Relationships

One of the primary themes running throughout the novel is relationships. The two primary relationships the novel tackles are the relationships of a family and friendships. The novel lightly touches upon romantic relationships as well.

Friendship is one of the primary types of relationships the novel tackles. Bee is only able to make one true friend, which is Kennedy. Many of the other students at Galer Street are not friends with Bee because their mothers think that Bernadette is strange. Additionally, Bernadette is not able to form friendships at all. All of the other mothers think she is weird and crazy because Bernadette hardly ever leaves the house, and she never volunteers for any of the school activities.

In the end, Audrey and Bernadette end up forming a friendship—a type of bond. When Audrey realizes that she has misjudged Bernadette, Audrey becomes Bernadette's ally. Audrey pieces...