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* IcyBlueEyes: Elinor has these. Kate notes that when Elinor is dead serious or wants the truth, they lighten to the point that it can almost hurt to look at her, although Elinor is not one of TheFairFolk or any other magical being. The color is also used to highlight her intelligence, innate cool logic, and Nordic good looks.
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* SignificantGreenEyedRedHead: Kate. Justified because she is the lead character. It's also noted that even in her family of Irish descent, she's the only one with this combo because it's rare in real life.
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* RedHeadInGreen: Some brief examples for Kate, who is said to really like the color. She wears an emerald tweed coat and matching beret in one scene. During her "makeover" scene, we see her in a dressing room trying on, among other things, a green-and-black argyle sweater and faux emerald bracelet.
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* AsLongAsThereIsEvil: Because this is a Christian work, this is a theme. Kate and Elinor, and the characters around them, have to come to terms with the fact that this trope means there will always be people in the world who treat others like crap and get away with it, but...
* AsLongAsThereIsOneMan: Or woman, as the case may be. What Kate learns and expresses through her writing.
* AsLongAsThereIsOneMan: Or woman, as the case may be. What Kate learns and expresses through her writing.
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* AcceptableHardLuckTargets: The bullies, student and adult, at Kate's college believe people with disabilities are this to one degree or another. This inspires Kate to become a BullyHunter with a pen (or laptop, as the case may be).
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* InherentInTheSystem: Discussed when Kate becomes interested in disability rights and advocacy. Her family agrees that students with disabilities are treated badly in their town and it needs to stop. Yet, they also believe certain constructs of dealing with disability are simply inherent in the way the world works, and to try changing them would cause more harm than good. This is also part of why Kate has such a hard time with her college's Disability Service offices--some of the powers that be struggle to believe university life can truly include students with disabilities 100% of the time.
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* WhyDidItHaveToBeSnakes: Elinor has a version of this--claustrophobia. Readers find out it's because she was regularly locked in closets and cupboards as a kid.
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* FeminineWomenCanCook: Implied. All of Kate's female relatives cook in the family catering business, in addition to other duties such as taking care of the books. Kate considers learning to cook a big step toward independence.
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* [[DareToBeBadAss Dare To Be BadButt]]: Kate's friends, and Elinor, give her a couple of these early in the book while she's still recovering from the early shock of being bullied in her new environment. Special mention goes to Bridget, who's a year older than Kate, offers to be her sorority big sister, and encourages her to share her feelings about being a person with a disability. To paraphrase: "Either sit here and keep letting those turkeys think you need to be taught how to tie your shoes--in your twenties--or show them you're a fantastic, cool person." Kate takes the challenge and performs with aplomb.
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* RousingSpeech: Kate gives a version of one near the end. After Vanessa [[spoiler: finally snaps and gives Kate a NoHoldsBarredBeatDown]], the latter is called into student court. Kate represents herself during the proceedings. In the course of this, she explains that her main concern is not seeing Vanessa and her cohorts punished; it is seeing students with disabilities treated as respectable individuals with real feelings, because they are valuable community members. Kate's newspaper articles may be considered this as well.
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* ShamingTheMob: Of a sort. The pro-disability articles Kate writes are not meant to shame specific people, but they are meant to challenge and/or shame the ''idea'' that persons with disabilities are second-class. They are also meant to challenge the traditional ways disabilities are dealt with at Kate's university (forced participation in "voluntary work hours," placing grown adults on "behavior plans," and so forth).
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* SilkHidingSteel: Elinor is definitely this. Some of Kate's interior dialogue shows she wants to become this and is well on her way.
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* BabiesEverAfter: As mentioned, Elinor is pregnant throughout the book. The baby's sex and the couple's name choice are revealed at the end. [[spoiler: It's a girl; her name is Rebecca Rose.]]
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* BookWorm: Both Kate and Elinor; one of the reasons they're so close.
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* GeniusCripple: Somewhat subverted. Kate is a gifted writer and loves literature, but she's not necessarily a literary genius. That being said, she's more intellectual than most peers.
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* [[IAmNotMyFather I Am Not My Mother]] Elinor goes through this, fearing that because her mother abused her, she will turn right around and abuse her baby, particularly if it's a daughter.
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* StageMom: Elinor's mother was this, having been an actress and a beauty pageant coach.
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* AbusiveParents: Elinor's mother was horribly psychologically abusive toward her. Readers find out it's because she is [[spoiler: schizophrenic.]]
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* AbusiveParents: Elinor's mother was horribly psychologically abusive toward her. Readers find out it's because she the mother is [[spoiler: schizophrenic.]]
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* ForgivenButNotForgotten: Kate takes this attitude toward Vanessa after the latter [[spoiler: finally snaps and attempts to seriously harm Kate in a NoHoldsBarredBeatDown, for which she is caught, expelled, and arrested.]] Kate's exact words upon confronting her are, "I don't forgive you. I will, but it'll take time."
