The Sky is Everywhere is packed with abandonment. There's the obvious: Lennie and Bailey's absent mother, who left when Lennie was one, supposedly because she had the family's "restless gene." And, of course, Bailey dies, unintentionally abandoning her little sister. But Lennie does her fair share of abandoning, too—she ignores Gram and her best friend, who both need and miss her. You could say the effects of death and abandonment are pretty similar in this book: They both force characters to do without someone they thought would always be there.
Questions About Abandonment
- Do you think Gram has the right to protect her grandchildren's innocence by not telling them anything about their mother? How does this strategy ultimately affect Bailey and Lennie? What effect does all the hiding have on Gram?
- After Joe sees Lennie with Toby, would you consider his breaking things off abandonment? Make your case.
- If the story was told from a different point of view, or had a third person omniscient narrator, how would that change the moment when Gram accuses Lennie of being selfish?
- Would you consider Lennie ignoring Gram for so many months to be a minor or major offense? Why?
Chew on This
Gram's decision not to tell her granddaughters much about their mother was the right choice, because it allowed them to grow up focusing on what they had instead of on what they'd lost.
Only when Lennie is left all alone—no longer with Joe or Toby—does she have the space to change for the better.