Water
The opening flashes back to when Rose was young and afraid to swim in the lake Awago. Her mother teaches her how to open her eyes which she assumes is a special ability. Water is a constant element in the graphic novel with several scenes with Rose and Windy swimming. The imagery of water portrays it as fun but also as dangerous in that some characters drowned or were close to drowning: Windy states:
“…last month, this woman in my mom’s pottery class? Her kid took acid and broke into some guy’s pool and they found her drowned.”
Horror Queens
The common motif in the novel is the horror films that the two friends analyze and enjoy watching. They rent them from Brewster’s where they are called horror queens for loving the films. They describe the scenes from these films in terms of how grisly they are or can be. In one instance they rent Jaws and later watch it while analyzing the plot, visuals, and goriness:
“This one isn’t as scary. That shark is totally fake. It’s like, RUBBER. You can see where they put the gut with the remote control and everything.”
Open Skies versus Storms
Though Rose and her family visit Awago beach for the summer weather there are occasional storms during the season. The summer days are bright, fun, and beautiful and the nights are expansive with stars and moonlight. On the other hand, the stormy days are gloomy and dark but flourish the trees, milkweed plants, grass, and vines. The imageries accompany the themes in the story that range from the beauty and sorrows of life in the formative years and adulthood. While it is a tale about coming of age and enjoying life, it incorporates real-life problems and depression.
Rock Walls
At a young age, the family collected beach rocks that they would compile into rock walls in front of their house. It was a bonding activity for the three members until a family tragedy made the connection fade away. Rose convinces herself that it is because she grew up and it was a juvenile activity. The imagery of collecting rocks represents the close bond that now hardly exists in the household anymore:
“When I was little my dad and I used to collect rocks on the beach. He’d say, “We’ll just go look for five rocks. Six rocks, tops.” He’d put them in his pocket. For weight-lifting. Build up his quads. I like the smooth rocks. I like them shaped like a bean. Long and flat.”
