Character Analysis
Moose's mother is a tough one, and her son describes her as a "one-woman commando unit" (13.57). Let's think about why this might be the case.
Moose has really mixed feelings about his mom. On the one hand, he talks about how he's "proud of my mother" (11.33) because she constantly fights to find the best situation for Natalie. At the same time, though, she refuses to accept that Natalie won't ever be like other kids: "With Natalie, there is never a happy ending. But my mom won't ever believe that" (11.39). It's in this refusal to believe, of course, that Natalie's happy ending seems impossible—if Mrs. F can just accept her daughter for who she is, things would look a bit brighter for all involved.
Accepting her children for who they are, though, isn't really Mom's strong suit. Just as she insists on finding the path to a different life for Natalie, she also fails to recognize Moose for who he is. At one point, Moose says, "Sometimes she needs reminding that I'm not five anymore" (13.8). Remember, he's twelve—and she puts him in charge of Natalie all the time, forcing him to prioritize his sister's wellbeing over being a kid and making friends. And yet she fails to recognize Moose as a capable and insightful young man. It's tough.
Fortunately, though, Mama F is one character that definitely changes by the end of the book. Moose shows his mom that the best way to love Natalie is to face the facts—like, for example, by acknowledging that she's sixteen, not ten. Eventually, Mom puts aside her stubbornness—"My mother never does this. She never tries to imagine how I feel" (36.25)—and when she does, she sees that her kids have been nailing life all along.