The two boys are exploited by their mother, and at times, Bridget can be nasty and cruel toward her sons and even toward her husband. In this depiction, Sleator develops a contemporary issue in our society: that some parents push their children to accomplishments that are not for the child's benefit but for the parents'. The boys come to realize what their mother has done to them and try to take control of their lives by making their own choices about their lives.