“When his head aches fierce, he has to lie down. Nobody is allowed even to whisper or move. But his cough is worse. Sometimes, he can’t breathe. Like he’s got asthma or something.”

From the start of the novel, the author weaves in hints about Pop’s post-traumatic stress disorder from his experience in the Twin Towers on September 11th. Dèja doesn’t recognize it yet, but this description of symptoms becomes clearer, especially as she shares more about Pop. Dèja transforms throughout the novel: At first, she resents her father for his supposed laziness, but she comes to realize the truth about his illness.

“Last year, even my best friend, Keisha, stopped speaking to me when my family became homeless. Like it was my fault. Like I was going to give her germs or something. Like my family and me were just trash.”

Dèja deals constantly with a fear of being rejected because she and her family are homeless. In the early chapters, this concern manifests as a defensive spirit because Dèja was burned before by children like Keisha, who think of Dèja as less than because of her situation. She approaches her new school fearing that this will happen again, but she comes to find real friendship in Ben and Sabeen.

“Besides, I don’t like essays. Why write when you have nothing good to say? I’m just trying to get by—eight more years, I’ll be eighteen, and I won’t have to live in a shelter. Or go to another new school. I’ll be on my own, taking care of myself. I won’t ever get evicted.” 

The “what did you do last summer” essay appears as a symbol of Dèja’s transformation to believing that she does have something “good to say” (6). She comes to find home in her family and her friendships, and her essay serves as the novel’s final chapter, describing the importance of family and connection in the wake of 9/11.