Robert Cormier's stories in this collection are mostly about everyday life and relationships and are very much grounded in reality. Many of the stories are written from the perspective of an adolescent and follow along as such a character learns lessons about empathy and understanding. Often, this revelation is about understanding another person's point of view, particularly parents. For example, in the story Guess What? I Almost Kissed My Father Goodnight, Mike realizes that his father has thoughts just like himself, and is also capable of lying.
At the beginning of the text, Mike fails to see his father as a human being with his own complex thoughts and feelings but begins to understand him better by the end. This is represented by the fact that on his father's poetry book he sees the name "Jimmy," and fails to see why anybody would have a nickname for his father. After realizing that his father has similarly suffered from unrequited love as a young man, Mike begins to have a sense of empathy and solidarity with his father, saying "I felt like kissing him goodnight. But didn't, of course. Who kisses his father at sixteen?" Earlier in the conversation Mike's father also acknowledges the fact that he is only human too: "Sure, Mike Everybody gets the blues now and then. Even fathers are people."
Often in the stories, it is the other way around, and the parents gain a new-found sense of empathy with their children. For example, in Another One of Mike's Girls, Mike's father acknowledges that he was wrong to see all the young women Mike brings home the same, as he knows that all fathers are not the same. In Mine on Thursdays, Howie realizes he must be a reliable and loving father if he is to keep seeing his daughter. As such, many of these stories focus on the relationship between parents and children, and how they can benefit from understanding and empathy.
