Content Warning: This section discusses child abuse, racism, police brutality, murder, and the death of a loved one.

“That’s the problem, they always thinking labor gonna solve things. Seems to me, free labor caused all the problems, but you probably don’t understand all that.”

Grandpa’s statement alludes to a long history of Black workers’ exploitation in the United States, both through chattel enslavement and through mass incarceration. He dislikes that Andre is now part of this system, which introduces the theme of Black Lives Matter and White Communities.

“I want to cling to that side of innocence, not let the world turn me into…a man. A monster.”

Andre knows that being in the criminal justice system as a Black boy can taint the rest of his life, and he’s afraid that he’ll never be able to escape the mark that it puts on him, especially because of his race.

“It’s like Eric and me leaving tipped everything out of sorts. Since getting out, I’ve thought there must be something wrong with the world itself…but when I lay eyes on Sierra, I know it’s me who doesn’t fit around here.”

Andre is initially terrified when he returns home, as he is not sure if his life will go back to the way it was before. Eric’s disappearance only adds to this fear. Andre spends much of the novel learning to adjust to a new sense of home, even if it is different from before. He will gradually learn to recognize The Importance of a Safe Home.