Toswiah/Evie's family isn't huge to begin with in hush—the only extended family member who's still alive appears to be Grandma—and it shrinks even further when the Green family is relocated. Now it's just Mama, Daddy, and the two girls. As all four family members struggle to establish new, individual identities on their own, they must also create a new family dynamic that works for them. The trauma of relocation causes them all to pull apart a bit as each person copes with the upheaval, but by the end of the book, the family starts to gel again as each individual figures out who he or she is now.
Questions About Family
- What does family mean to Toswiah/Evie? Does the meaning of family change?
- How does the relocation change the way family members interact?
- In what ways is the Green family in Denver the same as the Thomas family in the Northeast? In what ways is it different?
- What causes the isolation each family member feels after the relocation? What eventually allows them to function as a unit?
Chew on This
The other three members of the family feel some resentment toward Daddy because they see him as the cause of their current situation.
The Thomas family can only begin to function when each member finds an individual identity within their changed world.