Content Warning: This section of the guide includes discussion of child sexual abuse, child abuse, antigay bias, death, mental illness, suicidal ideation, and self-harm.

“Sometimes Eve and I even pretend to talk in tongues, just to keep them believing we’re heaven-bound, despite the fact that we go to public school…and come face-to-face with the unsaved every day.”

This quote foreshadows the way that Eden must lie and hide her relationship from her parents. She knows that they only care about how well she can perform goodness, evident in her intentional pretending to speak in tongues to ensure that they see her as “heaven-bound.” The quote also emphasizes Eden’s parents’ judgmental nature over believing that Eden’s classmates are “unsaved.” Eden’s description of how she was raised reveals how she and her sister were raised in a strict religious environment from an early age, which shows The Impact of Family and Societal Pressures on Youth.

“Anyway, I relate to God in a very personal way. Don’t need anyone to tell me how to do it better. I see His hand everywhere—in red sunrises and orange sunsets; in rain, falling on thirsty fields; in how a newborn lamb finds his mama in the herd. I thank God for these things. And for you.”

Andrew’s belief in unconditional love and acceptance fuels Eden’s desire to be with him and rebel against her parents’ dogma. These lines signify the first time that Eden hears someone express their love for her that is unconditional. Andrew describes God as a guiding hand who influences the color of sunrises and sunsets, provides rain to fields personified as thirsty, brings a lamb to its mother, and, importantly, guides him to Eden. This quote alludes to the hope that Eden will find love outside of the rigidity of her parents’ belief system.