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* FeelingOppressedByTheirExistence: Vanessa Worthington's justification for bullying Kate.
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* StopBeingStereotypical: In an inversion, Kate sometimes says this to ''herself'' if she feels she's done something that would make other people assume she has an intellectual disability as well as a physical one. She eventually gets better.
* YouAreACreditToYourRace: This is the way Kate's university generally views their students who have cognitive disabilities, autism, or other moderate-to-severe handicaps. The university's paper even publishes an entire article on this once, calling the students "brave" for doing ordinary things and making a big deal of their receiving good grades in classes--while simultaneously pointing out that because of the rules of the program they're in, their grades don't count. Yet, [[SarcasmMode aren't they wonderful for attempting to succeed in college?]]
* YouAreACreditToYourRace: This is the way Kate's university generally views their students who have cognitive disabilities, autism, or other moderate-to-severe handicaps. The university's paper even publishes an entire article on this once, calling the students "brave" for doing ordinary things and making a big deal of their receiving good grades in classes--while simultaneously pointing out that because of the rules of the program they're in, their grades don't count. Yet, [[SarcasmMode aren't they wonderful for attempting to succeed in college?]]
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* CondescendingCompassion: This is sometimes the way Ms. Throckmorton, the DeanBitterman Disability Services department head, and one instructor under her, act toward Kate. For example, they use it to try to make her go into her university's "disabled students only" program ("We know college is hard, honey; you'll be safer this way when you fail because in our program, grades don't count.") Kate doesn't buy it, which just makes them mad.
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* DudeWhere'sMyRespect: Kate gets this a lot. She's a nice girl. She gets almost all A's in college, which is difficult for a freshman. She's also determined to transcend her disability. But as far as her university is concerned, she's a [[HeroWithBadPublicity Heroine With Bad Publicity.]] She's not above asking what gives, either.
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* NightmareFuel: In universe, Elinor's childhood gives her a fair share of nightmares. Kate also has a daydream about being trapped in a [[OrphanageOfFear Group Home Of Fear]].
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* AuthorAvatar: McCall has said in interviews that she and Kate are quite similar, but that all of the events happening to Kate are almost 100% fiction.
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* AffectionateNickname: Kate's dad calls her "Kitten." He gives her a real kitten as a Christmas gift, explaining that since he calls her that, he figured she'd like a real one.
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* MeaningfulName: Elinor's maiden name was Darcy. Thus, her full maiden name, Elinor Darcy, becomes a (perhaps unintentional) allusion to ''Pride and Prejudice'' and ''Sense and Sensibility.''
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* [[spoiler: FreudianExcuse: Vanessa Worthington has one. Her parents run a group home, and they cater to the residents but neglect her. Thus, she hates individuals with disabilities.]]
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* FriendToAllLivingThings: Kate gets along well with most animals. In one scene, she helps a stray dog brought to her uncle's vet clinic calm down. One of her Christmas gifts at the end is a kitten, which also puts her into KindHeartedCatLover territory.
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* KindlyVet: Kate's Uncle Rob.
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* DisabledMeansHelpless: Loving as they are, Kate's parents and some of her family members sometimes show shades of this attitude. The biggest offender is her paternal Aunt Heather, who believes people with disabilities should be sheltered and not treated as "regular people." [[spoiler: Somewhat justified in that she saw an accident severely injure her younger brother, who has Down Syndrome. For years, she has blamed this on her parents' attempt to raise him as "normally" as possible.]]
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* InsistentTerminology: A couple of Kate's family members and friends do this to her when she calls herself a disabled person. They insist she is a ''person with a disability,'' thus putting her identity first. Initially, Kate thinks they're just being politically correct, but comes to accept that the new term does help redefine her as a person rather than a diagnosis.
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* ShutUpHannibal: Kate does this to Vanessa and her GirlPosse a couple of times. Being who they are, they don't care.
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* OnlyChildSyndrome: Both Kate and Elinor are only children. Both are also perfectionists, intelligent, and to some degree, loners.
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* SmartPeoplePlayChess: Elinor, who is a chess champion. She also teaches Kate to play.
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* DeanBitterman: Dana Throckmorton, head of the Disability Services Department at Kate's college, is this. She sincerely believes disabled students are perpetual children who cannot learn and must be monitored for behavior problems; she also sees any protest of her methods as a behavioral issue. [[spoiler: She eventually crosses the line into verbal abuse toward Kate and is investigated and fired for her actions.]]
* FamilyBusiness: Kate's mom, grandmas, and aunts all work at a family business called Fruit Of Her Hands Catering. It gets a BiblicalBonus for the name.
