Laurie Halse Anderson portrays PTSD in a very sterile way, with flat characters. The main character believes that she's better than everyone else because she has to take care of her dad. She judges everyone based on their appearances, and assumes that they all have perfect, wonderful lives. In Speak, Laurie Halse Anderson told readers to speak up for yourselves, but in this book, she told readers that it's okay to judge people by their appearances.