Character Clues

Character Analysis

Actions

Remember back when you were a kid and your mom told you, "Do as I say, not as I do?" That was really just her way of making sure your actions were above par. And let's be real; it was also probably her way of absolving herself of any guilt any time she slipped up. For Sam, it's all about what you do (instead of what you say)—he's always sharing people's actions with us so we can get to know them better.

Sometimes Sam uses action to explain the little stuff, like his buddy's name: "Rubbish, who can't really skate, which is why he's called Rubbish, but who at least talks sense" (2.2). And sometimes he uses actions to break down big, juicy details, like why he doesn't want to lose his v-card just yet: "And if I want to get out of something—like a conversation about whether I'd had sex with Alicia—then I can just say, all sad and bitter, that I f***ed up her life" (3.65). Sam is always interested in how people act. This helps us get to know them better.

Sex and Love

When Sam first meets Alicia, he's shocked when she opens up to him about her boyfriend's pressure to go all the way: "Five minutes ago she didn't want me to know what music she listened to, and now she was telling me about her sex life" (2.164). We get to know a lot about Alicia through her relationship to sex, especially when it comes to understanding how she sees Sam.

But we quickly learn it's not just Alicia that we get to know via sex and love. Sam tells us all about his parents' love life, and we also get a glimpse of Alicia's parents' relationship, too. All of these couples' opinions about love and doing the deed help us understand who they are in the book. Alicia's parents are in a loveless marriage and fear their daughter will do the same, while Sam's mom was a teen parent herself and she majorly laments her son going down the same path.