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* GirlPosse: Vanessa Worthington's sorority sisters.
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* GirlPosse: Vanessa Worthington's sorority sisters.sisters.
* GradeSkipper: Elinor was this as a kid.
* HeyYou: Vanessa never calls Kate by her name. Instead, she uses disability slurs such as "crip" and "retard."
* ImportantHaircut: Near the end of the book, Kate gets her hair cut much shorter, as it's more stylish and easier to care for.
* InspirationallyDisadvantaged: Kate does not want to be seen as this, and she is also adamant that other students with disabilities be seen as regular people rather than this. In interviews, McCall has explained she herself has CP and has dealt with the trope, and therefore wanted her characters to transcend it.
* JadeColoredGlasses: Kate. Justified in that she is bullied in college, her family is overprotective, and she fears being sent to a group home after finishing her education. She gets better with counseling.
* LockedOutOfTheLoop: To varying degrees, Kate and Elinor both do this to their families and have it done to them.
* MamaBear: Kate's mother. Do ''not'' mess with Kate when she's around.
* MissingMom: Elinor technically has one after her parents get divorced because [[spoiler: her mother is diagnosed with violent schizophrenia and institutionalized.]]
* [[Nephewism Nieceism]] Kate never lives with Elinor and Rob, but she does spend a lot of time with them as they help her try to find a new college, which further cements their relationship. They're essentially a second pair of parents.
* [[OrphanageOfFear Group Home of Fear]] The closest thing Kate imagines homes for the disabled to be is an OrphanageOfFear, where adults are given no autonomy, strictly monitored, punished for imaginary infractions, and perhaps abused. She visits a fictional group home that is not abusive, but does not give the residents autonomy, and her fears are cemented. [[spoiler: When she visits her Uncle Isaac in a real one, she finds out they are not all this.]] Elinor has a fear of mental institutions that crosses into this at times.
* PapaWolf: Elinor's dad was this while she was growing up.
* PlotDrivenBreakdown: Occurs when Rob, Elinor, and Kate are involved in a fender bender.
* [[spoiler: SelfHarm: Kate scratches herself and draws blood in response to the trials she experiences. She gets better with counseling.]]
* SheCleansUpNicely: Kate has a mild example. All her life, she has limited herself to wearing plain clothing, elastic-waist pants, and simple hairstyles because of her CP. With the help of her friends, she eventually decides to cut her hair and dress in clothes she likes, rather than clothes that cater to her disability. As a result, she looks and feels much more stylish.
* GradeSkipper: Elinor was this as a kid.
* HeyYou: Vanessa never calls Kate by her name. Instead, she uses disability slurs such as "crip" and "retard."
* ImportantHaircut: Near the end of the book, Kate gets her hair cut much shorter, as it's more stylish and easier to care for.
* InspirationallyDisadvantaged: Kate does not want to be seen as this, and she is also adamant that other students with disabilities be seen as regular people rather than this. In interviews, McCall has explained she herself has CP and has dealt with the trope, and therefore wanted her characters to transcend it.
* JadeColoredGlasses: Kate. Justified in that she is bullied in college, her family is overprotective, and she fears being sent to a group home after finishing her education. She gets better with counseling.
* LockedOutOfTheLoop: To varying degrees, Kate and Elinor both do this to their families and have it done to them.
* MamaBear: Kate's mother. Do ''not'' mess with Kate when she's around.
* MissingMom: Elinor technically has one after her parents get divorced because [[spoiler: her mother is diagnosed with violent schizophrenia and institutionalized.]]
* [[Nephewism Nieceism]] Kate never lives with Elinor and Rob, but she does spend a lot of time with them as they help her try to find a new college, which further cements their relationship. They're essentially a second pair of parents.
* [[OrphanageOfFear Group Home of Fear]] The closest thing Kate imagines homes for the disabled to be is an OrphanageOfFear, where adults are given no autonomy, strictly monitored, punished for imaginary infractions, and perhaps abused. She visits a fictional group home that is not abusive, but does not give the residents autonomy, and her fears are cemented. [[spoiler: When she visits her Uncle Isaac in a real one, she finds out they are not all this.]] Elinor has a fear of mental institutions that crosses into this at times.
* PapaWolf: Elinor's dad was this while she was growing up.
* PlotDrivenBreakdown: Occurs when Rob, Elinor, and Kate are involved in a fender bender.
* [[spoiler: SelfHarm: Kate scratches herself and draws blood in response to the trials she experiences. She gets better with counseling.]]
* SheCleansUpNicely: Kate has a mild example. All her life, she has limited herself to wearing plain clothing, elastic-waist pants, and simple hairstyles because of her CP. With the help of her friends, she eventually decides to cut her hair and dress in clothes she likes, rather than clothes that cater to her disability. As a result, she looks and feels much more stylish.
