Part 7: Miranda

One thing I really enjoyed about this book is the fact it lets us understand each character from their point of view. We aren't just told from one person's views of why people are the way they are, we get to see inside each characters mind. Throughout the book, we see Miranda as Olivia's old friend that ditched her when she entered high school. We know she was once a nice girl, being very caring and loving to Auggie, but we don't know why the sudden changed emerged. We find out why in Miranda's part of the book. 

Miranda is going through a very difficult time of her own. Her parents divorce before high school year, leaving her lost and confused. Miranda attends camp after finding out about the divorce and makes up lies to cover her pain. One lie that she tells is she has a "deformed" brother. People take sympathy in this and the lie make her popular. She feels great guilt about this lie, but continues with it because the hurt of her parents divorce is worse. She also starts to rebel by smoking, meeting up with boys, dying her hair pink and dressing more provocatively. Miranda's changes were a result of her trying to hide from the pain she was feeling as a result of her parents divorce.

When Miranda arrived back after summer camp, she did not want to contact Olivia. She felt guilt that she lied about Auggie to the other people at the camp. Miranda also did not want to deal with her parents divorce, so she distanced herself from Olivia. She knew Via would ask her questions and she was not ready to talk. Miranda was a young teenage girl in pain and this was her way of acting out because of the pain. 

Miranda really did love Via and her family, but being around them was a constant reminder of what she lost. Miranda loved the dynamics of Via's family, but the love they shared only brought her pain right now. I think Miranda stepping down from the part in the play and letting Via go on stage was somewhat her way of apologizing to Via. Miranda looked out in the crowd and did not see any of her family or friends, but she saw Auggie. She really did love Auggie and she knew how happy it would make him and his family to see Via perform, so she stepped down. I also think that Miranda knew that stepping down would allow Via to be something she rarely is, the center of attention. I know Miranda is another character that made some mistakes, but it is a reminder that our pain can cause us to act in ways we never would. At the end of this part, it seems Miranda and Via make amends and this was very pleasing to me.