Character Analysis
Being a parent is a tough job. In the early days, you don't get enough sleep, you have to change a lot of diapers, and you get vomited on regularly. A couple years later, you're getting toys thrown at your head and trying to hide vegetables beneath chicken nuggets. We won't even mention the endless children's television shows you have to endure.
But once your kid becomes a teenager, the stakes get even higher. Now you have to explain things like sex, drugs, and why selfies are sometimes a bad idea—so if you have to do it alone, parenting a teenager can be an especially high-stress gig. And if you have to do it alone because your spouse suddenly died? Well, then you're Corinna's dad.
At Least John Lennon Understands Me
In the months following Sophie's death, Corinna's dad spends a lot of time staring blankly into space, listening to The Beatles. He manages to go to work (he's a high school teacher), but that's about as much as he can handle. Making sure there's bread in the house for sandwiches? Buying Corinna school clothes that fit? Actually telling a joke once in a while? These things all fall by the wayside as he struggles to cope with life after his wife's death.
Not only did he lose the love of his life, he now has to explain puberty to a girl who's going through it. By way of giving Corinna "the talk," he says, "I know Mom talked to you about some of the body changes girls go through. She was certainly more of an expert on those kinds of things than I am, but if you have questions about that stuff, maybe you can ask Aunt Jennifer, or Deborah, or…" (12.6). Yeah, dude doesn't exactly nail it.
While this doesn't exactly arm Corinna with the information she needs, at least her dad makes an effort. He attempts to address menstruation by saying, "Oh, and one last thing, honey. When you need supplies at the drug store or the grocery store or wherever you buy those things, just go ahead and toss them in the cart, okay? I don't want you feeling embarrassed" (12.16). Maybe he's the one who doesn't want to be embarrassed, though, on account of how he can barely get through this conversation.
The Tootsie Roll as a Comedic Device
Corinna knows her dad's beginning to return to normal when, after a school year spent isolated in their separate grief, he plays a practical joke. It's an oldie, but a goodie: He leaves a full-size Tootsie Roll on her bed and asked her if she forgot to take the dog out.
He also takes her to Japan, a trip they originally planned to take with Sophie. Rather than calling it off, he realizes it's important for Corinna to see this place her mother loved, and once they're in Tokyo, he actually manages to laugh with his daughter about their shared culture shock. Daniel might still be grieving, but at least he's beginning to find his sense of humor again, which is the first step toward healing both his heart and his new two-person family. When he smiles while dropping Corinna off for ninth grade, we're as optimistic as she is that things will be okay.