Creech develops several strong themes in Chasing Redbird. Perhaps the strongest is the coming-of-age theme. Zinnia Taylor is thirteen years old. She must learn to handle new emotions involving issues of boyfriends and death, space to be herself, know herself, and control over her life.

Another theme addresses some of the unsettling emotions of puberty; her attraction to Jake Boone, her dislike of Jake Boone, her hope that he really does like her and not May, and her fear that he is only using her to get close to May. At the same time she loves her family and cannot bear to be with her family. Changes in the way her body looks cause discomfort. She has a need for privacy in a space that is all hers, a place to keep her personal possessions and treasures. These are themes common to young people...