Doubt and Fear

Over the course of the novel, the author explores themes of doubt and fear by way of his protagonist Jarrett’s experiences at Camp Sunshine. The author introduces these emotional concepts in Chapter 1, “Road Trip,” when Jarrett first sets out to Maine with his classmates and faculty chaperones. Although Jarrett has volunteered to work at “a camp for kids with life-threatening illnesses,” the reality of what he is about to experience does not set in until he receives his assignment upon arriving at the camp (2). After learning that he will be working one-on-one with Diego, a camper with brain cancer, Jarrett starts to question himself: “With Diego only a few years younger than me,” Jarrett says in the narration from Chapter 1, “this wasn’t shaping up to be the camp week I had envisioned. What could I even offer” (29)? In this moment, Jarrett is...