Death and grief are a huge part of the characters' lives. The teenagers—Noah, Jude, and Oscar—are each struggling to have normal romantic relationships (and, like, any relationships) in the shadow of their mothers' deaths. It's no easier for the grown-ups: Mr. Sweetwine and Guillermo are also suffering in the wake of Dianna's unexpected demise. Heck, even Oscar misses her—and he's also grieving his own mum, who died a few years back.
Much of the book is about those characters learning to face their grief as a process, rather than a one-and-done event. But another strain of mortality running through the story includes the open-ended questions around whether or not Noah is suicidal. He nearly drowned days after Dianna died, though he swears it was an accident. In the present day, he almost throws himself off a cliff. He's very drunk at the time, so it's hard to know exactly what's going on in his head. Our guess? Nothing good.
Questions About Mortality
- Why is Jude unable to grieve for her mother until years after her death?
- Why do you think Jude and Noah have such a hard time recognizing that they weren't responsible for their mother's death?
- Compare and contrast the ways in which Mr. Sweetwine and Guillermo Garcia grieve Dianna's death.
Chew on This
I'll Give You the Sun strongly suggests that the death of a parent wreaks havoc on romantic relationships.
No character in I'll Give You the Sun grieves in a way that's healthy or constructive.