Hush, Hush Coming of Age

Coming of age is often associated with shifting alliances and relationships. At the start of the novel, Nora identifies Vee as the person she is closest to, and she assumes they will be just as close for their entire lives.

Sure enough, the first minor drama in the book comes when Vee is replaced with a boy. He physically takes her spot at the bio table. By the time we get to the end of the book, we recognize this as a small moment of foreshadowing, hinting that Patch will replace Vee as the person Nora is closest to.

This part gives us a glimpse of what Nora's life is like at the beginning of the book. It's pretty sheltered, and it seems like she spends most of her time under the safeguards of school and home. We get the idea that she doesn't get into much trouble at all, except for some shenanigans orchestrated by Vee. In general, she's a good student who has been taken care of throughout her life.

A lot of times parents represent the protection, security, and stability of childhood life. When they're gone, it's a sign that those things have been taken away and that a character will have to start facing a scary world on her/his own. Moreover, it's a sign that there's room for a new central figure in a character's life, in this case, a male figure. Does that ring any bells?

Patch is obviously sexually experienced and comfortable exploring sexuality. Nora is uncomfortable and squeamish, as evidenced by the word "blurted." Comparing her attitude toward sex in moments like this one against the final lines of the book when she readily asks for "more" demonstrates her growth in terms of sexual maturity.

Nora's mom reveals the sad state of their financial affairs and tells Nora they may have to sell the house. Part of coming of age means learning about all the things that worry adults, such as money and mortgages and the cost of keeping up a house. Nora is smacked in the face with all that here.

There is some immaturity in Nora's response when she suggests her mom doesn't feel sad about the idea of leaving the house. Her mom doesn't say as much, but it's easy to imagine she doesn't want to sell her home. However, she knows that she has to take care of finances. Nora still has some growing up to do, but she gets a taste of the cold, hard reality of adult life in this passage.

Nora learns knew details about her identity, including that her family has a darker history than she's known about. Settling into who you are and deciding what kind of person you want to be are huge features of coming-of-age stories. We actually wanted a little more struggle with the "monster within" concept raised in this passage, but maybe that's coming up later in the series.

Here Nora puts Vee before herself, telling her to get out even though she knows it means being left to face danger alone. Sure, we can understand that Vee is scared out of her mind, but her willingness to leave Nora highlights Nora's bravery and maturity over Vee's.

Giving up your life for someone if dire circumstances necessitate such an act is pretty much the bravest and most mature things a person can do because it demonstrates concern for another rather than with oneself.

It seems like that "invisible thread" mentioned in the first chapter has been broken, and now Nora is closer to Patch than to she is to Vee.