1) Perhaps it’s because it’s been so long since I was a YA, but I love the opening of the prologue because it makes me feel so much for Becca and her plight. Her father doesn’t seem to be around. Her mother is spaced out for some reason we’ll learn. Her sister is gone. She’s sneaking around with a boy. All of these things combine to make Becca feel like a lost young person, and grownups of a certain age tend to have a parental empathy for such individuals.
2) I love that the author has Becca say that she missed Sara’s cooking. Not only do we infer that their mother isn’t much of a cook, but food is a wonderful proxy for love. Doesn’t a meal taste better when it’s prepared by someone who cares about you? (At least, it seems that way.)
3) Nick is only fifteen minutes late, but Becca is terribly concerned. It makes sense that someone who is hurting in life might take a small thing more seriously than is necessary. (Teenagers can also over-worry on occasion…)
