Cassettes

Cassettes are one of the most significant symbols of the novel, representing Cal’s uniqueness and old versus new media. It also shows how people do not have to be tethered to one location to keep up their hobbies, and when people love you they accept your quirks. The novel opens as Cal meets Deb at a cassette shop in New York City. Throughout the novel Cal talks about listening to different cassettes when he is upset, as his escape. He often listens to different cassettes in his room, something the young adult reader will appreciate in their own need for space and independence. Later, he tries to hide his unique hobby from Leon until Kat exposes him, Cal for the first time feeling embarrassed and explaining that the “sound’s smoother, I guess” (114). Leon laughs calling it “a Brookly hipster thing, isn’t it?” (114). Towards...