Dark Water Analysis

Pearl and her family live in sunny Fallbrook, California near the Mexican border. It's a real place, and for the most part, this setting helps us understand the immigration issues taking place in t...

Did you notice how Pearl tells the story of her life as if we were friends with her? She doesn't bother with formalities or calling herself by name; instead she pretends we're hanging out with her...

True to young adult lit form, Dark Water is about that tricky transition from adolescence to adulthood. Pearl is fifteen and Amiel is seventeen, and though their love is forbidden, that doesn't see...

Dark Water has a complex tone. It's like a high-low dress or a mullet—it can't really decide whether it wants to be one thing or the other, so it decides to be both. On the one hand, Pearl jokes...

Let's get one thing straight: Pearl isn't your average overly emotional teenager. Sure, she gets upset about stuff, but she doesn't always express it to the people around her in the way we might ex...

According to Pearl, Dark Water is the name of the river (or creek, to be more precise) where Amiel lives. Since that's where they spend most of their time, fall in love, and even escape the fire, i...

After the fire, Pearl has a hard time getting back to normal. At first she wants to lock herself in a room and throw away the key, but eventually she decides—or is forced—to go back to school....

Pearl is a great storyteller, so the plot is easy enough to understand. Essentially, it goes something like this: Girl meets boy; girl falls madly in love with boy; girl makes decisions with her he...

Girl Meets Mime Before Pearl spots Amiel on the street corner, her life is pretty ordinary. She lives with her mom at her uncle's place since her dad up and left them, but otherwise she's just a te...

The author wrote the book to shine a light on immigrant communities. She wants to help their voices be heard. Hmm… perhaps that's why Amiel doesn't have a voice. (Source)The brushfire in the book...

When it comes to romance, Pearl doesn't mind a little kiss and tell. She fills us in on the details of her relationship with Amiel: I touched with my finger the black disk on the hollow of his neck...

Thomas Hardy (6.5)Alexander Chekhov (6.8)Robinson Crusoe by Daniel Defoe (8.41)"Because I could not stop for death" by Emily Dickinson (20.8)Aesop's Fables (23.13)Henry David Thoreau (24.35)Laura I...