Religion
Religion is quite an important theme to mention, as it plays such an important role in the book. Since she was a child, Jeanette was raised with strong Christian core values, all of which appear to be good to her. However, as she grows up, she begins to question if she is overly faithful. Not sure who to blame for this - her parents or the church - she blames neither of them aloud. Now older and writing this book for herself, the author wishes to tell readers that religion is not everything - while it can help you maintain your morals and something to believe in, it should not be running your life without question.
Lesbianism
In the book, Jeanette is taught to adhere strongly to Christian philosophy, but she begins to doubt her belief after a while. This doubt is heightened when she discovers that she is in love with another woman. Throughout the book, Jeanette falls in love with multiple other women, showing that it is her true desire to be a lesbian. The author, Jeanette herself, wishes to educate older and younger readers alike that you must accept who you know you truly are, even if that means standing out from the norm.
Sharp Divisions
Jeanette's mother is one of the antagonists of the novel, and does not like it when Jeanette does not follow her rules. When doing something wrong, Jeanette's mother sees it as "good" or "bad". For example, she feels that a marriage should be only between a man and a woman, and anything other than that would be wrong. However, the world isn't always divided that sharply between good and evil. Many times, there are a bit of both in everyone - take, for example, Jeanette's mother, who, although following a religion teaching good morals, executes them in the wrong way.
