Percy and Elissa are over half the novel, they are best friends and know almost everything about each other. Both of them were best friends with Willard before he commits suicide. They both deal with the loss differently but in the end are emotionally destroyed. Percy deals with his hurt for Willard leaving and his father by trying not to remember him. He insists and tells people that his father is dead. He was killed by tsetse flies, and that is the end of it. Elissa knew this whole tie that he was not dead but played along with it so that Percy could cope with his dad leaving. Elissa seems like she gives lots of hints to Percy that she wants to take their relationship to the next level. I know Percy feels the same way but is scared to actually get close and have someone in his life that he really cares about. Until Percy man’s up or Elissa makes the first step and actually tells him how she feels, it won’t go anywhere. Later in the book you see them starting to get close and Percy thinking about Elissa. They hold hands when the walk home, finally try and kiss each other in the bushes. Percy makes a comment on, "So this is what the female mammae feel like." Elissa freaks out and believes she is just another chapter in his stupid novel. They don't talk to each other at all at grad. In the epilogue she finally decides to forgive him and they decide to hang out after her trip.
A huge part in the novel is the way Percy copes with the deaths and or losses in his life. The other half of the book is basically about his father and Willard. Willard was one of Percy's best friends, but he commit suicide on the roof of the school. Percy has a very hard time dealing with the loss of his very close friend. Times where he goes by the door to lead you up to the roof, he has epiphanies. Percy's counsellor Mr. Verplaz helps him out a great deal throughout the book, "tribes". He deals with the loss of his father by pretending he is dead. His father has wrote and called to Percy for the last three years. Percy has not responded or mailed him back about anything. I believe Percy is very bitter that his parents are divorced and he had to move away like that. Percy does all sorts of things to make him feel like he is in a tribe like his dad. A good example is when he pierces his nipple in the bathroom stall. It is a symbol a pain for his father. In the end Percy's dad comes to his graduation, him a Percy patches things up. His dad decides to move back to Chicago so they can see each other more often.
A huge part in the novel is the way Percy copes with the deaths and or losses in his life. The other half of the book is basically about his father and Willard. Willard was one of Percy's best friends, but he commit suicide on the roof of the school. Percy has a very hard time dealing with the loss of his very close friend. Times where he goes by the door to lead you up to the roof, he has epiphanies. Percy's counsellor Mr. Verplaz helps him out a great deal throughout the book, "tribes". He deals with the loss of his father by pretending he is dead. His father has wrote and called to Percy for the last three years. Percy has not responded or mailed him back about anything. I believe Percy is very bitter that his parents are divorced and he had to move away like that. Percy does all sorts of things to make him feel like he is in a tribe like his dad. A good example is when he pierces his nipple in the bathroom stall. It is a symbol a pain for his father. In the end Percy's dad comes to his graduation, him a Percy patches things up. His dad decides to move back to Chicago so they can see each other more often.