Identity and Self-Worth

Cameron struggles with her identity and self-worth following her parents’ death and as she comes to terms with her sexuality. Cameron blames herself for her parents’ passing because of the fact that she was kissing Irene around the same time as the accident. This makes her view herself poorly. She states, “I filled it in for her in my head—about how your parents swerved off a mountain road and frowned in a lake that shouldn’t even exist, shouldn’t even be there, all of this while you stayed home and kissed a girl, stole some gum” (36). She characterizes herself by her actions and then lumps the consequences with the idea of her parents’ death, making her blame herself even more. After the accident, she isolates herself in her room, which serves as a coping strategy, but also can be seen as a...