The teen years are often considered a time for challenging authority, rebelling, and testing rules. Nora starts off Hush, Hush as a pretty by-the-book girl, whose worst offenses are mild shenanigans thought up by Vee. But as the story goes on, Nora finds herself more deeply involved in the world of an ultimate bad boy. Patch fell from heaven because he chose to pursue his lust rather than stay put and obey the rules, and these days he's determined to flout the rules again in order to find a way to become human.
As Nora gains more exposure to Patch's murky world where good and bad are fluid concepts, traditionally authoritative figures and institutions such as parents, school, and law enforcement are presented as flawed or ineffective. With traditional authority proving to be useless, it's up to the characters to make decisions and choose their actions on their own rather than under the direction of authority.
Questions About Rules and Order
- With so much else going on, why does Nora so frequently worry that she will get in trouble with her mom?
- Are there times when it is more dangerous to follow the rules than break them? If there are, identify them in the book and explain your reasoning. If there aren't, explain what these means about all the rule breaking that happens.
- Are there different kinds of rule breaking in the book? Is Vee's style of rule breaking different than Patch's, for example? What similarities and differences do you notice?
Chew on This
In Hush, Hush, rule breaking is an essential part of exploring identity.
In Hush, Hush, rule breaking is more often associated with bad characters than with good characters, which illustrates that it has more negative consequences than positive outcomes.