma didn't blame herself for Dad's death. She blamed me. She drank, not because she felt guilty about surviving or being able to prevent Dad's murder, but because she didn't want to be the kind of mother who blamed her kid for it." Page 21. This is a very very important quote because Maddie had always misinterpreted her mother's actions. It wasn't because she blamed Maddie. It was because they thought the numbers that Maddie saw were death dates when Maddie was really young. "Really? Weren't you about to tell me that my son has come under some sort of deadly curse and for an additional fee you'd be happy to remove it?" Page 13. This is significant since Mrs. Tibbolt doesn't believe Maddie when she says that Tevon would die the next week. And a week later, Tevon goes missing, and is murdered. "Faraday lifted his phone and tapped at the screen, wincing as his injured arm moved. 'Oh, we'll catch him,' he said. 'Or die trying." Page 287. It is an important moment because Faraday is convinced that Maddie isn't the killer, and that someone is. He knows that there will be more murders, and that the killer is very deadly. "Stop!" she hissed, cutting me off. "Just stop it. If you call here again, I will notify the police. Leave me and my son alone! Do you hear me? Do you?" Page 19. This quote is important because Maddie really wants to help save Mrs. Tibbolt's son or at least give a warning so that Mrs. Tibbolt's can do something. But, Mrs. Tibbolt doesn't want to believe Maddie and refuses to listen to her warnings.

Imagery

"Stubs and I live about a half mile apart in a suburb filled with majestic poplar, maple, and oak trees. They line the streets so that some days you can barely see the sun. As I rode my bike to the diner, the wind picked up, sending the leaves above me clapping. It sounded like riding under a canopy of applause. Orange, yellow, and red leaves rained onto my hair and shoulders as I pedaled. They coated the street and caught in my spokes, where they clapped some more." Page 15 Victoria Laurie, the author, uses imagery and figurative language to describe Maddie's neighborhood. The author describes Maddie's sight of "majestic poplar, maple, and oak trees". Victoria Laurie uses personification to describe the beautiful "orange, yellow, and red leaves" falling onto Maddie's hair and shoulders. The author describes the peacefulness of Maddie's bike ride and how the "wind picked her up, sending the leaves above me clapping". This is personification because wind can't pick people up and leaves can't clap, yet it feels that way for Maddie. Victoria Laurie's description of Maddie's bike ride gives the reader an image of Maddie's happy place.

Quotes

"To add insult to injury, at that moment Cathy and a group of her friends walked by. "Ewwww," they said collectively as we sopped up the mess. I felt my cheeks sear with heat.

Quotes

"When I walk the halls of my high school those smudges are a constant reminder that death is a mere squint away."

gift

I put "gift" in quotation marks because her gift often puts her in unpleasant situations. Don't shoot the messenger is my claim, in this book the main character was just delivering the messages. People often took her messages the wrong way, and blamed her for what she saw. Her situation is similar to what happens in the real world because people often don't like to hear bad information, they can become angry with the person delivering the information. For example, some people hate the news on television. However, they should not hate the news because they are only delivering the information not causing the bad situations.