Rules
The story pursues themes related to rules by asking questions concerning when they are required, when they are excessive, and how to know the difference. The story's protagonist launches an assault against the excessive rules at his new school by forming for himself Operation R.A.F.E. which stands for Rules Aren't For Everyone. One of the chapters is subtitled "Rules were Made for Breaking." Both of these slogans are as radical and impractical as the overbearing rules of the school so numerous that they require a huge book compendium for students to remember them. The theme of questioning the logic and practicality of rules is most clearly underlined by the fact that the rules-breaking protagonist—also called Rafe—notably sets a rule for him to not hurt anyone as he launches his campaign to break every rule.
Juvenile Mental Health
The protagonist, Rafe, has a friend he refers to as Leonardo the Silent. Except that Leonardo is not exactly silent. Leo helps Rafe devise the concept and subversive intent of R.A.F.E. Leo is a near-constant presence with Rafe who is more often than not the person who stimulates Rafe into making bad decisions and engaging in ill-advised behavior. In the real world, Leonardo would be characterized as the kind of bad influence with whom parents fear their kids will become friends. About one-third of the way through the book, however, Leonardo the Silent is revealed as being Leonardo the non-existent. He is Rafe's imaginary friend. This revelation opens up the direction the story is taking into one which can explore the impact of undiagnosed or misunderstood mental health problems on a child's behavioral growth.
Independence and Autonomy
On a certain level, Rafe's story can be read as a metaphor for national revolution. Rafe rebels against the excessive power and authority of his school by breaking those rules. This ability to defy authority invests Rafe with a newfound sense of independence as well as a recognition of possessing power that he has never enjoyed before. The recognition of this power to fight against authoritarian overreach and undermining the status quo will eventually lead to confrontations with other authoritarian figures apart from the school leadership. A newly autonomous Rafe will experience the enhanced self-identity of empowerment by taking on opponents he would not have gone up against before ranging from school bullies to the abusive boyfriend of his mother.
