History Literature / Bloomability

* IWillFindYou: At the end of the book, Guthrie tells Dinnie that even if she chooses not to return to the school, he'll find her in America so they can stay in contact. (Whether this is as friends or [[ShipTease potentially something more]] is open to interpretation.)

* {{Malaproper}}: Keisuke, who is Japanese and is still figuring out English, is prone to these. Dinnie starts to adopt a few of them in the narration; for instance, after Keisuke uses the term "downfelling" instead of "falling down" while Dinnie is learning to ski, Dinnie makes several references to "downfelling" in later skiing scenes.

** The fact that Stella's husband is a Marine, and therefore presumably 18 or older, also raises some age-of-consent questions, given that the Doones were living in California at the time of the marriage and California's age of consent is 18 with no "Romeo and Juliet" exception -- and if they went to a different state to marry, even if it wasn't a deliberate act to avoid age of consent laws, that could be a criminal violation unto itself. This one is somewhat more justified given that someone would have to report a crime in order for anything to be investigated, so it would probably fly under the radar until Stella has the baby, at which point they're living in New Mexico, a state that ''does'' have the close-in-age exception (theoretically, they ''could'' still determine that a crime had been committed, since moving doesn't negate what happened in another state, but it's likely that once they determine the relationship is legal by New Mexico law and that Stella was a willing participant, they'd close the case rather than continue to probe for further possibilities).

** The fact that Stella's husband is a Marine, and therefore presumably 18 or older, also raises some age-of-consent questions, given that the Doones were living in California at the time of the marriage and California's age of consent is 18 with no "Romeo and Juliet" exception -- and if they went to a different state, even if it wasn't a deliberate act to avoid age of consent laws, that could be a criminal violation unto itself.

* ArtisticLicenseLaw: In the first chapter, Dinnie's sister Stella gets married behind her parents' back at the age of 16. No state in the US allows a 16-year-old to marry without the consent of at least one parent, so unless she falsified either her age or her parents' consent (which would likely render the marriage invalid anyway), she shouldn't have been able to get a marriage license.

* DatingWhatDaddyHates: At one point, Mari and Belen admit that their families would be aghast at them even ''thinking'' about boys from other cultures and countries in a romantic way, especially boys who aren't white. Since they're only in middle school, these aren't exactly serious relationships -- more like mutual crushes -- but they still have to be careful how they talk about the boys in question when they're at home lest their parents freak out.

* JerkassHasAPoint: Dinnie's maternal grandmother is pretty rude about Dinnie's father, and it's clear that a lot of her disdain is based on class and education snobbery, but she's not altogether wrong to raise concerns about the family's transient lifestyle, particularly when it comes to how they're raising the kids, as Dinnie's own recollections seem to suggest this wasn't exactly a great way to live.

* JerkassHasAPoint: Dinnie's maternal grandmother is pretty rude about Dinnie's father, and it's clear that a lot of her disdain is based on class and education snobbery, but she's not altogether wrong to raise concerns about the family's transient lifestyle, particularly when it comes to how they're raising the kids.

* ParentsAsPeople: Dinnie's parents clearly love their children and want the best for them, but Dinnie's father drags them all along to live his preferred nomadic lifestyle without really giving any consideration to the impact that the lack of stability might have on his kids, and her mother accepts this without question. It's handled fairly realistically: Dinnie herself narrates this element of her life as a neutral thing, as she has no real points of comparison, but to a reader coming from an objective perspective, the more troubling aspects are pretty clear.

* ParentsAsPeople: Dinnie's parents clearly love their children and want the best for them, but Dinnie's father drags them all along to live his preferred nomadic lifestyle without really giving any consideration to the impact that the lack of stability might have on his kids, and her mother accepts this without question.

* AerithAndBob: Dinnie (whose full first name is Domenica) and her sister Stella both have fairly common Italian names, while her brother is named...Crick. Dinnie explains in the exposition that, as per an agreement between her parents, her brother was named by her father, while the girls were named by their mother, and so their names reflect their parents' respective backgrounds.

* LeftHanging: What ''is'' the deal with Lila? Near the end of the story, Dinnie realizes she forgot to ask her aunt and uncle for the promised explanation, and then decides not to pursue it as it's not relevant anymore, so the reader never learns the backstory that was hinted at.

* DatingWhatDaddyHates: At one point, Mari and Belen admit that their families would be aghast at them having crushes on boys from other cultures and countries, especially boys who aren't white. Since they're only in middle school, these aren't exactly serious relationships, but they still have to be careful how they talk about the boys in question when they're at home lest their parents freak out.
** Dinnie's maternal grandparents never liked Dinnie's father -- Dinnie doesn't get a lot of information on the details, but from what little she can glean, they seemingly looked down on him because he was working-class and not college educated.

* RedOniBlueOni: The energetic and impulsive Guthrie (red) and the quiet and serious Keisuke (blue) are best friends within a few weeks of meeting. Dinnie notes that they balance each other out.

* DatingWhatDaddyHates: At one point, Mari and Belen admit that their families would be aghast at them having crushes on boys from other cultures and countries, especially boys who aren't white. Since they're only in middle school, these aren't exactly serious relationships (mostly just {{Longing Look}}s and flirting), but they still have to be careful how they talk about the boys in question when they're at home lest their parents freak out.