Alternative Character Interpretation: Ben's actions toward Yolanda are mostly to mess with her head. However, there's some implication that he might have a Villainous Crush on her. He randomly chats her up at school, invites her to his home (where he calls out his house manager for making a micro-aggressive remark towards her), and shows his vulnerable side to her when he snuggles with a bodega cat. While he does snap at the end when he pulls out a gun, he doesn't shoot at her despite holding her hostage (though this could be because he was stopped before he could shoot further, and potentially shoot her).
Anvilicious: The book spares no punches in portraying the reality of BIPOC students' lives in schools in America. Aside from living in a racist system, they are also a low priority in the education system.
Moral Event Horizon: Ben crosses it when he brings a gun to school, takes Yolanda hostage, and proceeds to shoot at the students, severely injuring Jay and Jose and killing Mr.L.
They Wasted a Perfectly Good Plot: Yolanda's deafness could've provided an extra problem for her to tackle (particularly during Ben's shooting spree). Instead, her disability is written more like an Informed Attribute since she's never seen truly impeded by it, instead coming off as fully-hearing character who just so happens to have cochlear implants.
