The most important element of this novel is friendship. Each one of the members of the Losers Club is a loner, a child with no significant friendships or siblings with whom to spend time or tell secrets to. Ben is a fat child who is mercilessly teased on a daily basis. Bill stutters, something that causes him great distress. Bill also lost his little brother the previous fall and feels as though his parents blame him. Beverly, the only girl in the group, is a tom girl who has few female friends as she tends to prefer to read comics and smoke than discuss boys and makeup. Richie wears glasses that leave him vulnerable to teasing and has a mouth that tends to speak before he can think, causing him a great deal of trouble.....
