Ellie's House

The toilet in Ellie's house constantly gets clogged, but it is not the only thing that gets stuck in the household. Ellie and her mother are also stuck. Ellie's room is decorated with handprints that she and her best friend, Brianna, had started painting in first grade. On the surface they would seem to be representing the notion of moving on as they show her physical growth. But even though she is growing physically, Ellie does not like change in the beginning of the novel. She misses elementary school, her friend, her father, and even her goldfish. She is also stuck trying to find her passion. Everyone else around her seems to have done so, but she still doesn't know what it is when readers first meet her.

Melissa is stuck in her relationship with her boyfriend, Ben, who has asked her to marry him twice. She's...