People are very unique, and it’s fascinating to think of how differently two people may respond to the same situation. Re-reading this portion made me think of another story I’ve written that also dealt with the challenges of being a modern teenager.  Broken tells the story of fifteen-year-old Taya.  While Taya and Eden are different in many ways, they are also similar.  Eden talks about coming from a family of pretenders because her father’s a convicted drug dealer and thief.  Simiarly, Taya’s father is in and out of prison for nonviolent crimes, but he has other secrets, too; secrets that make Taya crave acceptance from her peers.  Unfortunately, she doesn’t find friendship at school;  instead, she becomes the target of bullying when a group of kids get her drunk and then share an embarrassing photo of her to the entire school.  The two links provided show both her sadness and how hard she tries to feel normal.  

Many of the Amazon reviews for Broken talk about the sadness of Taya and wanting to protect her. 

While Taya rebels in order to get attention, Eden pretends to fit in.  Eden is not abused at home like Taya was, and she doesn’t self-harm or have suicidal ideation, but key phrases like I do get invited to stuff, even if it’s just as an after thought and …Maybe I’m not real at all, maybe my life is just a nightmare because dads in New Hannah Cove simply don’t climb out second story windows and run from the police. They don’t deal drugs or steal. Pretenders. Nice things, elite universities… these are out of reach if you’re from a family of pretenders suggest Eden wants to fit in but doesn’t really believe she’s good enough. She responds to this deep-seated fear by hiding behind academics and being fiercely loyal to Brielle, the one person she believes is truly her trustworthy friend. Taya, on the other hand, responds to the negative self-scripts by blatantly acting out, dying her hair purple, self-harming, and choosing to give them something to talk about instead of waiting to see what others make up about her.  

Compare Eden’s defense mechanism to Taya’s — what are the pros and cons of each?  What kind of defense mechanism do you anticipate the other girls in the story having as they find themselves facing life threatening situations?

Share your thoughts below in the comments!