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Chapter 26: Salty Things
Themes
and Colors
Key
LitCharts assigns a color and icon to each theme in When You Reach Me, which you can use to track the themes throughout the work.
Friendship
Coming of Age
Nonjudgment
Second Chances
Survival and Support
Summary
Analysis
On Monday, Miranda remembers, the police are chasing another naked man on Broadway, meaning that the kids must eat lunch in the cafeteria. She’s talking with Annemarie about how weird Jimmy is when Annemarie’s face goes blank. Suddenly, Julia is there beside Miranda. She says that Annemarie “will be fine” momentarily but not to ask her any questions. She brings up the playground proposal Miranda has submitted for Mr. Tompkins’s Main Street Project. After a few minutes, Annemarie shakes her head and joins the conversation. Julia leaves and soon afterwards, Annemarie is called to the nurse’s office.
Annemarie experiences a health crisis in the lunchroom, and Miranda has absolutely no idea what to do about it. Despite their current distance, however, Julia is right there to help, suggesting that she hasn’t stopped caring about Annemarie even though Annemarie has shut her out. It’s seeming increasingly clear that Miranda needs to reconsider her opinion of Julia.
Active
Themes
